 Dr.
Michael E. DeBakey
Dr. Michael E. DeBakey, long-time chairman of the board of the Foundation for
Biomedical Research, is the chancellor emeritus and Olga Keith
Wiess Professor of Surgery in the Michael E. DeBakey Department
of Surgery and director of the DeBakey Heart Center at Baylor
College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.
While still studying medicine, he developed the roller pump
which became an essential component of the heart-lung machine.
In 1942, Dr. DeBakey was assigned to the U. S. Surgeon General’s
Office and rose to the rank of Colonel and Chief of the Surgical
Consultants Division. Three years later, he was awarded the
Legion of Merit. In the early 1950s, Dr. DeBakey pioneered
developments for cardiac bypass surgery. He performed the
first successful removal of a blockage in a carotid artery
in 1953 and the first patch-graft angioplasty in 1956. Dr.
DeBakey was the first surgeon to perform a successful aorto-coronary
artery bypass, and the first to successfully use an artificial
heart.
Dr. DeBakey is this country’s most honored physician.
He is a recipient of the prestigious Lasker Award for Research,
the AMA Distinguished Service Award, the Presidential Medal
of Freedom with Distinction, the National Medal of Science,
the Eleanor Roosevelt Humanities Award, and the United Nations’
Lifetime Achievement Award. He has been inducted into the
Health Care Hall of Fame and named a “Living Legend”
by the Library of Congress. NASA has honored Dr. DeBakey with
the Commercial Invention of the Year Award. He is a recipient
of the Gold Hippocrates International Award and has been nominated
for the Congressional Gold Medal. Much of Dr. DeBakey’s
success can be directly attributed to his work with the animal
model.
Click
here to learn about the Michael E. DeBakey Awards program
and winners.
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