Mehmet Oz

"Dr. Oz" redirects here. For his television show, see The Dr. Oz Show. For other people with the surname, see Oz (surname).

Mehmet Oz
Oz in 2016
Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Presumptive nominee
Assuming office
TBD
PresidentDonald Trump (elect)
DeputyTBD
SucceedingChiquita Brooks-LaSure
Personal details
Born
Mehmet Cengiz Öz

(1960-06-11) June 11, 1960 (age 64)
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Citizenship
  • United States
  • Turkey
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
​
(m. 1985)​
Children4, including Daphne
EducationHarvard University (BA)
University of Pennsylvania (MD, MBA)
Years active1986–present
Organization(s)HealthCorps, Sharecare
TelevisionThe Dr. Oz Show
Occupation
  • Television personality
  • author
AwardsFull list
Websitedoctoroz.com
Military career
AllegianceTurkey
Service / branchTurkish Land Forces[1]
Years of serviceEarly 1980s for 60 days

Mehmet Cengiz Öz[a] (/məˈmɛt ˈdʒɛŋɡɪz ɒz/ meh-MET JENG-gihz oz; Turkish: [mehˈmet dʒeɲˈɟiz øz]; born June 11, 1960),[2] also known as Dr. Oz (/ɒz/), is a Turkish-American television personality, physician, author, professor emeritus of cardiothoracic surgery at Columbia University,[3] and former political candidate.[4]

The son of Turkish immigrants, Oz was raised in Wilmington, Delaware, and graduated from Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania. A dual citizen of the U.S. and Turkey, Oz completed 60 days of mandatory military training in the Turkish Army during the 1980s.[5][6] This requirement applied specifically to Turkish citizens living abroad who sought to retain their citizenship. He subsequently began his residency in surgery at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in 1986. In 2001, Oz became a professor of surgery at Columbia University, and later retired to professor emeritus in 2018.[4] In May 2022, Columbia University cut ties with Oz and removed his presence from their website.[7][8][9]

In 2003, Oprah Winfrey was the first guest on the Discovery Channel series Second Opinion with Dr. Oz,[10] and he was a regular guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show, making more than sixty appearances.[11][12] In 2009, The Dr. Oz Show, a daily television program about medical matters and health, was launched by Winfrey's Harpo Productions and Sony Pictures Television, running for 13 seasons.[13][14] Oz's promotion of pseudoscience, including on the topics of alternative medicine, faith healing, and various paranormal beliefs, has earned him criticism from a number of medical publications and physicians.[13][15][16][17]

Oz ran in the 2022 U.S. Senate election in Pennsylvania as a conservative Republican, the first Muslim candidate to be nominated by either major party.[18][19][20] Oz lost the election to the Democratic nominee John Fetterman.[21] In November 2024, he was announced as the intended nominee by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.[22]

  1. ^ Akman, Terri (December 2011). "Dr. Oz: On A Mission". SJ Magazine. Archived from the original on December 3, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  2. ^ Gates, Henry Louis Jr. (2010). Faces of America : how 12 extraordinary people discovered their pasts. New York: NYU Press. p. 109. ISBN 978-0814732649. OCLC 587143242. Archived from the original on July 30, 2022. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  3. ^ Brown, Chip (July 30, 1995). "The Experiments of Dr. Oz". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  4. ^ a b "Columbia University Quietly Changes Dr. Oz's Position Amid Senate Run". HuffPost. January 12, 2022. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  5. ^ Bruggeman, Lucien; Kim, Soo Rin (May 4, 2022). "Dr. Oz's vote in 2018 Turkish election renews criticism". ABC News. Retrieved November 5, 2022. He also served in the Turkish army for 60 days in the early 1980s
  6. ^ Leung, Yasmine (May 2022). "Was Dr Mehmet Oz in the Turkish army? Dual citizenship explored". The Focus. Retrieved November 5, 2022. Oz retained dual nationality by serving in the Turkish army for 60 days in the early 1980s.
  7. ^ Luscombe, Richard (May 1, 2022). "Dr Oz dropped by Columbia amid pro-Trump Republican Senate run – report". The Guardian. Archived from the original on July 9, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  8. ^ Crist, Carolyn. "Columbia University Medical Center Cuts Ties with Dr. Oz". WebMD. Archived from the original on June 7, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  9. ^ Balevic, Katie (April 30, 2022). "Columbia University has almost entirely scrubbed Dr. Oz from its website after years of criticism from members of medical community". Business Insider. Archived from the original on July 9, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  10. ^ "Oprah Winfrey Says She Wrestled with Thoughts on Ozempic, Wegovy: 'If I Take the Drug, That's the Easy Way Out'". Peoplemag. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  11. ^ "Dr. Oz Talks to Oprah About Food, Family and What It Really Means to Be Healthy". Oprah.com. Archived from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
  12. ^ Nudd, Tim (December 7, 2011). "Oprah Winfrey Puts Dr. Oz on O Magazine Cover". People. Archived from the original on December 3, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  13. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference mehmetpost was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ "Harpo Productions and Sony Pictures Television To Launch Dr. Oz". Oprah.com (Press release). June 13, 2008. Archived from the original on September 16, 2008. Retrieved October 27, 2008.
  15. ^ Panetta, Grace. "Dr. Oz is running for US Senate in Pennsylvania. Here are 8 times he's made false or baseless medical claims". Business Insider. Archived from the original on December 1, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  16. ^ Gantz, Sarah (December 2, 2021). "Mehmet Oz has peddled 'fat burners' and other pseudoscience. Now he's running for Senate in Pa". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on December 2, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  17. ^ Gabriel, Trip (December 26, 2021). "'Magic' Weight-Loss Pills and Covid Cures: Dr. Oz Under the Microscope". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 26, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  18. ^ Hammond, Joseph (December 2, 2021). "Celebrity surgeon Dr. Oz seeks to be first Muslim elected to the US Senate". Religion News. Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  19. ^ Gabriel, Trip (June 3, 2022). "David McCormick Concedes to Dr. Oz in the G.O.P. Primary for Senate in Pennsylvania". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  20. ^ "Pennsylvania U.S. Senate Election Results". The New York Times. November 8, 2022. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  21. ^ "John Fetterman wins Pa. Senate race, defeating celebrity TV doctor Mehmet Oz and flipping key state for Democrats". NBC News. November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  22. ^ Various (November 19, 2024). "Trump picks Mehmet Oz to serve as Medicare and Medicaid services administrator". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 21, 2024. Retrieved November 21, 2024.


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