James T. Pacala, M.D., M.S., a board-certified family physician and geriatrician, is associate professor and Distinguished University Teaching Professor in the Department of Family Practice and Community Health at the University of Minnesota Medical School.
He received his baccalaureate degree from Carleton College and his M.D. from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. After completing a residency in Family Medicine at the University of Wisconsin/Madison, Pacala obtained a masters degree in chronic disease epidemiology from Brown University, and completed two fellowships, one in Health Services Research in Gerontology (at Brown) and the other in clinical geriatrics (at the University of Connecticut). He has been on the faculty at the University of Minnesota since 1992.
Pacala has performed research and published extensively on methods for care delivery to geriatric populations and on innovative teaching methods. Currently a member of the American Geriatrics Society Board of Directors, he also is a co-author of the AGS practice handbook, Geriatrics At Your Fingertips, which is now in its eighth edition and has sold over 100,000 copies. He is extensively involved in medical student education, having served as chair of the medical school’s Education Council and as director of the Year 1 Physician and Society course.
Pacala has received several awards for his research, teaching, and clinical care, including the American Geriatrics Society’s Outstanding Achievement for Clinical Investigation Award (2002), the University of Minnesota Medical School’s Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award (1999), and the University of Minnesota’s All-University Teaching Award (2002).
Return to: Medical School : Academic Health Center : myU : U of M Home
