Mehmet Oz
News •
Mehmet Oz (born June 11, 1960, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.) is a Turkish American surgeon, educator, author, and television personality who cowrote the popular YOU series of health books and hosted The Dr. Oz Show (2009–22). In 2022 Oz ran as a Republican for a U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania, but he was defeated. Two years later President-elect Donald Trump selected Oz to serve as head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in his upcoming administration.
Early life and education
Oz, whose parents were Turkish immigrants, was raised in Wilmington, Delaware, where his father was a thoracic surgeon. After graduating from Harvard University (1982), he earned an M.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business in 1986. During this time, Oz, who was a dual citizen of the United States and Turkey, served in the Turkish army in order to maintain his citizenship in that country.
Medical career
Oz subsequently conducted his residency in general surgery (1986–90) and cardiothoracic surgery (1991–93) at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. In 1993 he became an attending surgeon at New York–Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. An advocate of alternative medicine, Oz began incorporating hypnosis, meditation, acupuncture, and other non-Western treatments into his practice. In 2001 he became director of the hospital’s complementary medicine program. That year he also became professor of surgery at Columbia University.
In 2005 Oz wrote (with Michael F. Roizen) YOU: The Owner’s Manual. The book—which was noted for its engaging text and humour—led to a television appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Oz subsequently became a regular guest on that program as well as many others, earning him the nickname “America’s Doctor.” His rapport with audiences was in part due to his easygoing manner and holistic approach to health. With Roizen he continued the best-selling YOU series with YOU: On a Diet (2006), YOU: The Smart Patient (2006), YOU: Staying Young (2007), YOU: Being Beautiful (2008), and YOU: Having a Baby (2009).
The popularity of the books and television appearances led to a daily radio talk show. The program, which debuted in 2008, featured Oz and Roizen providing health advice. The following year Oz also began hosting the daytime television series The Dr. Oz Show, an hour-long program that included information on various health topics and on preventive medicine. It was an immediate success with viewers, but Oz’s recommendations on the program drew scrutiny, and in 2014 he appeared before a U.S. Senate panel that was critical of his promotion of weight-loss products. Later that year, a study in the British Medical Journal found that 54 percent of his recommendations either contradicted or lacked scientific evidence. Oz responded by defending his right to free speech.
Oz authored numerous papers and was a regular contributor to various periodicals, including Esquire and O, the Oprah Magazine. In 2003 he founded and became chairman of HealthCorps, a nonprofit organization that focused on obesity and other health problems, especially those affecting American youths.
Politics: Senate campaign
In 2021 Oz announced that he was running as a Republican for a U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania. As he launched his candidacy, he criticized the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and vowed “to help fix the problems and to help us heal.” In order to focus on the election, Oz ended his daytime TV show in 2022. Later that year he received the highly sought-after endorsement of former president Donald Trump. After narrowly winning the Republican primary, Oz faced the Democratic candidate—John Fetterman, the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania—in the general election. The race was highly acrimonious. In one notable exchange, Fetterman mocked Oz’s use of the word crudité in a video, and Oz’s campaign stated that if Fetterman had eaten vegetables, he might not have suffered a stroke in May 2022. Oz ultimately lost the election in November.
Oz largely avoided politics over the next several years. However, after Donald Trump won a second presidential term in 2024, he selected Oz as his pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; the post requires Senate confirmation. The agency is involved with providing healthcare to almost 50 percent of the U.S. population.