Mehmet Cengiz Oz, also known as Dr. Oz, is an American cardiothoracic surgeon, author,
and television personality of Turkish descent.
Oz first appeared on the The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2004, and later on Larry King Live
and other TV programs.
In 2009, The Dr. Oz Show, a daily television program focusing on medical issues and personal
health was launched by Winfrey's Harpo Productions and Sony Pictures.
Early life Oz was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Suna and
Mustafa Öz, who had emigrated from Konya Province, Turkey.
Mustafa Öz was born in Bozkır, a small town in central Turkey.
Mustafa Öz earned scholarships that allowed him to emigrate to the United States as a
medical resident in 1955.
Suna Öz, who comes from a wealthy İstanbul family, is the daughter of a pharmacist with
Shapsug descent on her mother's side.
He has two sisters, Seval Oz and Nazlim Oz.
Oz was educated at Tower Hill School in Wilmington, Delaware.
In 1982 he received his undergraduate degree at Harvard University.
In 1986 he obtained MD and MBA degrees respectively at 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
and then student body president during medical school.
Career Oz has been a professor at the Department
of Surgery at Columbia University since 2001.
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.
With his collaborators, he has authored over 400 research papers, book chapters and medical
books and has received several patents.
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.
In 2009, Oz joined Jeffrey T. Arnold as co-founder of Sharecare, Inc., providing an interactive
QA platform that allows industry experts to answer health-related questions.
Oz described his philosophy to The New Yorker: "I want no more barriers between patient and
medicine.
I would take us all back a thousand years, when our ancestors lived in small villages
and there was always a healer in that village."
Television, radio and films Oz appeared as a health expert on The Oprah
Winfrey Show for five seasons.
On the show, he addressed issues like Type 2 diabetes and promoted resveratrol supplements,
which he stated were anti-aging.
His Transplant!
television series won both a Freddie and a Silver Telly award.
He has served as medical director of Denzel Washington's John Q. He currently hosts The
Dr. Oz Show on television and a talk show on Sirius XM Radio.
Oz was featured in season 1 of the ABC reality show "NY Med".
In January 2011, Oz premiered as part of a weekly show on the Oprah Winfrey Network called
"Oprah's Allstars".
In each episode, he, Suze Orman and Dr. Phil answer various questions about life, health
and finance.
He also currently does a health segment on 1010 WINS titled "Your Daily Dose".
Author Oz co-authored, with Michael F. Roizen, 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 Healing from the Heart.
His book You: Having a Baby was published by Free Press in 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.
Oz and the Hearst Corporation launched the bi-monthly magazine Dr. Oz The Good Life on
February 4, 2014.
Awards and honors
Time magazine ranked Oz at 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.
Other awards and honors include: 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 2011 Most Trusted Voice in Daytime Television,
2011 James Randi Educational Foundation Media Pigasus Award, which the foundation states
is for promoting "nonsense".
The foundation noted Oz's support of energy medicine, faith healing and psychic mediums,
among other controversial practices.
Oz is the first person to receive a Pigasus Award two years in a row.
2011 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host
2011 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Informative
2012 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Informative
2013 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Informative
Media discussions of scientific validity Popular Science and The New Yorker have expressed
criticism of Oz for giving "non-scientific" advice.
These criticisms include questioning if he is "doing more harm than good".
Prevention Magazine has given positive reviews of Dr. Oz calling him "The country's most
beloved MD".The magazine also states that "Dr. Mehmet Oz, wants you to challenge your
doctors, understand your body, and demand better care."
Dr. Oz writes health features and columns for Men's Health Magazine.
Oz has been supportive of faith healing, homeopathy and psychic communication with the dead.
Oz's image and quotes have also been used in many weight loss product scams.
While he himself has not been found to be involved in these scams, critics claim that
he frequently makes statements that can be exploited by scammers.
Oz has countered that he is a proponent of alternative medicine and has stated that he
makes great efforts to inform viewers that he neither sells nor endorses any supplements.
He also created the organization "OzWatch" as a way for viewers to report scams.
Ozwatch has received more than 35,000 complaints and has issued 600 cease and desist letters.
June 2014 Senate hearing During a Senate hearing on consumer protection,
Senator Claire McCaskill stated that by airing segments on weight loss products that are
later cited in advertisements, Oz plays a role, intentional or not, in perpetuating
these scams, and that she is "concerned that you are melding medical advice, news, and
entertainment in a way that harms consumers."
Mary Engle of the Federal Trade Commission criticized Oz for calling green coffee extract
"magic" and a "miracle", stating that it is difficult for consumers to listen to their
inner voices when products are praised by hosts they trust.
When Oz testified before the committee he defended his promotion of alternative medicine,
stating that he makes great efforts to inform viewers that he neither sells nor endorses
any supplements.
He also stated that he created OzWatch as a way for viewers to report scams, which has
received more than 35,000 complaints and has issued 600 cease and desist letters.
Personal life
Oz lives in Cliffside Park, New Jersey, with his wife Lisa.
They have been married since 1985 and have four children.
His eldest daughter is author and television host Daphne Oz.
The other three are Arabella, Zoe and Oliver.
Oz is fluent in English and Turkish.
He is a holder of Turkish and American citizenship, having served in the Turkish Army to retain
his Turkish citizenship.
Oz grew up in a mixed Muslim environment where his father's family believed in Islam, while
his mother's family were more 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 wrote in Spirituality and Health Magazine in 2010 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 2010, Oz was diagnosed with a pre-cancerous polyp in the colon during a routine colonoscopy
which was performed as part of his show.
Oz said that the procedure likely saved his life.
Bibliography 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 0-452-27955-0.
Complementary and Alternative Cardiovascular Medicine: Clinical Handbook, by Richard A.
Stein, Mehmet, M.D.
Oz, 2004, ISBN 1-58829-186-3.
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 0-06-076531-3.
YOU: On a Diet: The Owner's Manual for Waist Management, by Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C.
Oz, 2006, ISBN 0-7432-9254-5.
YOU: The Smart Patient: An Insider's Handbook for Getting the Best Treatment, by Michael
F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz, 2006, ISBN 0-7432-9301-0.
YOU: Staying Young: The Owner's Manual for Extending Your Warranty, by Michael F. Roizen,
Mehmet C. Oz, 2007, ISBN 0-7432-9256-1.
YOU: Being Beautiful: The Owner's Manual to Inner and Outer Beauty, by Michael F. Roizen,
Mehmet C. Oz, 2008, ISBN 1-4165-7234-1.
YOU: Breathing Easy: Meditation and Breathing Techniques to Help You Relax, Refresh, and
Revitalize, by Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz, 2008.
YOU: Having a Baby: The Owner's Manual from Conception to Delivery and More, by Michael
F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz, 2009.
Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery, by Mehmet C. Oz, 2010, ISBN 1-61737-400-8.
Numerous editorials in TIME, Newsweek, O Magazine, Esquire Magazine, and The New England Journal
of Medicine Television shows
Second Opinion with Dr Oz on Discovery during the 2003–04 season
Life Line on Discovery Health Daily Rounds on Discovery Health
The Truth About Food on Discovery Health Live Transplant on Discovery Health
National Body Challenge on Discovery Health You: On a Diet on Discovery Health
Ask Dr. Oz on The Oprah Winfrey Show AccentHealth on Turner Private Networks—a
health-themed newsmagazine program designed for viewing in doctor's offices.
The Dr. Oz Show, Syndicated Your Life A to Z with Dr. Oz
NY Med on ABC Notes
References
Further reading Heidi Brown, "Oprah Loves This Doctor", Forbes
magazine, August 4, 2008 External links
Official website Dr. Oz Show Columbia University Department of Surgery
profile Mehmet Oz at the Internet Movie Database