Howard D. Sirak, Cardiology

Howard Sirak (1922-2015) was a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon at Ohio State who performed the first open-heart surgery in Columbus in the early 1950s. In 1957, he led an Ohio State team that developed a heart pump.

Sirak attended medical school at Ohio State before being drafted into the U.S. Marines as a trauma surgeon during the Korean War. Additionally, Dr. Sirak was a member of the university’s Board of Trustees from 1971-1980 and served as its chairman for his last two years.