Taking translational research to heart: an interview with Sir Magdi Yacoub

Abstract

Sir Magdi Yacoub is a founding editor of DMM, whose work as a cardiac surgeon and researcher has devised new operations for congenital and acquired heart disease, and has advanced heart and heart-lung transplantation techniques. He and his collaborators have studied the sophisticated functions of living heart valves and are using stem cells to produce a tissue-engineered valve that can reproduce their functions. Here, he discusses with fellow DMM founding editor Nadia Rosenthal, how his career evolved and why he hopes research will put heart surgeons like himself out of business.