Professor Dr. Heinz G. Jakob, PhD graduated from the Medical School of the Technical University, Munich, in 1980. He is a cardiothoracic surgeon with extensive clinical and scientific experience at University Hospitals in USA, Switzerland and Germany. He is the director emeritus of the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at University Hospital Essen, Germany, where he also founded the West German Heart and Vascular Centre, heading it from 1999 until 2019.
Professor Jakob has authored and co-authored over 400 scientific publications, with a focus on complex aortic surgery, valvular interventions, and advanced surgical revascularization techniques. He has spearheaded the team developing several novel implantable cardiac and vascular devices with more than 15 000 implantations worldwide. Throughout his career, he has received numerous national and international awards in recognition of his contributions to the field of advanced cardiac surgery.