Jack A. Vennes, MD and Stephen E. Silvis, MD Endowed Lectureship

Donate to the Jack A. Vennes, MD and Stephen E. Silvis, MD Endowed Lectureship Fund today by selecting Endowment as the donation type and Vennes-Silvis Endowment Fund as the designated fund.

Drs. Vennes and Silvis worked as a team at the Minneapolis (MN) Veterans Affairs Medical Center from 1971-1986. They were pioneers of ERCP, studying the new techniques in Japan and then teaching them in the United States. They were prolific authors and published widely on the evolving techniques of ERCP. In addition, they pioneered early instrument designs and procedural techniques.

John Baillie, MD, FASGE, one of the last physicians to be trained by the duo, remembers them describing all of their trainees as a “very large extended family."

“Jack and Stephen distinguished themselves by being outstanding mentors to a generation of trainees,” said Dr. Baillie. “Gentlemen of seemingly infinite patience, they took a personal interest in their fellows and supported them in many ways, usually behind the scenes. They sought no thanks for their efforts, but like all true mentors, took enormous pleasure and pride in the achievements of their trainees.”

Cook Medical President, Bill Gibbons, was enthusiastic about the opportunity to recognize their accomplishments saying: “Cook Endoscopy is honored to be associated with the Jack A. Vennes, MD and Stephen E. Silvis, MD Endowed Lectureship. The late Drs. Vennes and Silvis are considered among the most highly respected gastroenterologists in the history of our profession. Both doctors engaged in rigorous research to promptly and effectively diagnose and treat their patients. And, further, they believed that in order for their pioneering therapies to be of lasting benefit, those methods had to teachable to other physicians. It is thanks to both men’s passion for teaching that the legacy of their knowledge and skill has been passed down to other clinicians throughout the world.”

In recognition of their role in the evolution of GI practice and their commitment to teaching complex endoscopic procedures to generations of gastroenterologists, ASGE honors Drs. Vennes and Silvis with this lectureship.

The Jack A. Vennes, MD & Stephen E. Silvis, MD Endowed Lecture is presented annually during Digestive Disease Week^® and was established through the generous support of Cook Medical, friends, trainees, and colleagues of both doctors.

Lecturers
2012 - Kenneth R. McQuaid, MD, FASGE
2011 - Gregory G. Ginsberg, MD, FASGE
2010 - Douglas K. Rex, MD, FASGE
2009 - Gary W. Falk, MD, MS, FASGE
2008 - Richard I. Rothstein, MD
2007 - Michael L. Kochman, MD, FASGE