Dr. Michael DeBakey, the internationally acclaimed cardiovascular surgeon, is an ingenious medical inventor, innovator and dedicated teacher. Because of his unique ability to bring professional knowledge to bear on public policy worldwide, Dr. DeBakey is known as an international medical statesman.

He has served as advisor to virtually every U.S. president in the past 50 years. Dr. DeBakey performed the first successful carotid endarterectomy for stroke, the first coronary artery bypass and the first use of left ventricle bypass pump for heart failure. His lifelong scholarship is reflected in more than 1,600 published medical articles and books. He is a co-author of "The Living Heart" series of popular books for the public.