In addition, he completed the first year and a half of the MD curriculum and the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine (1969–1972).
Plonsey was a professor at Case Western Reserve University from 1968–1983, including a term as chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering (1976–1980).
He retired from Duke in 1996 as the Pfizer Inc./Edmund T. Pratt Jr. University Professor Emeritus of Biomedical Engineering.
Plonsey's research centered on bioelectric phenomena, including the electrical activity of nerves and muscle.
[5][6] Some of Plonsey's most influential work addressed the electrical properties of the heart, often in collaboration with Roger Barr.