Dr. John Mellinger

John D. Mellinger, MD, FACS, currently serves as Vice President for the American Board of Surgery (ABS) and is Professor Emeritus of Surgery at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (SIU) in Springfield, IL. He is the former J. Roland Folse Endowed Chair in Surgery, Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Surgery, Professor in the Department of Medical Education, and Director of Leadership and Excellence for the Center for Human and Organizational Potential at SIU, having retired from those roles in 2021. Dr. Mellinger received his MD from Case Western Reserve University, and completed residency training in general surgery at the Blodgett/St. Mary’s Hospitals in Grand Rapids, MI, followed by a fellowship in surgical endoscopy at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in Cleveland, OH. He has also completed a Surgical Education Research Fellowship through the Association for Surgical Education (ASE). He served on active duty in the United States Air Force, and has had academic appointments at Wright State University, Michigan State University, and the Medical College of Georgia prior to his most recent duties at SIU. His academic interests include surgical education, surgical endoscopy, gastrointestinal surgery, and international surgery. Dr. Mellinger has served on the Boards of several national organizations, including serving as a Director of the American Board of Surgery (ABS) and the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM), on the Board of Governors of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), on the Council of the Central Surgical Association (CSA), and on the Board of Trustees of the Christian Medical and Dental Association (CMDA). He has served on the editorial board for Annals of Surgery and the Journal of Surgical Education, and as Co-Editor in Chief for Resources in Surgical Education, an on-line peer-reviewed resource produced by the American College of Surgeons. He served as Chair of the Board of Directors for the ABS in 2020-21, in 2022 is serving as President of SAGES, is a past president of the Association of Program Directors in Surgery (APDS), and has previously served as Academic Dean for the Commission on Medical and Dental Education of the CMDA. Dr. Mellinger has received more than 30 teaching awards, including the Outstanding Teacher Award of the ASE, the SIU system-wide Excellence in Teaching Award for Tenured Faculty, the Educator of the Year Award of the CMDA, and the Jeffrey L. Ponsky Master Educator in Endoscopy Award from SAGES. Dr. Mellinger has presented over 200 national and international presentations and over 50 eponymal lectureships or visiting professor programs. He has co-authored 130 peer reviewed publications and review articles, 30 book chapters, and one book. Dr. Mellinger is married to his wife of 39 years, Elaine, and has 4 children and 11 grandchildren.