Dilek Gürsoy, MD, was born in 1976 in Neuss, Germany, one of three children in a family of Turkish immigrant workers. One of her two brothers died in infancy. Her father died of sudden cardiac death when she was ten years old. From then on, her mother raised her and her brother alone. After graduating from high school, she studied human medicine at Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf. She received her doctorate in 2008 with the thesis The role of the coagulation and complement systems in the development of a “systemic inflammatory response syndrome” (SIRS) after interventions using extracorporeal circulation (ECC).

After graduation, she was an assistant, specialist and senior physician at various places of work in the team of cardiac surgeon Reiner Körfer, where she is involved in an ongoing research on an artificial heart without external cable and drive system. Between the fall of 2016 and the summer of 2019, Gürsoy rotated between various hospitals, including serving as a division chief.

In 2019, Dilek Gürsoy was involved in a campaign of the Ministry of Family and Integration NRW #IchDuWirNRW as a role model and positive example for the successful immigration society. In addition, she is involved in various associations, including as a mentor in the Women into Leadership initiative and as a campaign ambassador in the Deutschlandstiftung Integration.

In September 2020, Gürsoy’s book “Ich stehe hier, weil ich gut bin” (I’m standing here because I’m good) was published, in which she outlines her life’s journey and reports on everyday life in the clinic and operating room.

 

Interviewed by herCAREER
„Ich bin hier, weil ich gut bin.“
Im Interview mit Herzchirurgin Dr. med. Dilek Gürsoy, die als erste Frau in Europa ein Kunstherz verpflanzte

In the Podcast herCAREER Voice
Operation unter Männern – Eine Herzchirurgin kämpft sich durch
Selbstbewusst durch Können: Wie Frauen in der Arbeitswelt vorankommen