A gift to further biomedical research

by Hannah Diorio-Toth

Medical pioneer, inventor, and educator Mark Wholey, and his wife Roseanne have made a $1.5 million gift to Carnegie Mellon University to support advancements in biomedical engineering research by naming the department’s prominent laboratory suite, the Dr. Mark and Roseanne Wholey Laboratory Suite for Biomedical Engineering.

Medical pioneer, inventor, and educator Mark Wholey, and his wife Roseanne have made a $1.5 million gift to Carnegie Mellon University to support advancements in biomedical engineering research by naming the department’s prominent laboratory suite, the Dr. Mark and Roseanne Wholey Laboratory Suite for Biomedical Engineering. The generous gift will propel Carnegie Mellon University forward in fundamental discoveries and technological solutions that will have a great impact on society.

The Wholeys pictured at the lab's doors with a sign for the new lab.

Source: College of Engineering

Mark and Roseanne Wholey at the laboratory suite dedication.

“Mark and Roseanne Wholey’s gift is important to the future of the Department of Biomedical Engineering,” says Bin He, department head and professor of biomedical engineering. “We are very thankful for their generosity and for their excitement around our research.”

The Department of Biomedical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon’s groundbreaking research in neuroengineering, human organ bioprinting, and medical devices make it one of the world’s premier institutions for biomedical engineering research. The departmental graduate ranking is at the highest in its young history: 22 in the U.S. News & World Report, which also places the College of Engineering at number four.

Mark and Roseanne Wholey’s gift is important to the future of the Department of Biomedical Engineering.

Bin He, Department Head and Professor, Biomedical Engineering

As a pioneer and leader in the field of radiology, Mark has transformed the biomedical industry with his entrepreneurial vision to enhance the quality of healthcare. He has shaped interventional radiology by creating many innovative technologies, including the transformational Wholey Wire. The Wholey Wire is a guidewire system used to facilitate the placement and exchange of interventional devices during diagnostic or therapeutic interventional procedures. Through the Wholey Wire and other critical innovations, Mark has significantly helped drive improvements in medicine and in the quality of patient care.

  • The Wholeys posing on either side of the entrance to the new lab, with the provost and BME department head.
    Mark and Roseanne Wholey at the laboratory suite dedication with Biomedical Engineering Professor and Department Head Bin He and CMU Provost James H. Garrett, Jr.
  • The Wholey family standing together in from of the sign for the new lab.
    Mark, Roseanne, and their daughter Lauren at the laboratory suite dedication. Lauren is a junior in the Tepper School of Business.
  • The sign for the new lab, which states the name of the lab and has a short bio of Mark Wholey.
    The Dr. Mark and Roseanne Wholey Laboratory Suite for Biomedical Engineering is located in the Sherman and Joyce Bowie Scott Hall.

    • Mark has a deep history in the biomedical arena in the Pittsburgh area and has taught as adjunct faculty at Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering and University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine. A 1949 alumnus of the University of Pittsburgh, Mark received his medical degree from Hahnemann University School of Medicine in 1953.

    “Roseanne and I are impressed with the breakthrough biomedical engineering research at Carnegie Mellon, and we are eager to support the department,” said Mark.

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    To celebrate this generous gift, the university has dedicated a laboratory suite in the couple’s honor. The Dr. Mark and Roseanne Wholey Laboratory Suite for Biomedical Engineering is located in the Sherman and Joyce Bowie Scott Hall. A private dedication of the laboratory suite was held on May 6 in Scott Hall.