Dr. Ponec joined North County Radiology in 1990. His specialization is in Interventional Radiology, with a Certificate of Added Qualification in Vascular and Interventional Radiology. He is co-founder and Director of the San Diego Cardiac and Vascular Institute and Director of Interventional Radiology at Tri-City Medical Center.

Dr. Ponec earned his BS degree at University of Southern California and graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa. He first moved to San Diego to complete his MD at University of California San Diego in 1979. Dr. Ponec maintains an appointment as Assistant Clinical Professor of Radiology there. His interest in research was encouraged when he received an American Heart Association grant for the study of cardiac and vascular disease at UCSD. He attended University of California San Francisco for Radiology Residency and Interventional Radiology Fellowship.  His active participation in research as the Principle or Co-investigator on multiple FDA-sponsored clinical trials has produced several publications. Also, he is the National Medical Expert for a major peripheral vascular study and a Distinguished Reviewer for the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology.