DİLEK GÜRSOY

Dr. Dilek Gürsoy was born in 1976 in the city of Neuss, located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. A German citizen of Turkish descent, Gürsoy is a pioneering heart surgeon who holds the title of being the first female surgeon in Europe to perform an artificial heart transplant.

She completed her primary and secondary education at Martin-Luther-Grundschule and Quirinus-Gymnasium in Neuss. Dr. Gürsoy pursued her higher education at the University of Düsseldorf’s Faculty of Medicine. After graduation, she worked at the same university as an assistant physician, specialist doctor, and assistant medical director.

Since 2010, Dr. Gürsoy has been working in the field of artificial heart surgery, aiming to provide alternative solutions to organ transplantation due to low organ donation rates. Within this scope, she has focused particularly on artificial heart systems designed to suit female anatomy. In 2017, Dr. Gürsoy worked in Bremen, and as of March 2019, she began working as a consultant surgeon and director of the LVAD (Left Ventricular Assist Device) program at the Helios Clinic’s Department of Cardiac Surgery in Siegburg. She currently serves as the chief physician at Clinic Bel Etage in Düsseldorf.

Prof. Dr. Dilek Gürsoy is the first and only female physician in Europe specialized in artificial heart surgery. She has participated in many significant heart surgeries not only in Germany but also in countries like Turkey and India.

Due to her outstanding work, she received Germany’s prestigious Victress Award and the German Medical Award in 2019 and was named “Doctor of the Year” the same year. In 2022, she was included in the BBC’s list of the “World’s Most Inspiring Women.” In 2021, she published her autobiography titled "I Am Here Because I Am Well."