Dr. Eduardo Marbán escaped from Cuba with his family when he was just a child. Fully utilizing his newfound freedom, he now works at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute to save the lives of others.

In order to lessen the impact of the top killer of both American men and women—heart disease—Dr. Marbán has developed a process by which to take a patient’s heart tissue and grow stem cells. As CBSNews.com reports, these cells are then inserted back into the damaged area of the patient’s heart in order to produce healthy heart muscle.

Throughout his life saving work, Dr. Marbán has avoided utilizing any research method which would lead to the destruction of a human embryo. Ultimately, he has reached the pinnacle of life saving medicine while upholding his medicinal ethics and staunch adherence to both his Catholic upbringing and unshakable belief in the value of each human life.