James R. Korndorffer Jr., M.D.

James R. Korndorffer Jr., MD, MHPE, FACS, is a board-certified general surgeon in UT Medicine’s General and Gastrointestinal Surgery Clinic. He specializes in minimally invasive general surgery. Additionally, Dr. Korndorffer is a professor in the Dell Medical School Department of Surgery and Perioperative Care and serves as both the interim Chair for the Dell Medical School Department of Medical Education and the Vice Dean of Education for the Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Korndorffer earned his bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Tulane University, his medical degree from the University of South Florida College of Medicine, and his master’s degree in health professions education from the University of Illinois Chicago. He completed both an internship and residency in general surgery at Carolinas Medical Center and a fellowship in minimally invasive surgery at Tulane University School of Medicine.

Dr. Korndorffer formerly served as the inaugural Vice Chair for Education in the Department of Surgery at Stanford School of Medicine, where he also served as Director of the Goodman Surgical Simulation Center and the Surgical Education Fellowship Program. He has held multiple leadership roles, including Vice Chair of the Surgery Department, Program Director for the Surgical Residency, Assistant Dean for Graduate Medical Education, and Founding Medical Director of the Tulane Center for Advanced Medical Simulation at Tulane University. His clinical interests focus on minimally invasive surgery for gastrointestinal disorders and hernias. His research interests include medical education, simulation, patient safety and health care quality. He was an early adopter of simulation-based surgical training and is actively involved in research on its role in patient care quality and health care system safety.