Field Willingham, MD, MPH, named Interim Emory PGP Gastroenterology Clinical Director, Division of Digestive Diseases

Please join us in congratulating Field Willingham, MD, MPH, who will be appointed as Interim Emory PGP Gastroenterology Clinical Director, Division of Digestive Diseases within the Department of Medicine, effective May 1, 2023.

Dr. Willingham received a Bachelor of Science Degree at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, in 1992. He obtained a Master’s Degree in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, in 1996. Remaining in Baltimore, he earned his Doctor of Medicine Degree from the University of Maryland, School of Medicine in 2001. Dr. Willingham served as a categorical Internal Medicine resident at the Baylor Affiliated Hospitals in Houston from 2001-2004. He served as the Chief Medical Resident at Baylor from 2004-2005. Dr. Willingham completed a traditional GI Fellowship at Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital from 2005 to 2008, followed by an Advanced Therapeutic Endoscopy fellowship in joint with Massachusetts General Hospital/Brigham and Women’s Hospital through 2009. His first faculty appointment was at Emory, where he was recruited by R. Wayne Alexander, MD, PhD, and Vincent Yang, MD, PhD. In addition to being a Professor of Medicine and Master Clinician in the Division of Digestive Diseases, he has also served as the Director of Endoscopy and Associate Division Director for Academic affairs. He has developed a robust and nationally recognized program in interventional endoscopy which is now regarded among the top programs nationally. He has received over 20 significant awards for patient care, teaching, and clinical research.

In establishing the new endoscopic service lines, Dr. Willingham has developed close and robust relationships. He collaborated with Anesthesia, Pathology, Radiology, the Winship Cancer Institute (elected as a Core Member in 2013), Surgery, and Transplant. He has also developed a program in Therapeutic Endoscopy at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. He was appointed Medical Director of Therapeutic Endoscopy at CHOA in 2016 and performed the first ERCP on a child in a Children’s Hospital in Georgia in 2017. Building the Endoscopy program at Emory has required close collaboration with staff members in multiple areas. He works closely with the nursing leadership for EUH, The Emory Clinic, and the Children’s Units. Individually, he works closely with GI nursing and GI techs daily in procedures. He serves on numerous cross-specialty committees, including the Endoscopy Executive Committee, the Perioperative Executive Committee, the Operative Services, and Perioperative Expansion Group, and the Enterprise Imaging Steering Committee. Regionally, he has been on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Gastroenterological and Endoscopic Society since 2011 and has served as Treasurer (2012–2013), Vice President (2013–2014), and President (2014–2016). This position strongly reflects his reputation, as most members are referring clinicians in Georgia. Nationally, he has served as the Editor in Chief for the journal VideoGIE since 2021. He is on multiple other editorial boards and is heavily involved in our national GI societies, including the AGA, ACG, and ASGE.

We are excited to partner with Dr. Willingham in his new leadership role as interim Emory PGP Gastroenterology Clinic director. We look forward to his leadership to help support and continue to expand Emory GI across the greater Atlanta area.