 Stelzer is currently the Co-Director of the Heart Valve Center and a senior surgeon in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital, and a Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, both in New York City.Stelzer graduated valedictorian from the Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas, in 1968, and from Columbia Medical School in 1972.After serving two years as the Surgeon General at the base hospital at Offut Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska, Stelzer completed residencies at Roosevelt Hospital and New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, both in New York City.