Robert L. Kormos, MD, FRCS(C), FACS, FAHA, is a professor of surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (UPMC.) He is also the Heart Transplantation Director of the Artificial Heart Program at UPMC’s Heart and Vascular Institute. Dr. Kormos is the co-author of Mechanical Circulatory Support: A Companion to Braunwald’s Heart Disease. Dr. Kormos is internationally regarded for his work on the use of cardiac assist devices as temporary or permanent support for patients with end-stage heart disease as well as cardiac transplantation. He is co-principal investigator of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI)-sponsored Interagency Registry for Mechanical Circulatory Support. As chair of the NHLBI’s Adverse Events Subcommittee, Dr. Kormos established a set of definitions that has been adopted by the FDA, industry, and clinical investigators worldwide. Before joining the University of Pittsburgh faculty in 1987, Dr. Kormos completed fellowships in research and transplant surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. He also performed internships and residencies in neurosurgery, cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at Toronto General Hospital. He earned his MD from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. Dr. Kormos is the recipient of numerous awards including the Transplant Recipients International Organization (TRIO) Award and the Carnegie Science Center Awards for Excellence, Chairman’s Award. He consistently appears in America’s Top Doctors, Castle Connolly America’s Top Doctors, and Pittsburgh’s Top Doctors. A past president of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, and a former board member of the American Society for Transplant Surgery, Dr. Kormos is a member of more than seventeen professional societies. He serves as associate editor for The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation and has authored over 250 articles and book chapters.