Jeffrey L. Ponsky (Author photo 1, Author photo 2, Author photo 3, Author photo 4, Author photo 5, Author photo 6, Author photo 7; Video 1, available online at www.VideoGIE.org) completed his surgical training at University Hospitals of Cleveland in 1976 and joined the faculty of University Hospitals of Cleveland, where he was the Director of Surgical Endoscopy. In 1979, he became the Director of the Department of Surgery at The Mount Sinai Medical Center in Cleveland, where he remained through 1997. During that time, Dr Ponsky was Professor of Surgery at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) School of Medicine and Vice Chairman of the Department of Surgery at CWRU. In 1997, Dr Ponsky joined The Cleveland Clinic as the Director of Endoscopic Surgery and Executive Director of the Minimally Invasive Surgery Center. He was also the Vice Chairman of the Division of Education and Director of Graduate Medical Education. In 2005, he assumed the Oliver H. Payne Professorship and Chair of the Department of Surgery at Case Western University School of Medicine. He returned to The Cleveland Clinic as Director of Developmental Endoscopy in 2014.
Author photo 1.
Dr Ponsky in 1976.
Author photo 2.
Newspaper article featuring Dr Ponsky.
Author photo 3.
Dr Ponsky, Chair at Mt. Sinai in 1980.
Author photo 4.
Ponsky original scope.
Author photo 5.
Dr Ponsky on the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Board.
Author photo 6.
Dr Ponsky as Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons President.
Author photo 7.
With UH staff in 2010.
Dr Ponsky has served as President of the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), President of the Ohio Chapter of the American College of Surgeons, President of the Cleveland Surgical Society, and President of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE). He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He has served as a Director and Chairman of the American Board of Surgery and has been the Vice President of the American Surgical Association and The Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract.
Dr Ponsky is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and earned his Executive MBA from CWRU’s Weatherhead School of Management in 1990. He received the distinguished Kaiser Teaching Excellence Award at CWRU School of Medicine in 1993; the Distinguished Service Award of the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons in April 2000; and in 2002 the ASGE’s Rudolf V. Schindler Award, the highest recognition award for excellence in endoscopic research, teaching, and service. In 2005, he received the Pioneer in Endoscopy Award from the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons. In 2007, he received the Maurice Saltzman Award from the Mount Sinai Health Care Foundation. In 2009, he received from SAGES the George Berci Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2009, the Jeffrey L. Ponsky, MD, Chair in Surgical Education was established at CWRU School of Medicine in Dr Ponsky’s honor. In 2017, he was appointed the initial holder of The Lynda and Marlin Younker Chair in Developmental Endoscopy. In 2018, The Buffalo Surgical Society presented him with the Roswell Park Medal.
He has published over 300 original articles and book chapters, has authored or edited 6 textbooks, and serves on the editorial board of numerous journals. He is the originator of the percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, which provided a minimally invasive substitute for operative placement of feeding tubes.
Disclosure
The author disclosed no financial relationships relevant to this publication.
Supplementary data
Interview with Jeffrey Ponsky, MD.
Associated Data
This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.
Supplementary Materials
Interview with Jeffrey Ponsky, MD.