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Mark A. Turco: PCI’s Chief Innovation & Corporate Outreach Officer

Mark Turco

Mark A. Turco, an experienced scientific and business development executive with industry expertise, has joined the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Center for Innovation (PCI) as Chief Innovation and Corporate Outreach Officer. A Penn graduate and Philadelphia native who practiced interventional cardiology before joining industry, Dr. Turco will be a resource for the University of Pennsylvania innovators leading PCI’s outreach and relationship-building efforts with external partners as part of the University’s efforts to expand commercialization opportunities regionally, nationally and globally.

“Mark’s prior accomplishments and background in both the medical field and the private and public sectors are of tremendous value to our organization, and he brings a unique perspective to PCI and our Executive Leadership Team. I’m really delighted to welcome Mark on board, and we’re all looking forward to working closely with him to build additional strategic relationships between the Penn community and industry to help better connect our faculty with corporate and other possible partners,” said John Swartley, assistant vice provost for research and managing director of PCI. 

Most recently, Dr. Turco served as the vice president and chief medical officer of the Aortic, Peripheral, Vascular, and endoVenous franchises of Medtronic Inc. In this role, he provided strategies to inform complex decisions that encompassed patient needs, clinical trial design, regulatory considerations and evolving healthcare systems and value-based models—both domestically and internationally. He also evaluated opportunities for growth and investment through medical, business, payer, provider and regulator lenses. 

“I’m looking forward to working with Penn’s expert faculty and other members of its innovation community as well as external partners to facilitate and extend new and ongoing collaborations to translate Penn ideas into products and services that benefit patients and society,” added Dr. Turco. “I’m truly excited to bring my skills and experience as a physician, scientist and business development leader to further support and extend the University’s innovation and commercialization goals.” 

Dr. Turco received his medical degree and internal medicine training at the George Washington University in Washington, DC and performed his cardiology training at Temple University Hospital and at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia. He practiced as an interventional cardiologist in the Washington, DC area for 11 years, serving as director of the Cardiovascular Research Center at Washington Adventist Hospital and maintaining an active patient care practice. As a practicing cardiologist, Dr. Turco also played a role in the development of several medical devices currently being utilized in the field of vascular medicine. 

After leaving Washington Adventist Hospital, Dr. Turco served as the chief medical officer for Covidien Vascular Therapies where he was responsible for Covidien’s clinical affairs, health economics and reimbursement, as well as professional affairs and clinical education for the vascular business unit.

While at Covidien, he led and collaborated with Medical Affairs staff and operations globally, orchestrated new business development, new technology evaluation and strategy, as well as regulatory and economic considerations. 

Dawn Bonnell, Penn’s vice provost for research added, “As we continue to expand PCI’s capacity to leverage the commercialization potential of faculty generated ideas and research, Mark’s experience and insight will be critical for fostering new partnerships with the private sector. We are looking forward to increasingly productive corporate interactions with our faculty as a direct result of his efforts.”

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