article: TV celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz has defended himself after ten top doctors sent a letter to Columbia University urging the school to remove him from his faculty position because he is a 'charlatan' who promotes 'quack treatments'. Dr Oz, 54, is the vice chairman and professor of surgery at Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons. The Harvard-educated doctor joined the faculty at Columbia in 1993. The doctors sent the letter to Lee Goldman, the dean of Columbia's Faculties of Health Sciences and Medicine. Scroll down for video . Ten top doctors sent a letter to Columbia University urging the school to remove TV celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz from his faculty position because he is a 'charlatan' who promotes 'quack treatments' ‘I bring the public information that will help them on their path to be their best selves,’ Oz said in a statement released through a representative of The Dr. Oz Show, according to USA Today. Columbia's Medical and Health Sciences Center . He continued: ‘We provide multiple points of view, including mine, which is offered without conflict of interest. That doesn't sit well with certain agendas which distort the facts.’ Dr Henry Miller of California's Stanford University led the effort and he was the first person to sign the letter, the New York Daily News reported. Miller said: 'He's a quack and a fake and a charlatan. 'I think I know the motivation at Columbia. 'They're star-struck, and like having on their faculty the best-known doctor in the country. 'But the fact is that his advice endangers patients, and this doesn't seem to faze them.' He told CBS News that ‘a person who endangers patients and is a menace to public health should not be on the faculty of a prestigious medical institution’. The nine other doctors from across the country included Dr Joel Tepper, a cancer researcher from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, and Dr Gilbert Ross of the American Council on Science and Health in New York City. The physicians accused Dr Oz of pushing 'miracle' weight-loss supplements with no scientific proof that they work. The doctors wrote that Oz, for years a world-class Columbia cardiothoracic surgeon, has 'misled and endangered' the public. From left to right, Dr Phil McGraw, financial advisor Suze Orman, host Oprah Winfrey, Dr Mehmet Oz and interior designer Nate Berkus participate in The Oprah Winfrey Show live from Radio City Music Hall in 2010 . The letter read: 'He has manifested an egregious lack of integrity by promoting quack treatments and cures in the interest of personal financial gain. 'Thus, Dr Oz is guilty of either outrageous conflicts of interest or flawed judgments about what constitutes appropriate medical treatments, or both. The New York Ivy League school responded Thursday, issuing a statement to The Associated Press saying only that the school 'is committed to the principle of academic freedom and to upholding faculty members' freedom of expression for statements they make in public discussion.' Dr Oz first came to public attention as a frequent television guest of Oprah Winfrey. For the past five years, he's been the host of The Dr Oz Show. Last year, he appeared before a US Senate panel that accused him of endorsing products that were medically unsound. At the time, the doctor acknowledged some of the products he advised his viewers to use 'don't have the scientific muster to present as fact.' A show representative did not immediately return a call Thursday from the AP seeking comment. As vice chairman of Columbia's surgery department, Dr Oz still occasionally teaches, said Douglas Levy, spokesman for the Columbia University Medical Center. The controversy did not die down after his testimony. The company behind the"miracle" diet supplement in question later agreed to pay a $3.5 million settlement over false advertising. A study that purported to prove the product's weight-loss benefits turned out to be based on fraudulent data and was retracted.
highlights: Dr Mehmet Oz is vice chairman at Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons and is a professor of surgery .
  He said in a statement that his show provides 'multiple points of view', including his, 'which is offered without conflict of interest'
  Comes after ten top doctors sent letter to school urging for Oz's dismissal .
  Said there's no scientific proof his 'miracle' weight-loss supplements work .
  Columbia said it 'is committed to the principle of academic freedom'
  University has not removed TV celebrity doctor from his faculty position .
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