Chair, President, Surgeon in Chief Dr. Aurora Pryor Joins NEMIC Board of Directors
Providence, Rhode Island | August 2025 — The New England Medical Innovation Center (NEMIC) proudly announces the appointment of Dr. Aurora D. Pryor, MD, MBA, FACS, FASMBS to its Board of Directors. A nationally recognized leader in surgery, clinical innovation, and healthcare entrepreneurship, Dr. Pryor’s expertise will play a pivotal role in advancing NEMIC’s mission to accelerate the development of groundbreaking medical technologies.
Dr. Pryor is Chair of Surgery at Brown University and Surgeon in Chief at Rhode Island Hospital and the Miriam Hospital. She is also the President of Brown Surgical Associates. An Ann Arbor, Michigan native, she received her undergrad degree in engineering and her MD from Duke University. She completed her residency in General Surgery at Duke, followed by a fellowship in minimally invasive surgery. She was on the faculty at Duke from 2003-2011. She held multiple leadership roles at Duke. She moved to New York in 2011, where she served as Vice Chair of Surgery, Chief of Bariatric, Foregut and Advanced GI Surgery and Director of the Bariatric and Metabolic Weight Loss Center at Stony Brook from 2011-2022. She was also director of the Advanced GI/MIS/Bariatric/Foregut fellowship at Stony Brook. She then served as Surgeon in Chief at Long Island Jewish Hospital and System Director for Bariatric Surgery at Northwell Health until joining the Brown faculty in August 2024.
Dr. Pryor currently serves on the American Board of Surgery as the Chair of the General Surgery Board and as a Councilor. Dr. Pryor was the 2019-2020 President of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), with membership of more than 7,000 surgeons. She is currently the President of SAGES Ingenuity, which is the for-profit arm of SAGES focusing on innovation and managing a venture fund (SINC). She is an Associate Editor for Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, has served as Subject Editor for Surgical Endoscopy. She serves on the editorial boards of Annals of Surgery and the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
In addition to her academic and clinical leadership, Dr. Pryor is a successful entrepreneur. Dr. Pryor’s work has appeared in more than 200 publications, and she has co-edited four textbooks. She has given more than 300 presentations worldwide, has received a number of research grants and holds patents for several surgical technologies, including the Transenterix SPIDER single port system. Her current research efforts focus on advancing laparoscopic bariatric and GI surgery techniques and outcomes, and on new technology in surgery. Her clinical care focuses on individualized treatment options of patients with gastroesophageal diseases, obesity and hernia. She offers a range of laparoscopic, endoscopic and traditional surgical approaches. She has actively engaged in several FDA trials and offers the latest available treatment options to her patients.
Her unique blend of clinical insight, business acumen, and commercialization experience aligns seamlessly with NEMIC’s vision of bridging the gap between invention and patient impact. “We are honored to welcome Dr. Pryor to our Board of Directors,” said Maey Petrie, Executive Director of NEMIC. “Her accomplishments as a surgeon, innovator, and mentor speak for themselves. She understands the challenges of moving new technologies through the regulatory, clinical, and business landscapes, and her perspective will be invaluable to the startups we serve.”
For Dr. Pryor, joining NEMIC’s Board is a natural extension of her lifelong commitment to advancing healthcare through collaboration and technology. By working together across disciplines, we can bring life-changing solutions to patients faster and more effectively. “I am thrilled to join NEMIC in its mission to empower medical technology innovators,” says Dr. Pryor. Her appointment strengthens NEMIC’s ongoing efforts to unite clinicians, engineers, entrepreneurs, and investors to drive medical breakthroughs. As NEMIC continues to expand its programs, partnerships, and impact, Dr. Pryor’s insight will help guide strategic growth and ensure the organization remains at the forefront of MedTech innovation in New England and beyond.
Please join us in welcoming Dr. Pryor to our Board!
