Robert E. Michler
Encyclopedia
Robert E. Michler, MD is an American surgeon
who specializes in complex heart surgery
, especially mitral and aortic valve repair. He is Surgeon-in-Chief at Montefiore Medical Center
and Albert Einstein College of Medicine
in New York, New York
. He is also the Samuel I. Belkin Chair, Professor
and Chairman, Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery
, Professor and Chairman, Department of Surgery and Co-Director, Montefiore Einstein Center for Heart and Vascular Care.
. He is an NIH-funded investigator and leader in clinical trial enrollment. Michler and his teams have advanced minimally invasive cardiothoracic surgery procedures and surgical robotics
. This work led to Food and Drug Administration
approval for selective cardiac robotic procedures including mitral valve repair
and coronary bypass surgery.
Michler has particular interest and experience as a turnaround specialist in the healthcare industry. His work experiences at New York Columbia Presbyterian, the Ohio State University Medical Center
, and the Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine have led to the creation and implementation of programs in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, general surgery, organ transplantation, plastic and reconstructive surgery
, pediatric surgery
, breast surgery
and cancer
care. Michler was central to the planning, design, and philanthropic development of the Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital
. He served as the first Executive Director of the Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital.
Michler has authored hundreds of peer-reviewed publications, recently publishing in the New England Journal of Medicine
, Circulation
and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. He is a frequent editor and media authority on heart diesease topics. Michler lectures extensively, both nationally and abroad, on topics ranging from heart surgery, to strategies for increasing clinical trial
enrollment, to “team building” in healthcare, to the creation of a heart hospital.
Formerly, he was the John G. and Jeanne B. McCoy Endowed Chair, Professor of Surgery, and Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Transplantation at the Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio
. Before joining the Ohio State University, Michler was a tenured Associate Professor of Surgery at Columbia University and served as the Director of the Cardiac Transplant Program, one of the largest cardiac transplant programs in the nation, at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York.
. He received his medical education at Dartmouth Medical School
where he was a Leopold Schepp Scholar. Michler completed his residency
in General Surgery
, a fellowship
in Cardiothoracic Transplantation and a residency in Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. He was awarded the Blakemore Research Prize for three consecutive years. He completed a chief residency in Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery with Dr. Aldo Castaneda at the Harvard Medical School, Boston Children’s Hospital.
in underserved regions of the world. To date, Heart Care International has helped over 1,000 children with heart disease
and performed heart surgery on over 600 children. He has received numerous honors including “Person of the Week” by Peter Jennings
of ABC World News Tonight, the Pace Humanitarian Award, and “The Order of Christopher Columbus” by Hipolito Mejia
, President of the Dominican Republic
.
Journal articles include
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
who specializes in complex heart surgery
Cardiac surgery
Cardiovascular surgery is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. Frequently, it is done to treat complications of ischemic heart disease , correct congenital heart disease, or treat valvular heart disease from various causes including endocarditis, rheumatic heart...
, especially mitral and aortic valve repair. He is Surgeon-in-Chief at Montefiore Medical Center
Montefiore Medical Center
Montefiore Medical Center, in the Bronx, New York, is the University Hospital for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The hospital, named for Moses Montefiore, is one of the 50 largest employers in New York State . In 2011, Montefiore Medical Center was ranked as #6 of the 180 New York City...
and Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a graduate school of Yeshiva University. It is a not-for-profit, private, nonsectarian medical school located on the Jack and Pearl Resnick Campus in the Morris Park neighborhood of the borough of the Bronx of New York City...
in New York, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He is also the Samuel I. Belkin Chair, Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
and Chairman, Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery
Cardiac surgery
Cardiovascular surgery is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. Frequently, it is done to treat complications of ischemic heart disease , correct congenital heart disease, or treat valvular heart disease from various causes including endocarditis, rheumatic heart...
, Professor and Chairman, Department of Surgery and Co-Director, Montefiore Einstein Center for Heart and Vascular Care.
Professional career
Michler’s research interest in repairing the injured heart has led to clinical trials in autologous skeletal myoblast and cardiac stem cell transplantationStem cell treatments
Stem cell treatments are a type of intervention strategy that introduces new cells into damaged tissue in order to treat disease or injury. Many medical researchers believe that stem cell treatments have the potential to change the face of human disease and alleviate suffering...
. He is an NIH-funded investigator and leader in clinical trial enrollment. Michler and his teams have advanced minimally invasive cardiothoracic surgery procedures and surgical robotics
Robotic surgery
Robotic surgery, computer-assisted surgery, and robotically-assisted surgery are terms for technological developments that use robotic systems to aid in surgical procedures....
. This work led to Food and Drug Administration
Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
approval for selective cardiac robotic procedures including mitral valve repair
Mitral valve repair
Mitral valve repair is a cardiac surgery procedure performed by cardiac surgeons to treat stenosis or regurgitation of the mitral valve. The mitral valve is the "inflow valve" for the left side of the heart. Blood flows from the lungs, where it picks up oxygen, through the pulmonary veins, to the...
and coronary bypass surgery.
Michler has particular interest and experience as a turnaround specialist in the healthcare industry. His work experiences at New York Columbia Presbyterian, the Ohio State University Medical Center
Ohio State University Medical Center
The Ohio State University Medical Center is a multidisciplinary academic medical center located in Columbus, Ohio, on the main campus of The Ohio State University . In 2010, the Ohio State University Hospital was ranked one of "America's Best" by U.S. News & World Report in 11 specialties...
, and the Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine have led to the creation and implementation of programs in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, general surgery, organ transplantation, plastic and reconstructive surgery
Plastic surgery
Plastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. Though cosmetic or aesthetic surgery is the best-known kind of plastic surgery, most plastic surgery is not cosmetic: plastic surgery includes many types of reconstructive surgery, hand...
, pediatric surgery
Pediatric surgery
Pediatric surgery or paediatric surgery is a subspecialty of surgery involving the surgery of fetuses, infants, children, adolescents, and young adults...
, breast surgery
Breast surgery
Breast surgery is a form of surgery performed on the breast.Types include:*Breast reduction surgery*Augmentation mammoplasty*Mastectomy*Lumpectomy*Breast-conserving surgery, a less radical cancer surgery than mastectomy...
and cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
care. Michler was central to the planning, design, and philanthropic development of the Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital
The Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital
The Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital is located right in the center of The Ohio State University in Columbus,Ohio. This hospital is ranked number 20 in the nations best heart program. This hospital is greatly known for specializing in cardiology. Care is provided to those that have a cardiovascular...
. He served as the first Executive Director of the Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital.
Michler has authored hundreds of peer-reviewed publications, recently publishing in the New England Journal of Medicine
New England Journal of Medicine
The New England Journal of Medicine is an English-language peer-reviewed medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It describes itself as the oldest continuously published medical journal in the world.-History:...
, Circulation
Circulation (journal)
Circulation is a scientific journal published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins for the American Heart Association. The journal publishes articles related to research in and the practice of cardiovascular diseases, including observational studies, clinical trials, epidemiology, health services and...
and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. He is a frequent editor and media authority on heart diesease topics. Michler lectures extensively, both nationally and abroad, on topics ranging from heart surgery, to strategies for increasing clinical trial
Clinical trial
Clinical trials are a set of procedures in medical research and drug development that are conducted to allow safety and efficacy data to be collected for health interventions...
enrollment, to “team building” in healthcare, to the creation of a heart hospital.
Formerly, he was the John G. and Jeanne B. McCoy Endowed Chair, Professor of Surgery, and Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Transplantation at the Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
. Before joining the Ohio State University, Michler was a tenured Associate Professor of Surgery at Columbia University and served as the Director of the Cardiac Transplant Program, one of the largest cardiac transplant programs in the nation, at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York.
Education and training
Michler received his undergraduate education Magna Cum Laude from Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. He received his medical education at Dartmouth Medical School
Dartmouth Medical School
Dartmouth Medical School is the medical school of Dartmouth College, located in Hanover, New Hampshire, in the United States. The fourth-oldest medical school in the United States, Dartmouth Medical School was founded in 1797 by New England physician Nathan Smith and grew steadily over the course...
where he was a Leopold Schepp Scholar. Michler completed his residency
Residency (medicine)
Residency is a stage of graduate medical training. A resident physician or resident is a person who has received a medical degree , Podiatric degree , Dental Degree and who practices...
in General Surgery
General surgery
General surgery, despite its name, is a surgical specialty that focuses on abdominal organs, e.g., intestines including esophagus, stomach, small bowel, colon, liver, pancreas, gallbladder and bile ducts, and often the thyroid gland . They also deal with diseases involving the skin, breast, soft...
, a fellowship
Fellowship (medicine)
A fellowship is the period of medical training in the United States and Canada that a physician may undertake after completing a specialty training program . During this time , the physician is known as a fellow...
in Cardiothoracic Transplantation and a residency in Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. He was awarded the Blakemore Research Prize for three consecutive years. He completed a chief residency in Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery with Dr. Aldo Castaneda at the Harvard Medical School, Boston Children’s Hospital.
Heart Care International
Michler is the Chairman and Founder of a not-for-profit foundation, Heart Care International, which performs pediatric heart surgeryPediatric surgery
Pediatric surgery or paediatric surgery is a subspecialty of surgery involving the surgery of fetuses, infants, children, adolescents, and young adults...
in underserved regions of the world. To date, Heart Care International has helped over 1,000 children with heart disease
Heart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
and performed heart surgery on over 600 children. He has received numerous honors including “Person of the Week” by Peter Jennings
Peter Jennings
Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings, CM was a Canadian American journalist and news anchor. He was the sole anchor of ABC's World News Tonight from 1983 until his death in 2005 of complications from lung cancer...
of ABC World News Tonight, the Pace Humanitarian Award, and “The Order of Christopher Columbus” by Hipolito Mejia
Hipólito Mejía
Rafael Hipólito Mejía Domínguez is a Dominican politician and former President of the Dominican Republic...
, President of the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
.
Honors
- ABC World NewsWorld News with Charles GibsonABC World News is the flagship daily evening program of ABC News, the news division of the American Broadcasting Company television network in the United States. Currently, the weekday editions are anchored by Diane Sawyer and the weekend editions are anchored by David Muir. The program has been...
Person of the Week - With Peter JenningsPeter JenningsPeter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings, CM was a Canadian American journalist and news anchor. He was the sole anchor of ABC's World News Tonight from 1983 until his death in 2005 of complications from lung cancer...
Tonight February 18, 1995 - President Hipolito MejiaHipólito MejíaRafael Hipólito Mejía Domínguez is a Dominican politician and former President of the Dominican Republic...
La Orden Heraldica de Cristobal Colon Dominican RepublicDominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
(The Order of Christopher ColumbusOrder of Christopher ColumbusThe Order of Christopher Columbus is an order of the Dominican Republic. It was established on 21 July 1937. The Head of State confer the order, by advice of the council of the order, both to civilians and military personnel to recognize services....
) (Awarded for Heart Care International's humanitarian heart surgeryCardiac surgeryCardiovascular surgery is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. Frequently, it is done to treat complications of ischemic heart disease , correct congenital heart disease, or treat valvular heart disease from various causes including endocarditis, rheumatic heart...
missions) March 17, 2003 - Erasmus Foundation Honorary President, Brussels, June 7, 2000
- Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
Claire Lucille Pace Humanitarian Award College of Physicians and Surgeons May 13, 1996 - Best Doctors in America 1995–present
- Best Doctors in New York 1995–present
- Columbia University Blakemore Research Prize, College of Physicians and Surgeons 1985; 1986; 1987
Publications
In addition to numerous book chapters, his peer-reviewedPeer review
Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...
Journal articles include
- Jones RH, Velazquez EJ, Michler RE, Sopko G, Oh JK, O'Connor CM, Hill JA, Menicanti L, Sadowski Z, Desvigne-Nickens P, Rouleau JL, Lee KL; the STICH Hypothesis 2 Investigators.Coronary Bypass Surgery with or without Surgical Ventricular Reconstruction. N Engl J Med. 2009 Mar 29 (Epub ahead of print), N Engl J Med. 2009 360:17, 1705-17.
- Bearzi C, Rota M, Hosoda T, Tillmanns J, Nascimbene A, De Angelis A, Yasuzawa-Amano S, Trofimova I, Siggins RW, Lecapitaine N, Cascapera S, Beltrami AP, D'Alessandro DA, Zias E, Quaini F, Urbanek K, Michler RE, Bolli R, Kajstura J, Leri A, Anversa P. Human cardiac stem cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci 2007 Aug 28;104(35):14068-73. Epub 2007 Aug 20.
- Knowles, D.M., Cesarman, E., Chadburn, A., Frizzera, G., Chen, J., Rose, E.A., Michler, R.E. Correlative morphologic and molecular genetic analysisGenetic testingGenetic testing is among the newest and most sophisticated of techniques used to test for genetic disorders which involves direct examination of the DNA molecule itself. Other genetic tests include biochemical tests for such gene products as enzymes and other proteins and for microscopic...
demonstrates three distinct categories of posttransplantation lymphoproliferative disordersLymphoproliferative disordersLymphoproliferative disorders refer to several conditions in which lymphocytes are produced in excessive quantities. They typically occur in patients who have compromised immune systems...
(1995) Blood, 85 (2), pp. 552–565. Cited 383 times. - Yang, X., Chowdhury, N., Cai, B., Brett, J., Marboe, C., Sciacca, R.R., Michler, R.E., Cannon, P.J. Induction of myocardial nitric oxide synthaseNitric oxide synthaseNitric oxide synthases are a family of enzymes that catalyze the production of nitric oxide from L-arginine. NO is an important cellular signaling molecule, having a vital role in many biological processes...
by cardiac allograft rejection (1994) Journal of Clinical InvestigationJournal of Clinical InvestigationThe Journal of Clinical Investigation is a biomedical journal, with a 2010 impact factor of 14.152. The journal makes its research articles — including access to articles back to 1924 — freely available online....
, 94 (2), pp. 714–721. Cited 170 times. - Liu, Z., Colovai, A.I., Tugulea, S., Reed, E.F., Fisher, P.E., Mancini, D., Rose, E.A., Cortesini, R., Michler, R.E., Suciu-Foca, N. Indirect recognition of donor HLA-DR peptides in organ allograft rejection (1996) Journal of Clinical Investigation, 98 (5), pp. 1150–1157. Cited 162 times.
- Szabolcs, M., Michler, R.E., Yang, X., Aji, W., Roy, D., Athan, E., Sciacca, R.R., Minanov, O.P., Cannon, P.J. Apoptosis of cardiac myocytes during cardiac allograft rejection: Relation to induction of nitric oxide synthase (1996) Circulation, 94 (7), pp. 1665–1673. Cited 157 times.
- Pinsky, D.J., Naka, Y., Chowdhury, N.C., Liao, H., Oz, M.C., Michler, R.E., Kubaszewski, E., Malinski, T., Stern, D.M. The nitric oxide/cyclic GMP pathway in organ transplantation: Critical role in successful lung preservation (1994) Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesProceedings of the National Academy of SciencesThe Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, usually referred to as PNAS, is the official journal of the United States National Academy of Sciences...
of the United States of America, 91 (25), pp. 12086–12090. Cited 133 times. - Barr, M.L., Meiser, B.M., Eisen, H.J., Roberts, R.F., Livi, U., Dall'Amico, R., Dorent, R., Rogers, J.G., Radovančević, B., Taylor, D.O., Jeevanandam, V., Marboe, C.C., Franco, K.L., Ventura, H.O., Michler, R.E., Griffith, B.P., Boyce, S.W., Reichart, B., Gandjbakhch, I. Photopheresis for the prevention of rejection in cardiac transplantation (1998) New England Journal of MedicineNew England Journal of MedicineThe New England Journal of Medicine is an English-language peer-reviewed medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It describes itself as the oldest continuously published medical journal in the world.-History:...
, 339 (24), pp. 1744–1751. Cited 119 times.