Jeffrey Katz was born and educated in Cape Town South Africa. He graduated from the University of Cape Town Medical School and after completing his internship at the Woodstock Hospital he emigrated to the US. He completed his residency and fellowship in Anesthesiology at The Mt Sinai Hospital in NYC and the University Hospitals of Cleveland before joining the faculty of the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Texas.

He was appointed to the Chair of Anesthesiology at UT Houston and Chief of Anesthesiology at the Hermann Hospital twelve years later. He was also Chief of Anesthesiology at the Lyndon B Johnson Hospital in Houston. He also served as the Chief of the Medical Staff at Memorial Hermann (MH) Hospital. He served as an Assistant Examiner for the American Board of Anesthesiology until his age required mandatory retirement. Jeffrey was recognized as an excellent clinician and educator and received multiple awards for teaching.

After his tenure as Chair of Anesthesiology he became the Chief Academic Officer at MH Hospital in the Texas Medical Center and a year later was appointed as the Chief Medical Officer at MH Hospital in the Texas Medical Center. He remained in that position until his retirement. During his tenure he was double board certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology and American Board of Medical Quality and was a Certified Registered Medical Risk Manager.