Ru-fong Joanne Cheng

Dr. Ru Cheng leads a team that supports the development and adoption of high-quality health products that address the needs of women and girls in low- and middle-income countries. The Women’s Health Innovations team also serves as a unifying voice on women’s health, collaborating with other foundation teams and external partners to direct more funding and attention to R&D for women's health.

A board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist, Ru joined the foundation in 2023 after more than 15 years in the biopharmaceutical industry, where she held roles of increasing responsibility in the clinical development of drugs and devices for women’s health at Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, and Pfizer. Earlier, Ru was an assistant professor at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, where she served as a clinician, educator, and researcher and oversaw the gynecological ultrasound unit.

Ru earned a BA in chemistry from Duke University and an MD from The Ohio State University College of Medicine. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the Medical College of Pennsylvania (now Drexel University College of Medicine) and served as chief resident.