Ronald J. Vender, MD

Ronald J. Vender, MD, former chief medical officer (CMO) for Yale Medicine and former associate dean for Clinical Affairs at Yale School of Medicine, leads efforts to improve quality and safety of medical care, develop and strengthen clinical programs, and maintain the highest level of practice standards. He also works to promote professionalism and well-being among physicians. Prior to joining the Yale faculty, Dr. Vender was chief of gastroenterology at the Hospital of St. Raphael for 17 years, associate director of the Yale GI Fellowship Program, and co-founder and managing partner of Gastroenterology Center of Connecticut. A professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine, he has received numerous awards for teaching and clinical care, including the William Carey Award from the American College of Gastroenterology, the Distinguished Clinician Award from the American Gastroenterological Association and the DeLuca Award from the Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Vender’s contributions at the national level include serving as president of the American College of Gastroenterology, and as the chair of the organization’s National Affairs Committee. More recently, Dr. Vender collaborated with the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable to initiate the Links of Care Initiative to provide care for underserved populations, and to help launch the 80 percent by 2018 initiative to screen for colorectal cancer. He completed his medical degree at Yale School of Medicine, and his residency training and gastroenterology fellowship at Yale New Haven Hospital.