Cardiac surgeon and transplantologist Prof. Michał Zembala was appointed on Tuesday as vice-rector of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin for clinical affairs and medical research development. The professor is establishing the Department of Cardiac Surgery, Heart Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support in Lublin.
The new vice-rector will begin his term in September, and has been associated with the Medical Faculty of the Catholic University of Lublin since last year. Until now, he was the proxy of the Rector of the Catholic University of Lublin for clinical affairs, research development, and medical sciences.
“The function of vice-rector of the Catholic University of Lublin – a university with over 105 years of tradition, a group of great professors over the decades and outstanding graduates is both an honor and a challenge for me. We want to build a community of physicians who, in addition to having a comprehensive medical education in line with the modern canon of knowledge, will put the well-being of the patient first.
In addition to teaching, we want to focus our efforts on building a new cardiovascular center, where patients will find professional help even in the most difficult cases, students will find inspiration to learn and find themselves, and scientists will find a place for clinical and preclinical development. I deeply believe that cooperation with the academic community, so strongly represented in Lublin, will contribute to strengthening the role of the province on the map of health needs in the country,” said Prof. Zembala.
He added that in his methodology and understanding of medicine, a holistic approach to the patient is essential, and this is reflected in the concept of the Medical Faculty of the Catholic University of Lublin, presented by the Rector, Rev. Prof. Kalinowski.
“They once said that Poland is at a second speed here. That’s good, because when you drive slower, you see more. You see not only the huge potential of the region, but above all – the gaps in the help provided. There is a serious lack of a transplant center. And yet you only need to look at the wonderful professor Kutarski – an outstanding cardiac surgeon from the Zamość clinic, who has been living with a transplanted heart for many years and has been helping residents of not only the region, but also the country.
International cooperation will be key for our faculty. We have established and are expanding cooperation with foreign clinics and universities, including the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome. Joint workshops, procedures and research grants will enrich the achievements of both universities and will constitute a basis for scientific development,” noted Prof. Zembala.
The Rector of the Catholic University of Lublin, Rev. Prof. Mirosław Kalinowski, emphasized that the university places the development of the Faculty of Medicine among its priorities. “This is a strategic goal for the coming years, similar to the hospital clinical departments and medical research. That is why I decided to appoint a vice-rector who will deal with this scope. Prof. Zembala is a very good and experienced cardiac surgeon, as well as a scientist. He participates in many foreign symposia and conferences, and systematically performs surgical procedures. I hope that his actions and decisions will contribute to building a strong scientific and medical center at the Catholic University of Lublin and in Lublin, which will serve patients,” said Rev. Prof. Kalinowski.
Prof. Michał Zembala was, among others, the head of the Department of Cardiac Surgery, Heart and Lung Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support at the Silesian Center for Heart Diseases in Zabrze. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Medicine with the Department of Dentistry of the Silesian Medical University in Katowice. He completed scientific and research internships at Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University in New York and the Regenerative Medicine Laboratory of Harvard University. He also completed the Surgical Leadership Program at Harvard Medical School in Boston. He is the son of the cardiac surgeon Prof. Marian Zembala, who, together with Prof. Zbigniew Religa, performed the first heart transplant in Poland in Zabrze in 1985.