Jay Pasricha

Jay Pasricha
Alma mater	All-India Institute of Medical Sciences
Known for	Leadership in gastroenterology, endoscopic procedures and devices, and GI motility disorders research
Spouse	Reena Pasricha
Children	3
Awards	American Gastroenterological Association Master’s Award for Outstanding Sustained Achievement in Gastroenterology, Nobility in Science Award from the National Pancreas Foundation
Scientific career
Fields	Medicine, Gastroenterology, Neurogastroenterology
Institutions	Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins University, University of Texas Medical Branch

Pankaj "Jay" Pasricha is a physician and researcher specializing in gastroenterology and neurogastroenterology. He currently serves as the chair of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona. Formerly, he served as the director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Neurogastroenterology and was the founder and co-director of the Amos Food, Body and Mind Center.

Education

Pasricha received his M.B.B.S. degree from the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi in 1982. He trained in internal medicine and pulmonology at Georgetown University-DC General Hospital and Tufts University-New England Medical Center. He further trained in gastroenterology at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Career

Pasricha's research interests span endoscopic, clinical and bench research. His laboratory is interested in molecular mechanisms of visceral pain and restoration of enteric neural function with novel strategies including neural stem cell transplants. His clinical interests include GI motility disorders and abdominal pain, and the development of novel endoscopic procedures and devices.

He has held numerous appointments reflecting his diverse research interests. In addition to his current position at Mayo Clinic, he holds the Bassel and Frances Blanton Distinguished Professorship in Internal Medicine and is a professor in the Departments of Pediatrics, Anatomy and Neurosciences and Biomedical Engineering. He has been a recipient of federal funding for his research since 1995 and is principal investigator on multiple NIH RO1 grants.

His most notable contribution to gastroenterology is the development of the animal model for per-oral endoscopic myotomy (POEM), a third-space endoscopic treatment for achalasia. Pasricha developed this in the mid-2000s while at University of Texas Medical Branch, after which he discussed the technique with Professor Haruhiro Inoue, a thoracic surgeon at Showa University Koto Toyosu Hospital in Tokyo, who further developed POEM in humans.

Pasricha is the chair of the National Institutes of Health–funded multi-center Gastroparesis Clinical Research Consortium. He served on the National Commission on Digestive Diseases, appointed by the United States Congress to provide a roadmap for progress in gastrointestinal disorders. He is also the founding chair of the Center for Gastrointestinal Innovation and Technology, and has served on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) GI Drug Advisory Committee.

Publications and patents

Pasricha has authored more than 300 manuscripts and book chapters, and holds more than 50 patents for novel gastrointestinal diagnosis and treatment methods. His contributions include chapters in the Cecil Textbook of Medicine, Yamada Textbook of Gastroenterology, and Goodman & Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics.

In terms of editorial roles, Pasricha has served as a senior editorial advisor for Digestive Diseases and Sciences, and as an associate editor for Gastroenterology, Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, and Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

Awards and recognition

Pasricha has received the American Gastroenterological Association Master's Award for Outstanding Sustained Achievement in Gastroenterology and the Nobility in Science Award from the National Pancreas Foundation.

Personal life

Pasricha has been married to his wife, Reena, for nearly 30 years. They have three children.