Douglas Pleskow

An instrumental member of the Board of Directors, former Executive Director and current Scientific Advisor, Dr. Pleskow has been involved with the National Pancreas Foundation since our founding. NPF also benefits from his guidance as chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee and member of the Grant Review Committee. When not caring for his patients, Dr. Pleskow finds time in his busy schedule to post answers to NPF’s Frequently Asked Questions online and in our newsletter.

In his clinical practice of gastroenterology, Dr. Pleskow sees patients with complex gastrointestinal problems that require therapeutic endoscopic procedures. An expert in all aspects of biliary endoscopy and endoscopic ultrasound, he is also an expert in all types of pancreatic diseases. Dr. Pleskow’s major research interests have been the study of serologic markers in pancreatic disease, therapeutic pancreaticobiliary endoscopy and endoscopic ultrasound. He has also studied the treatment of Barrett’s esophagus, novel imaging techniques of the gastrointestinal tract, and effects of HIV on the gastrointestinal tract and nutrition, among others.

Dr. Pleskow received his B.A. from University of Rochester, Rochester, NY in 1978, and his M.D. from State University of NY at Buffalo, NY in 1982. His internships and residencies were at University Hospital of Cleveland, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio from 1982 to 1985.

A resident of Massachusetts since 1985 when he became a clinical and research fellow in Gastroenterology at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Pleskow began his career at the New England Deaconess Hospital in 1987. In 1996 the New England Deaconess Hospital and the Beth Israel Hospital merged. He has served as the Co-Director of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center since that time.

Dr. Pleskow is an Associate Clinical Professor at Harvard Medical School. He travels nationally and internationally lecturing about gastrointestinal disorders.

Clinical Interests

• EUS, ERCP and Endoscopic Therapy
• Pancreatitis, Pancreatic Cysts & Pancreatic Cancer
• Therapeutic pancreatic biliary endoscopy
• GERD
• Barrett's Esophagus
• Cryotherapy and endoscopic mucosal resection
• Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA)
• General GI
• Colon Cancer Screening
• Advanced imaging with optical coherence tomagraphy & spectroscopy