Distinguished Professor & Dean Emeritus & Director
Department of Medicine

Research interests have focused on the relationships between knowledge, capabilities and actual clinical performance. The results have led to instruments which have been used to evaluate educational programs, measure severity of illness (Disease Staging) and assess quality of care and costs.

Dr. Gonnella is Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Dean Emeritus of Jefferson Medical College, and founder and director of the Center. Dr. Gonnella received his B.A. from Dartmouth College (summa cum laude) and his M.D. from Harvard Medical School. He has been awarded the Commendatore dell’ordine della Stella della Solidarietà Italiana in 1978; the Grande Uffi­ciale in 1995 by the President of Italy; the Dongbaeg Medal by the President of Korea; the Presidential Medal by Dartmouth College; and the Presidential Citation by Thomas Jefferson University. He has received honorary degrees from the University of Chieti, Italy; SoonChun­Hyang University in Seoul, Korea, Widener University, the University of Minho in Portugal, and the International Medical University of Malaysia. He has also received an honorary professorship from Tianjin Medical College in Tianjin, China, and a Distinguished Fellowship from the International Medical University, Malaysia. In 1998 he received the Abraham Flexner Award from the Association of Ameri­can Medical Colleges (AAMC). Dr. Gonnella’s research has focused on the relation­ship be­tween knowledge, capabilities, and clini­cal per­formance. He has developed a Disease Staging evaluation system that is used in the U.S. and internationally to assess the quality and costs of health care.