Ken Song, MD ’00, Resident Alum : Curiosity Rover

Off the Beaten Path

While his medical school classmates rushed into residencies, Ken Song charted an unconventional course that would ultimately redefine what a medical education could achieve. “It was highly atypical for someone to go through medical school and not go straight into residency,” says Song, who, upon graduation, took an opportunity in the business sector. After two years as a management consultant, Song returned to UCSF for a residency in internal medicine, followed by further training at the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. But he was itching to return to entrepreneurial pursuits.

Instinct for Industry

Over the past 15 years, Song has rapidly launched a series of visionary startups in multiple sectors – diagnostics, life science tools, and drug development – that have led to billion-dollar acquisitions. He’s not only demonstrated a sort of sixth sense for promising ideas, but he also possesses the leadership to bring them to fruition. A common thread in his work is a desire to make a difference in people’s lives. Among his many innovations is the low-cost Harmony prenatal test, which has established a new standard for prenatal screening. The test detects fetal chromosomal anomalies noninvasively, using a pregnant woman’s blood sample. Now, as president and CEO of Candid Therapeutics, Song is developing novel, easy-to-administer therapies for autoimmune diseases. “I see my value in getting into emerging areas where things are not yet defined and helping to shape those industries,” he says.

Building What’s Next

His unusual career path shows where exceptional medical training, combined with curiosity and courage, can lead. “If you look at my history – where I’ve been and what I’ve done – it looks quite disorganized and random. And that’s because it is,” he says. “But I think to myself: Wow, if I wasn’t doing this, would these things even exist? Probably not. That’s what motivates me and keeps me going.”