A past president of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, Dr. Kormos has been on the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh since 1987 after completion of two fellowships here in research and transplant surgery. Prior to coming to Pittsburgh, he completed internships and residencies in neurosurgery, general surgery and cardiovascular and thoracic (chest) surgery at Toronto General Hospital. A native of Canada, Dr. Kormos received his medical degree from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario.

While at the University of Pittsburgh, his research and clinical interests have been focused on mechanical circulatory support, resulting in his authorship of more than 150 published articles and book chapters on the subject. He is an associate editor for The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation, a member of more than 17 professional societies and is internationally regarded for his clinical and research work in organ transplantation and in the use of cardiac assist devices as temporary or permanent support for patients with end-stage heart disease. He has been an invited lecture to more than 200 national and international meetings. He is the Co-Investigator of a new initiative using bone marrow derived stem cells in conjunction with LVADs as therapy for congestive heart failure. In addition to his other duties, Dr. Kormos is Associate Director of the residency program for the School of Medicine's division of cardiothoracic surgery. He is a Co-PI for the NHLBI sponsored register for Mechanical Circulatory Support (INTERMACS). He was interim medical director of the mechanical circulatory support registry of the United Network of Organ Sharing and International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. He is currently on the Board of Directors for the American Society for Thoracic Surgeons and is the Chair of the Society for Thoracic Surgeons Workforce on End-Stage Cardiopulmonary Disease.