Mehmet Cengiz Oz (; born June 11, 1960) is an American who is a cardiothoracic surgeon and an author. He has made frequent appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show, as well as appearances on Larry King Live, CNN, and other networks.
In 2009, Winfrey's Harpo Productions and Sony Pictures launched a syndicated daily talk show featuring Oz, called The Dr. Oz Show.
Mehmet Oz was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Turkish parents Suna and Mustafa, who had immigrated from Konya, Turkey. His father Mustafa Oz was born in Bozk?r, a small town in central Turkey. Mustafa did very well in school and earned scholarships that allowed him to emigrate to the United States as a medical resident in 1955. His mother Suna comes from a wealthy family that includes writers, civil engineers, and businessmen. Several of her great-grandparents came from the Caucasus mountains, leaving the region after the Russian Empire took it over in the 1860s.
Mehmet Oz was educated at Tower Hill School in Wilmington, Delaware. In 1982 he received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University. In 1986, he obtained a joint MD and MBA degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and The Wharton School. He was awarded the Captain’s Athletic Award for leadership in college and was Class President followed by President of the Student Body during medical school.
Oz is Vice-Chair and Professor of Surgery at Columbia University. He directs the Cardiovascular Institute and Complementary Medicine Program at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. His research interests include heart replacement surgery, minimally invasive cardiac surgery, and health care policy. He has authored over 400 original publications, book chapters, and medical books and has received several patents. He performed around 250 heart operations annually.
Oz is the founder and chairman of HealthCorps, a non-profit organization that pays a small stipend to recent college graduates to spend two years in high schools mentoring students about health, nutrition, and fitness.
Oz appeared as a health expert on The Oprah Winfrey Show for five seasons. His Transplant! television series won both a Freddie and a Silver Telly award. He has appeared on Good Morning America, the Today show, Larry King Live and The View, as well as guest-hosting the Charlie Rose show. In addition, he served as medical director of Denzel Washington’s John Q and participated in several other feature films. He currently hosts The Dr. Oz Show on television and a talk show on Sirius XM Radio.
Oz authored six New York Times best sellers including You: The Owner’s Manual, You: The Smart Patient, YOU: On a Diet, YOU: Staying Young, YOU: Being Beautiful as well as the award winning Healing from the Heart. His new book, YOU: Having a Baby, was published by Free Press on December 1, 2009. He has a regular column in Esquire magazine and O, The Oprah Magazine and his article “Retool, Reboot, and Rebuild” was awarded the 2009 National Magazine Award for Personal Service.
Time magazine ranked Oz 44th on its list of the 100 Most Influential People in 2008 and Esquire magazine placed him on its list of the 75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century. He was called a Global Leader of Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum and one of “The Harvard 100 Most Influential Alumni” by 02138 magazine. He won the Gross Surgical Research Scholarship. He was listed in “Doctors of the Year” by Hippocrates magazine and in “Healers of the Millennium” by Healthy Living magazine. Oz is annually listed in the Castle Connolly Guide of the top United States doctors, as well as other ranking groups.
Other awards and honors include:
Honored by the New York Open Center for "outstanding research in writing and communication (and for) bridging Western and alternative/complementary medicine", 2007
Listed in Best Doctors of the Year, New York Magazine
Turkish American of the Year, 1996
Books for a Better America award for Healing from the Heart, 1999
Robert E. Gross Research Scholarship, American Association for Thoracic Surgery, 1994—1996
Research Award, American Society of Laser Medicine and Surgery, 1991
Blakemore Research Awards, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, 1988—1991
One of the 500 most influential Muslims 2009
2010 Daytime Emmy Award For Outstanding Talk Show Host
Oz lives in northern New Jersey with his wife Lisa. They have been married since 1985 and have four children: Daphne, Arabella, Zoe, and Oliver.
Oz is fluent in both English and Turkish. He is a holder of both Turkish and American citizenship, having served time in the Turkish Army to retain his Turkish citizenship.
His father's side believed in the integration of Islam and government, while his mother's side were secular Muslims. He has been influenced by the mysticism of Sufi Muslims, as well as the ideas of Emanuel Swedenborg, the Swedish scientist, philosopher, and Christian theologian. He recently wrote in Spirituality and Health Magazine that "As I came into contact with Swedenborg's many writings, I began to understand Swedenborg's profound insights and how they applied directly to my life". He mentions Swedenborg's ideas that marriage lasts to eternity, everyone has a purpose in this world, God is love, and Swedenborg's answers to "Why do bad things happen?".
Oz is a practitioner of Transcendental Meditation. "When I meditate, I go to that place where truth lives," he said. "I can see what reality really is, and it is so much easier to form good relationships then."
In August of 2010, Oz was diagnosed with a pre-cancerous polyp in the colon during a routine colonoscopy. The polyp was successfully removed and Oz is expected to make a full recovery.
As The New York Times has explained, Oz is a "spokesman and advisor" for the website RealAge.com, which the paper has heavily criticized for its pharmaceutical marketing practices. The site solicits medical information from visitors, ostensibly to determine a visitor’s "biological age" and then uses the visitor's medical profile for pharmaceutical marketing purposes. As The Times reporter explained the significance of this fact: "While few people would fill out a detailed questionnaire about their health and hand it over to a drug company looking for suggestions for new medications, that is essentially what RealAge is doing."
Alternative medicine
Oz is a supporter of alternative medicine. Some conventional medical practitioners allege that Oz may be promoting unproven and potentially harmful alternative medicine practices on The Oprah Winfrey Show and elsewhere. Appearing in surgical scrubs on the show's set in Chicago, Oz has promoted self-described energy based practices and acupuncture on the show.
YOU: Having A Baby, The Owner's Manual from Conception to Delivery and More, by Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz, 2009,
YOU: Being Beautiful: The Owner's Manual to Inner and Outer Beauty, by Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz, 2008, ISBN 1416572341.
YOU: Staying Young: The Owner's Manual for Extending Your Warranty, by Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz, 2007, ISBN 0743292561.
YOU: On A Diet: The Owner's Manual for Waist Management, by Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz, 2006, ISBN 0743292545.
YOU: The Smart Patient: An Insider's Handbook for Getting the Best Treatment, by Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz, 2006, ISBN 0743293010.
YOU: The Owner's Manual: An Insider's Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger, by Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz, 2005, ISBN 0060765313.
YOU: Breathing Easy. Meditation and Breathing Techniques to Help You Relax, Refresh, and Revitalize, by Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz, 2008.
Complementary and Alternative Cardiovascular Medicine: Clinical Handbook, by Richard A. Stein (Editor), Mehmet, M.D. Oz (Editor), 2004, ISBN 1588291863.
Healing from the Heart: A Leading Surgeon Combines Eastern and Western Traditions to Create the Medicine of the Future, by Mehmet Öz, Ron Arias, Dean Ornish, 1999, ISBN 0452279550.
Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery ., 2003
Numerous editorials in Newsweek, O Magazine, Esquire Magazine, and The New England Journal of Medicine
