Dr. Rainer Gruessner is a Professor of Surgery and Immunology and the former Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of Arizona, a position that he held from July of 2007 until recently. He received his graduate education from the School of Medicine at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, in 1983 and was awarded “summa cum laude” for his medical thesis. Dr. Rainer Gruessner then received his professorial thesis (“Habilitation”), the German PhD equivalent, from Philipps University in 1991 in Marburg, Germany. His prestigious education paved the way for his success in the United States of America.