CLEVELAND -- Jeffrey L. Ponsky, MD, Chairman of the Department of Surgery at University Hospitals of Cleveland has been named Chairman of the American Board of Surgery for 2005-2006.

The American Board of Surgery (ABS) was organized in 1937 and is responsible for conducting examinations of surgeons who wish to obtain or maintain board certification. The ABS also seeks to broaden opportunities for training and graduate education of surgeons.

In addition to receiving his medical degree from the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in 1971, Dr. Ponsky also earned his executive MBA from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University in 1990.  He received the distinguished Kaiser Teaching Excellence Award at the School of Medicine in 1993; the Distinguished Service Award for 2000 by the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons in April 2000, and, in 2002, he received the ASGE Rudolf Schindler Award, the highest recognition award for excellence in endoscopic research, teaching and service. 

Dr. Ponsky has held several leadership positions including 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).  

Dr. Ponsky has been listed in The Best Doctors in America each year since its inception in 1989.  He has published more than 160 original articles and book chapters, authored or edited five textbooks and serves on the editorial board of eight journals.