A Fight for Patients and Communities

By: Yvaine Ye (MSJ 18)
Northwestern Medill School of Journalism

“I put my nose down, and I just work hard.” The blue-collar work ethic John Pandolfino, MD, Hans Popper Professor and Chief in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, learned from his family not only is the key to his achievements in advancing esophageal disease treatment, but also brought him the recognition from the American Society for Clinical Investigation.

The ASCI inducted Pandolfino in February among other 77 physician-scientists across the U.S. and Canada.

Established in 1908, the ASCI is one of the nation’s oldest and most respected medical honor societies. It seeks to support the scientific efforts, educational needs, and clinical aspirations of physician-scientists to improve human health. The ASCI represents physician-scientists who are at the bedside, at the research bench, and at the blackboard. Many of its senior members are widely recognized leaders in academic medicine.

“I was pleasantly surprised to see that I got in,” said Pandolfino. “I was impressed with who's in there. The fact that I would even be allowed to be considered in that group was definitely something I didn't take lightly.”

Pandolfino’s research established a comprehensive model of food and liquid transport in the esophagus by focusing not only the esophageal muscle function, but also on the mechanics of the esophageal wall.

“It's been a difficult road to formulate this and get people to buy into this translational physiology work,” Pandolfino said. “But to me, putting the hard work in and then getting something, has much more value than if I would have just gotten it because I was lucky.”

Pandolfino joined Feinberg as an intern 24 years ago; he also completed his residency and went on to complete a fellowship in gastroenterology. Pandolfino enjoys the wide range of tasks he can do in treating esophageal diseases, from seeing unique disease phenotypes to using sophisticated diagnostics and conducting clinical procedures.

“It was an interesting profession because there was a lot of variety,” Pandolfino said. “I do come from a family of plumbers, and gastroenterology is kind of internal plumbing. Maybe in hindsight, I stayed true to my natural calling from my family.”

Aside from his role as a doctor, Pandolfino is an amateur boxer and founder of a non-profit organization to support youths in the west side of Chicago.

Pandolfino didn’t follow the Straight-A stereotype of a doctor growing up. “I was always a pretty bad kid. I got in a lot of trouble when I was younger. So, I think it was natural for me to get involved in boxing,” He started taking lessons at 8 years old and has been enjoying the adrenaline rush when standing in the ring ever since. “And I’ve always thought to myself: ‘if you're going to learn a sport do a sport that has some value to it. So to me you could defend yourself with boxing.’”

Boxing also gave Pandolfino an opportunity to put his philanthropy into action. He established Motts58 Foundation eight years ago to raise money for young boxers from west side Chicago. “I don't think there's anything fancy about it. This was just my mechanism to give back a little bit, and I could do that by honoring my patient.”

The foundation is named in honor of Pandolfino’s patient, Motts Tonelli, who was an athlete and a former Cook County Board president. Pandolfino admires his courage and perseverance, and wants to continue his mission of helping the community. “He loved kids, he liked teaching people about the value of being a good citizen, and he was into service. I thought that’s a really great role model and message for kids today.”

Collaborating with the Chicago Youth Boxing Club, Motts58 provides funding for the club’s equipment and scholarships for students to attend higher education.

“In the upcoming years, I’d like to have my role shift from focusing on raising money to becoming more of a role model in terms of being a professional and introducing the kids to these different types of life,” Pandolfino said. “I think that would be something that may have a better impact.”

Clinician, researcher, administrator, boxer, charity founder, husband, father… Pandolfino said frankly he doesn’t know how he stays organized, but he managed to have a good work-life balance. 

“At the end of the day, I don't feel exhausted. I'm still able to spend quality time with my family and I don’t waste time. There's not going to be many things outside of my responsibilities at work that's going to take me away from doing that.”