VINCENT L. GOTT is a skilled researcher and gifted surgeon and led the Division of Cardiac Surgery for many years. In 1969, with Hopkins surgeon Harvey Bender, Dr. Gott performed the first heart transplant at the hospital. During his more than 35 years with the university, he has helped to train more than 50 cardiac surgeons and influenced the lives of countless other physicians and patients.
Dr. Gott was a primary researcher in the development of the pacemaker, as well as the co-inventor of the Gott-Daggett Valve and the Gott Shunt. In conjunction with his clinical interest in Marfan Syndrome, he has conducted a record-setting 150 aortic and root replacements. Dr. Gott co-directed the Broccoli Center for Aortic Diseases. He retired from active cardiac surgery in 1994; in 2008 he was appointed professor emeritus of surgery.