COL (Ret) Walter J. Pories, MD, FACS, Professor of Surgery, Biochemistry and Kinesiology at East Carolina University is a graduate of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut and received his MD with Honor at the University of Rochester where he also completed his surgical training in general and cardio-thoracic surgery. He served on the faculties of the University of Rochester, Case Western Reserve and East Carolina University where he served as the founding Chairman of Surgery for 19 years. He is currently the Director of the Bariatric Surgery Research Group.
Dr. Pories major clinical interests have been in pediatric and bariatric surgery. His research interests included the discovery that zinc is an essential element and required for wound healing, the development of animal feeds and the addition of trace elements to parenteral and alimentary formulations. He was the first description of wound suction and the cysterna chili/vena cava anastomosis. He was also the first to describe the full and durable remission of type 2 diabetes following the gastric bypass. He is currently a Principal Investigator for the NIH/NIDDK study, the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery and other studies of the mechanisms of the diabetes remission supported by the NIH and industry.
Dr. Pories has served as the President of several societies, as the editor in chief or associate and editor on a number of journals. He is the recipient of a number of research honors, including the Goldwater Award in Nutrition, the McGovern Award, the O. Max Joyner Award among others. He retired from the US Army after 24 years of service with a Legion of Merit and a Presidential Citation for his Unit’s performance as Regimental Commander in the first Gulf War.