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Gerald A. Isenberg, M.D., director of Undergraduate Education in the Department of Surgery, and associate professor of Surgery at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University has been elected president of the Association of Program Directors for Colon and Rectal Surgery.  He will serve a three-year term.

“I am extremely honored to serve as president of this national association,” says Dr. Isenberg.  “As president, it is my goal to create a standardized system of evaluation for colorectal fellows, as well as update the core competencies for all colorectal training programs.”

After receiving his medical degree in 1982 from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Dr. Isenberg completed an internship and residency in surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York in 1983 and 1986 respectively.  He served a one-year term as chief resident there beginning in 1986. In 1987 he spent a year as a fellow in Colorectal Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.  He first joined the Jefferson Medical College faculty as an instructor in 1988 and rose to become a clinical assistant professor of Surgery.  He briefly left Jefferson in 1990, but returned in 1993 and has risen through the ranks to become associate professor of surgery, a title he has held since 2006. 

A highly-skilled and devoted educator, Dr. Isenberg also maintains a very active clinical practice at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.  In addition to his educator and clinical roles, Dr. Isenberg is also active in many local committees and national medical societies including the American College of Surgeons, the American Medical Association and the American Society of Colon & Rectal Surgeons.  He is also a past president of the Pennsylvania Society of Colorectal Surgeons.  In 2004 and 2008, Dr. Isenberg was the recipient of the Dean’s Citation for Significant Contribution to the Advancement of Education at Jefferson Medical College. Dr. Isenberg continues in his position as the program director of the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital Colorectal Fellowship. 

Among its many objectives, The Association of Program Directors for Colon and Rectal Surgeons provides a forum for the exchange of information and for discussion on a wide range of subjects related to post-graduate colon and rectal surgical education; maintains high standards of residency training and education in colon and rectal surgery by improving graduate education; provides advice, assistance, and support to program directors on matters pertaining to surgical education or to accreditation; and encourages research in the education and training of colon and rectal surgeons.

Dr. Isenberg is a resident of Penn Valley, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.