CLEVELAND, Ohio — Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has named Dr. Conor P. Delaney as the first holder of the Jeffrey L. Ponsky, M.D., Professorship in Surgical Education and director of the medical school’s new Center for Surgical Skills Training.
The professorship was created with a combined gift of $2 million; nearly $1 million from the Forest City Enterprises Charitable Foundation and a $1 million commitment made in 2006 by the Goldberg, Ponsky, Frankel Family to endow the professorship, the medical school said in a written statement.
The Center for Surgical Skills Training will provide the facilities tools and surgical methods to teach students, residents and health care professionals. The center is part of the Institute for Surgery and Innovation, with which the medical school is affiliated. The Forest City gift supported creation of the center.
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“We are very proud to have Dr. Delaney honored as the inaugural recipient of the Jeffery L. Ponsky, M.D., Professorship,” said Dr. Pamela Davis, dean of the medical school and vice president of medical affairs for Case, in her school’s statement. “Dr. Delaney’s commitment to surgical education embodies the values and surgical leadership exhibited by Dr. Ponsky in his prestigious career spanning more than three decades.”
Ponsky is Oliver H. Payne Professor and chairman of the Department of Surgery at the medical school. He also serves as Surgeon-in-chief at University Hospitals Case Medical Center. Recipient of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy’s Rudolf Schindler Award — the highest recognition award for excellence in endoscopic research, teaching and service – Ponsky originated the percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, which is a minimally invasive substitute for surgical placement of feeding tubes.
Delaney is a professor of surgery at the medical school and chief of the Division of Colorectal Surgery and vice chairman of the Department of Surgery at UH Case Medical Center. He is working to identify effective ways to teach laparoscopic colorectal surgery — minimally invasive surgery of the colon and rectum. Delaney also teaches laparoscopic surgery internationally and is developing cost-efficient care pathways for patients who have had colorectal surgery.
His research focuses on colorectal surgery, cost-efficiency in surgery and operative training methodology. Delaney founded the International Society for Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery in 2004.