About Dr. Laucis Dr. Zachary W. Laucis’s medical aspirations span generations. “I decided to become a physician in the 7th grade,” he says. “My grandfather was a physician in Lithuania during WWII and was captured by Nazis at one point. Hearing stories about his life, as well as stories his patients would tell, inspired me to pursue medicine.” Dr. Laucis earned his medical degree at the Midwestern University Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed his General Surgery Residency at Beaumont Healthcare System. Additionally, he completed Surgical Critical Care and Abdominal Transplant Surgery Fellowships at Loyola University. As a trauma surgeon and critical care provider, Dr. Laucis cares for patients after all types of accidents, as well as people requiring intensive care before and after surgery. His practice philosophy is simple: Treat all patients like family. “You would do anything possible for family, so that is what I do for my patients.” And because of his education, practice philosophy and experiences, he’s learned a lot from his patients. The greatest lesson? “I will never fully understand the circumstances that lead a person to become my patient, so I cannot make any judgment about them.” This understanding helps Dr. Laucis provide the most compassionate, empathetic care possible when patients need it most. In His Own Words Who is or was the most influential person/role model in your life? Dr. Gordan Knight. He was a cardiothoracic surgeon that mentored me in high school and convinced me to apply to osteopathic schools. What was your first job growing up? What do you remember about it? IT support at Sigma-Aldrich. We had a person complain that their mouse broke, but they were using it backwards. What is something most people don’t know about you?  I am obsessed with Legos and still receive a kit from my mom for my birthday. If you could sit down to dinner with anyone, alive or deceased, who would it be and why? Nikola Tesla, so I could understand how great inventors can think so far outside the box. In addition to medicine, what are you passionate about?  I love to cook and BBQ and learn about wine. I hope to start cycling again now that I’m out of training. I also enjoy listening to almost all types of music.