Walter J. Pories ’52

Walter J. Pories ’52, MD, professor in the department of surgery at Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, was selected as a 2012–13 recipient of the annual East Carolina University Lifetime Achievement for Excellence in Research and Creative Activity Award. He joined ECU in 1977 as chair of the department of surgery at the medical school. While at ECU, he modified a type of weight-loss surgery into the “Greenville Gastric Bypass” and showed conclusively that not only does it result in durable weight loss but it also causes a long-term remission of type-2 diabetes. A biology/chemistry major at Wesleyan with a strong humanities background, he earned his MD at the University of Rochester. Among other honors, Pories is the 2001 recipient of O. Max Gardner Award, the highest honor given by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors. Pories retired from operating at age 70 but still follows up with former patients and has continued with research related to his Greenville Gastric Bypass and diabetes.
Walter J. Pories ’52, MD, professor in the department of surgery at Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, was selected as a 2012–13 recipient of the annual East Carolina University Lifetime Achievement for Excellence in Research and Creative Activity Award. He joined ECU in 1977 as chair of the department of surgery at the medical school. While at ECU, he modified a type of weight-loss surgery into the “Greenville Gastric Bypass” and showed conclusively that not only does it result in durable weight loss but it also causes a long-term remission of type-2 diabetes. A biology/chemistry major at Wesleyan with a strong humanities background, he earned his MD at the University of Rochester. Among other honors, Pories is the 2001 recipient of O. Max Gardner Award, the highest honor given by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors. Pories retired from operating at age 70 but still follows up with former patients and has continued with research related to his Greenville Gastric Bypass and diabetes.