Ronald J. Stoney, MD is emeritus professor of surgery at UCSF. In 1982, he co-founded the Pacific Vascular Research Foundation, now the Foundation to Advance Vascular Cures, to improve patient care and prevent death and disability from vascular disease. That same year, he and an engineer colleague began the development of a self-retaining surgical retractor, the Omni-Tract that is now being used in surgical operations around the world. He served as President of the International Society for Cardiovascular Surgery, North American Chapter, and the Western Vascular Society. Dr. Stoney has received numerous awards, including the Society for Vascular Surgery’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007, and Honorary Doctor of Science degrees from the University of Ferrara, Italy in 1996 and from Santa Clara University, CA in 2008. He has lectured around the world, has published more than 100 book chapters and over 150 peer-reviewed articles, and authored and co-authored nine books on vascular surgery: two manuals, six atlases, and another on vascular exposures.