Army Col. (Ret.) Frederick C. Lough is the Director of the DoD Medical Ethics Center (DMEC) and the Director of the GEN Ronald Griffith Institute for Ethics, Leadership and Professionalism (Griffith Institute) at Uniformed Services University (USU). He was the Chief of Cardiac Surgery at Reading Hospital and Medical Center in Reading, PA, for 16 years, after which he spent 9 years as the Director of Cardiac Surgery at The George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C.

He joined the US Army Medical Corps Reserves in 2007 and served as a combat surgeon in Afghanistan in 2010 and 2012. After returning to active duty as a US Army Medical Corps Officer in 2013, he served as a general surgeon in Korea before training as a Cardiovascular Surgeon at Walter Reed. There, he became Assistant Chief of Cardiac Surgery, followed by Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery at Letterman Army Medical Center. He retired from active duty in 2021.

Col Lough earned his undergraduate degree from the United States Military Academy. Upon graduating, he was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers and completed Airborne and Ranger qualifications. He then received his Medical Degree from The George Washington University School of Medicine.

Col Lough has participated in over 15,000 open heart surgeries throughout his career and was recognized by West Point as a Distinguished Graduate Award Recipient in 2022.