Prof.Dr. Vahit ÖZMEN

Founder and Honorary President

Prof. Dr. Vahit Özmen graduated first in his class from Istanbul Faculty of Medicine and is a nationally and internationally respected surgeon and academician in the fields of general surgery and breast cancer. He has made significant contributions to raising awareness of breast health and breast cancer in Turkey, developing comprehensive screening projects and educational programs. In addition to his academic work at Tulane University, he has served as editor and reviewer for numerous international scientific journals, including the European Journal of Breast Health. As the founding and honorary president of the Breast Health Association (MEMEDER), he leads the association's vision.

He was born in Muş and completed his primary and secondary education in Van. He graduated first in his class from Istanbul Faculty of Medicine in 1978. In the same year, he began his residency as a surgical assistant at the Department of Surgery at Istanbul Faculty of Medicine and became a specialist in 1982. He completed his military service between 1983 and 1984 at Istanbul Gümüşsuyu Hospital and fulfilled his compulsory service between 1984 and 1986 at Istanbul Haseki Hospital.

In 1986, he returned to the Department of General Surgery at Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, where he worked for two years as part of the kidney transplantation team. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1987. In 1989, he became a founding member of the Istanbul Faculty of Medicine Breast Unit and the Breast Diseases Research and Treatment Association. Between 1989 and 1991, he worked as a visiting faculty member at the Department of Surgery of Tulane University School of Medicine in the United States. He organized more than 50 postgraduate courses on laparoscopic surgical procedures and breast cancer. He was promoted to Professor in 1995.

He worked intermittently at MD Anderson Cancer Center and Houston Methodist Hospital in 1993, 1995, and 1997, and at Mayo Clinic in Rochester in 2000, 2001, and 2002. In 2002, he was invited to Tokai University School of Medicine in Tokyo, Japan. In 2004, he was awarded an honorary diploma by the Bulgarian Surgical Society. He received the Best Scientific Study Award at the World Society for Breast Health Congress in 2001; Best Scientific Study Awards at the 7th, 8th, and 9th National Breast Congresses held in 2003, 2005, and 2007; and the Best Scientific Study Award at the 2005 International Congress of Laparoscopic Endoscopic Surgery in San Diego, California.

The Breast Cancer Awareness Project was selected as the most successful project by The Breast Health Global Initiative in 2008 and was awarded a USD 25,000 prize. In the same year, he implemented the Bahçeşehir Breast Cancer Early Detection and Screening Project. He is a member of the American College of Surgeons, the Senologic International Society (SIS), and the American Society of Colorectal Surgery (M.A.S.C.R.S.). He is a founding member and board member of the World Society of Breast Health (WSBH) and was elected Secretary General of the society on October 21, 2007, in Tianjin, China.

He served as President of the Federation of Turkish Breast Disease Associations between 2009 and 2011 and as President of the Istanbul Breast Association between 2009 and 2012. He is a founding member of the Breast Health Association and is responsible for its projects. He has served as assistant editor of the Journal of Breast Diseases and the Istanbul Faculty of Medicine Journal. He is an editor of the Journal of Breast Health, Surgical Science, and Türkiye Klinikleri journals. He is also a member of the editorial boards of the International Journal of Surgical Oncology, the Journal of the Senologic International Society, and numerous other journals.

He serves as a reviewer for many national and international journals, including The Journal of the American College of Surgeons, The World Journal of Surgery, Archives of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Breast, Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, and the British Journal of Cancer. Between 2000 and 2004, he served as Chairman of the Health Committee of the Turkish Football Federation. He is a member of the National Cancer Advisory Board and Chairman of the Breast Cancer Early Detection and Screening Committee of the Ministry of Health’s Cancer Control Department.

He served for four years as President of the Parent–Teacher Association of IELEV Primary School and was a member of the Board of Directors of Istanbul Faculty of Medicine between 2000 and 2006. He currently serves as a faculty member in the Department of General Surgery at Istanbul Faculty of Medicine and as the Director of the Breast Health Center at Şişli Florence Nightingale Hospital. His primary research interests include the surgical treatment of breast cancer and gastroesophageal reflux disease. To date, he has published more than 200 articles in Turkish and foreign languages, as well as numerous book chapters.