The Constance and Sankey Williams Associate Professorship

Established in 2019, this chair supports the work of an outstanding cancer researcher at the Perelman School of Medicine. The Professorship is one of many extraordinary contributions of the Williamses, who have dedicated their careers and their philanthropy to supporting education, prosperity, the arts, and health in the Philadelphia region and beyond. At Penn Medicine, the couple earlier endowed The Leon Hess Professorship of Internal Medicine in honor of Constance Williams’ father. They also endowed funds to support fellows in the Division of Internal Medicine as they embark on their careers. Additionally, the Williamses have generously contributed to Wharton and the Leonard Davis Institute.  

Connie Williams is an entrepreneur, a former elected official, and a leader in philanthropy. She served in the Pennsylvania Senate (2001–2009) and the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (1997–2001). Senator Williams holds an MBA from Wharton and is a member of the Trustees’ Council of Penn Women. From 2010 to 2016 Senator Williams was Chair of the Board of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. She is a member of the National Council on the Arts and a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania. Throughout her career, Senator Williams has served as a trustee for various institutions in Philadelphia and across the US, including the National Museum of American Jewish History; Steppingstone Scholars; Barnard College; the Episcopal Academy; the Baldwin School; Pine Manor College; and Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center for Performing Arts.  

Sankey Williams, MD is Professor Emeritus of General Internal Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine and of Health Care Management at Wharton. He was Chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine from 1992 to 2008 and directed the University of Pennsylvania’s Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program from 1988 to 1996. He is currently Senior Fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute. In addition, Dr. Williams is a Deputy Editor of the Annals of Internal Medicine. He has received numerous accolades for his research and has held various leadership positions, including Commissioner of the US Congress’s Prospective Payment Assessment Commission; President of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, The Society for Medical Decision Making, and the Society of General Internal Medicine. He has also served as the editor of the Journal of General Internal Medicine (1995, 1999).   

Current Chairholder
Noelle Frey, MD, MSCE

Dr. Frey is the Director of the Clinical Cellular Therapy in the Cell Therapy and Transplant Program and the Constance and Sankey Williams Associate Professor at the Perelman School of Medicine. Her work focuses on expanding the limited options for patients with relapsed leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). She is exploring the potential of immunotherapy approaches and has led several first in human studies for these patients.

Dr. Frey received her Bachelor of Science degree in molecular biophysics and biochemistry from Yale University and her MD from Columbia University. She then came to Penn Medicine to complete her residency and fellowship in the Division of Hematology-Oncology, eventually joining the staff there. To learn more about clinical trial development, Dr. Frey pursued a Master of Science degree in Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Penn, which she completed in 2012. Her continuing education has given her the unique ability to have more productive discussions and increased collaboration with her colleagues in biostatistics. Dr. Frey was a recipient of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Special Fellow in Clinical Research as well as the Robert Austrian Award for Translational Research.