Let’s try this: Russell Conwell, Temple University’s founder, believed that changing who could study medicine could change medicine itself. That belief has shaped the Lewis Katz School of Medicine for 125 years.

Founded in Philadelphia in 1901 to expand access to medical education for working people, Katz built a different kind of medical school, one where opportunity, scientific discovery and service to community have always been connected.

Across generations, Katz faculty, alumni and students have helped advance medicine. They have identified diseases, developed new technologies, mapped anatomical structures still taught today, authored influential medical textbooks, established professional organizations and helped shape standards of care. Katz researchers continue that tradition through discoveries that push biomedical science and patient care forward.

Katz’s impact extends beyond laboratories and hospitals. Our people have led medical societies, shaped medical education, influenced public understanding of health and served communities in Philadelphia and around the world. Their work reflects a culture that brings scientific rigor together with purpose, creativity and humanity.

Grit. Imagination. Humanity. For 125 years, Katz has seen what medicine could become and worked to make it real.