Selected Bios

James D. Fonger, MD, Executive Director of Surgery

James Fonger, MD, is the Executive Director of Surgery and Business Development at SJTRI and a practicing cardiothoracic surgeon focusing on emerging minimally invasive techniques in cardiac surgery.  A native of Canada, Dr. Fonger completed his undergraduate and medical schooling at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada, followed by a surgical internship and general surgical residency at the University of Toronto.  He then moved to the U.S., where he completed his cardiothoracic surgical training at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and held faculty positions at Boston University and Johns Hopkins Hospital before going into private practice in Washington D.C. and at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, N.Y.  Throughout his training and years of practice, Dr. Fonger has been interested in the innovation of medical devices and surgical techniques, holding several U.S. and foreign patents and serving as founder or partner in five medical device and software companies addressing clinical problems such as heart failure, patient safety, patient home monitoring, and professional communication technologies.  He has over 50 publications and has edited three books.  He is a founder and past president of the 21st Century Cardiothoracic Surgical Society and the International Society for Minimally Invasive Cardiothoracic Surgery and lectures internationally on advances in cardiothoracic surgery.