Faculty
COGI is delighted to welcome our esteemed faculty – experts in the field of IVF/ART/Infertility, Gynecology and Fetomaternal Medicine
Carlo Alviggi, Italy
Claus Yding Andersen is Scientific Director of Laboratory of Reproductive Biology, University Hospital of Copenhagen, Denmark and Professor of Human Reproductive Physiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen.
Professor Andersen was member of the team that introduced IVF to Denmark in the mid-1980s and has during the last 20 years headed a national program of cryopreservation of human ovarian and testicular tissue. He is considered one of the pioneers in this field.
Professor Andersen’s major research contributions are ovarian endocrinology, oocyte maturation, cryopreservation of gonadal tissue, human embryonic stem cells and development of new principles for ovarian stimulation including introduction of the agonist trigger and novel approaches to luteal phase support.
He has published more than 440 scientific papers. His current H-index is 80 (Google Scholar) with more than 22.000 citations and he has made numerous international presentations and is currently chief editor on the Reproduction section of Frontiers in Endocrinology (IF 5.5).Eran Ashwal, Canada
Cem S. Atabekoğlu
He was born in Ankara on February 03, 1971. He completed his undergraduate education in Ankara University Faculty of Medicine in 1994. Between 1994-1999, he completed his specialty training in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the same university and worked as a specialist at the same institution from 2000 to 2006. Also during this period, he served as a lecturer at Ankara University Cebeci Health College. At post doctorate period, he also visited Yale University in America with the support of the Turkish German Gynecology Association in 2005. He carried out studies with Dr. Aydın Arıcı for 6 months especially focusing on the pathophysiology of endometriosis and reproductive medicine.
He received the title of Associate Professor in 2006. Cem Atabekoğlu was awarded the title of Professor in 2011. He served as a head of Ankara University Obstetrics and Gynecology Department between April 2012-April 2018. His special interest is reproductive medicine and endoscopic surgery. Cem Atabekoğlu has over 150 articles, 100 of which are international, most of them are related to these issues, he is an author of sections in both international and national books. He has been a board member of the TSRM (Turkish Reproductive Health Association) since 2016.Emmanuel Attali
Current position is at Lis Maternity Hospital, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center
Special interest in obstetric intensive care and fetomaternal medicine.Prof. Dr. Berrin Avci graduated from Uludag University, Faculty of Medicine in 1990. She has received her PhD degree in Histology and Embryology from the University of Uludag, Faculty of Medicine in 2003. Over the last two decades, Dr. Avci continued her academic career as a Medical Specialist at Uludag University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Histology and Embryology. She pioneered the establishment of the laboratories of Bursa Uludag University Reproductive Health and Infertility Center in 2010 and she has been working as the director of the laboratory since then. She has an education career in laboratory medicine, having served as the coordinator of the multidisciplinary Reproductive Biology and Clinical Embryology Master’s Program, which includes Histology and Embryology, Gynecology and Obstetrics, Urology and Medical Genetics departments since 2014. In addition, she has been managing the Ministry of Health’s Assisted Reproductive Techniques Laboratory Practices Certificate Program in Uludag University since 2016. Her primary interests include “Reproductive Biology”, “Infertility”, “Assisted Reproductive Techniques” and “Fertility Preservation”. She is board member of Turkish Society of Reproductive Medicine (TSRM) since 2016.
Dr. Amir Aviram graduated medical school at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel. He finished is post-graduate training in Obstetrics and Gynecology in Israel, followed by a Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship at the University of Toronto. He currently holds an academic position of an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, and practices as a staff physician at the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at DAN Women & Babies Program, at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Dr. Aviram has authored and co-authored more than 120 manuscripts in the per-reviewed journals, as well as numerous reviews and book chapters.Diogo Ayres-de-Campos,
Portugal
DIOGO AYRES-DE-CAMPOS, MD, PhD is a Full Professor and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Medical School, University of Lisbon, Portugal. He is also Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology the Santa Maria University Hospital, Lisbon.
His main scientific areas of interest are intrapartum fetal monitoring and obstetric simulation. He is a co-inventor of the “Omniview-SisPorto®” program for computer analysis of fetal monitoring signals (Speculum, Lisbon, Portugal, 2006), the clinical record database Obscare (Virtualcare, Porto, Portugal, 2002), and was the medical consultant for the development of the “Lucina®” obstetric simulator (CAE Healthcare, Montreal, Canada, 2014).
With an h-index of 35, he has published 149 papers in international Medline-indexed journals, edited 2 international books, and has given 252 invited lectures at international scientific meetings. He was Editor-in-chief of the “Acta Obstetrica e Ginecologica Portuguesa” 2006-2010, and Associate Editor of “ISRN Obstetrics and Gynecology” 2012-2014.
He is the President of the “European Association of Perinatal Medicine – EAPM”, Executive Committe Member of the “European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynecology – EBCOG”, and co-ordinator of the EBCOG Part 2 Exam. Between 2010 and 2018 he integrated the “Safe Motherhood and Newborn Health committee” at the “International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology – FIGO”, where he co-ordinated the 2015 revision of the “FIGO guidelines on intrapartum fetal monitoring”. He participated in the World Health Organisation consensus panels for “Recommendations on antenatal care” and “Intrapartum care and reduction of unnecessary caesarean section”.
He is the President of the “Federation of Portuguese Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology – FSPOG”, a Board member of the Subespeciality in Maternal-Fetal Medicine of the Portuguese General Medical Council, and presided over the “National Commission for Reduction of Cesarean Section rates”, nominated by the Portuguese Ministery of Health.Mireille Bekker, Netherlands
Prof. Dr. Ruud L. M. Bekkers MD, PhD.
Prof. dr. Ruud Bekkers was trained in the Netherlands as a gynecologist and did his fellowship in gynecologic oncology in Australia, UK and the Netherlands. He wrote a PhD on the role of HPV in the management of patients with CIN, has published > 100 papers on this subject, and wrote several book chapters on cervical abnormalities. Presently he is working as a gynecologic oncologist at the Catharina Hospital Eindhoven and is appointed as professor at the Maastricht University, the Netherlands on prevention of gynecological cancers. He is chair of the Dutch colposcopy society, and board member of both the EFC as well as the IFCPC.
The interest in cervical (pre)malignancies started while working as a tropical doctor in rural South Africa. Many women presented there with cervical cancer next to being HIV positive, due to a lack of screening for both HIV and cervical abnormalities. Back in the Netherlands, he trained to become a gynecologist, wrote his PhD and did a fellow ship in gynecologic oncology.
From 2005 till 2016, he worked as a gynecologic oncologist in the Radboud University Medical Center, the Netherlands. The areas of special interest were minimal invasive (robotic) surgery, and prevention and treatment of cervical cancer. Besides this he became director of O&G training from 2011-2016.
In 2016 he moved to the Catharina Hospital Eindhoven to become head of the gynecologic oncology unit, while he kept a research appointment at the RadboudUMC. In 2019 he was appointed as a professor at the Maastricht University, where to he moved all his research activities.
The present interest besides HPV vaccination and HPV screening is in the microenvironment of CIN lesions and its role in the natural course of the disease.Pierluigi Benedetti Panici, Italy
Prof. Pierluigi Benedetti Panici is the Director of University Department of Gynecological and Obstetrics Sciences and Urological Sciences Umberto I Hospital, University “Sapienza” of Rome since October 2016 onward.
After the medical degree ‘cum laude’ at University “Sapienza” of Rome in 1975, he was medical assistant at the Department of Gynecologic Oncology of National Cancer Institute (Milan) and at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Catholic University (Rome). He was also Honorary Assistant at Breast Unit Cancer Research Found Guy’s Hospital of London in 1983 and Assistant Professor and Head of the Gynecology Oncology Section from 1986 to 1991 at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Catholic University (Rome).
He has a great experience in Gynecologic-Oncologic Surgery and paid particular attention to this research field along time.
He is primary operator of more than 9000 major gynaecological oncology surgical procedures for gynaecological cancer (cervix, endometrium, ovary, vulva, vagina) and of more than 12.000 major gynaecological surgery procedures for benign disease, including major operative laparoscopies, pelvic floor reconstructive surgery, operative hysteroscopies.
Finally, he is author of more than 500 international publications with a H-index Scopus score of 60.
He is member of numerous scientific societies.
Grants
• Poster Award – S.G.O.’s, 26° Annual Meeting, The Society of Gynecologic Oncologists, San Francisco, 1995.
• Visiting Professor al Memorial Sloan Kettering Center di New York Barbara Moore Jordan Foundation Conference, 1997.
• Visiting Professor al Comprehensive Cancer Center Um Sylvester, University of Miami, School of Medicine, 1999.
• Poster Award – Best Endometriosis Paper – 31th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Gynecological Laparoscopists, 2002.
• “Kurt Semm Award for Excellence in Laparoscopy”, Best Oral Presentation at the 32nd Annual Meeting of the American Association of Gynecological Laparoscopists, Las Vegas, 2003.
• “Wertheim Award” for outstanding in Gynecologic Oncology, Austrian Society of Gynecologic Oncology. ASGO, Vienna, 2005.
• Resectoscopic versus bipolar electrode excision of endometrial polyps: A randomized Study. 3rd prize Golden hysteroscope award. American Association of Gynecological, Laparoscopists, AAGL, Chicago, 2005.
• Histological analysis of endometrioma: what the surgeon needs to know.1st prize Carlo Romanini Award. American Association of Gynecological Laparoscopists, AAGL, Chicago, 2005.
• 2nd Place “Kott Award for Best New Minimally Invasive Technique”, 37th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Gynecological Laparoscopists, Washington, 2007.
Kitty Bloemenkamp, Netherlands
Professor Kitty W.M. Bloemenkampis a Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist, Wilhelmina’s Children Hospital, University Medical Centre Utrecht, the Netherlands.Her Residency training programme in Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproductive Medicine was followed in Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden (1997-2002). Her PhD Thesis: “Oral contraceptives, venous thrombosis and the role of coagulation defects” was at the department of Clinical Epidemiology. Thereafter she became a Fellow Maternal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Fetal Medicine at University College Hospitals, London, United Kingdom (2003). She was appointed as a maternal fetal medicine specialist at the department of Obstetrics of Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC) (2004-2015).
Her main research interest is “Maternal Health” globally, the health of a woman throughout her (reproductive) lifecycle is investigated. From preconception, complicated (early) pregnancy, towards delivery, postpartum and consequences of these complications later in life. Especially maternal mortality and morbidity. With special interest in PPH, Covid 19 in pregnancy, maternal vaccination and induction of labour. She has been involved in designing, conducting, analysing and writing articles in several national and international research projects in the field of Obstetrics. Resulting in more than 200 publications in important medical journals. She is at present and has been Principal Investigator of several RCTs, case control, cohortstudies and experimental studies in the field of Maternal Health.
She is the Chairman of Nethoss (Netherlands Obstetric Survey Study, nationwide ongoing registration study), Audit Committee of Maternal Mortality, Netherlands and of INOSS (International Network of Obstetric Survey Systems). She works in close collaboration with the Julius Centre of the UMCU. In these networks she collaborates with many different stakeholders in LMICs and High income countries in order to improve the quality of care for mothers and their newborns by introduction of populationbased registrationsystems, audit of maternal morbidity and mortality. Implementation of lessons learned into guidelines who are implemented by a bottom up approach. With the support of the UMCU Global Health Grants she is able to help LMICS with capacity building by supervising PhD fellows from LMICs.
Ernesto Bosch, M.D., Ph.D.
Director of Instituto Valenciano de Infertilidad-Valencia. University of Valencia. Spain
Ernesto Bosch was born in Philadelphia, USA, in 1968. He completed Medicine School at the University of Valencia in 1992 and from 1993 to 1997, did his Residency in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Hospital La Fe, Valencia. Ernesto trained in Human Reproduction at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in 1997; and in 1999, he completed his doctoral thesis on the influence of LH in oocyte quality, with “cum laude” qualification, at the University of Valencia. In January 2000, Ernesto joined the team at the Human Reproduction Unit of the Instituto Valenciano de Infertilidad in Valencia, Spain; in 2008 he obtained the title of Master in Research on Health Sciences, by the Autonomous University if Barcelona. Dr. Bosch has published 81 papers in peer reviewed journals and written more than 50 book chapters in the field of IVF; has given over 250 lectures at international meetings around the world; He belongs to the Editorial Board of Fertility & Sterility, and Reproductive Biomedicine Online and is a regular reviewer for Human Reproduction, and Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology among others. He received the Scientific Program Prize Paper Award at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Belonged to the Special Interest Group on Reproductive Endocrinology of the Spanish Fertility Society, and currently to the Special Interest Group on Reproductive Endocrinology of ESHRE. He was the National Representative of the Spanish clinicians at the ESHRE committee between 2014 and 2016 and belonged to the task force that developed the ESHRE guidelines in ovarian stimulation (2019).
In May 2010, Dr. Bosch was appointed Medical Director of the Human Reproduction Unit of the Instituto Valenciano de Infertilidad in Valencia. Since September 2019 he is the Director of the Instituto Valenciano de Infertilidad in Valencia.
In 2018 he obtained an MBA on Healthcare Management by the IMF Business School and University Camilo José Cela from Madrid.
In December 2020 completed a Global Executive MBA by the IE Business School from Madrid with Honours earning the right to belong to Beta Gamma Sigma Business Honour Society.
In March 2021 has completed a course on Management Essentials by Harvard Business School online
In July 2021 completed a course on Disruption in a Digital World at the IE Business School from Madrid.
In March 2022 has completed a course on Data Science and Visualization for Business at the IE Business School from Madrid.Lex Bouter has a tenured chair in Methodology and Integrity at the Department of Epidemiology and Data Science of the Amsterdam University Medical Centers and the Department of Philosophy of the Faculty of Humanities of the Vrije Universiteit. He is currently involved research and teaching on research integrity topics. He was professor of Epidemiology since 1992 and served his university as its rector between 2006 and 2013. Professor Bouter has supervised 77 PhD students, of whom to date 17 were appointed as professor. He is the founding chair of the World Conferences on Research Integrity Foundation.
Personal page
Jacky Boivin
Undergraduate education
Bachelor of Arts, Honours in Psychology, Concordia University (May, 1986). Conferred with distinction.
Postgraduate education
Doctorate of Philosophy in Psychology, Concordia University (January, 1995).
Master of Arts, Clinical Psychology, Concordia University (May, 1990).
Biography is Professor of Health Psychology (since 2010) and Practitioner Health Psychologist (School of Psychology, Cardiff University). She has played a major role in psychosocial research and clinical developments in the fields of fertility, infertility and reproductive technologies. She has led many international projects, published extensively (> 200 publications) and produced many tools to support the care of people with fertility problems and barriers to family building (e.g., FertiQoL, FertiSTAT, Endometriosis.Cymru, fertility animations).
Mats Brännström completed his MD in 1985 and a PhD in Physiology in 1988. After residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology, he subspecialized in Gynecological Oncology and in recent years also in Reproductive Medicine. His main research interest for the first half of his scientific career was basic ovarian physiology and clinical conditions associated to ovarian disorders. Professor Brännström has published around 150 scientific papers on related topics such as mechanisms of ovulation, PCOS, OHSS and ovarian cancer. During the last two decades, Mats Brännström has continued with ovarian research but has also opened up a research line on uterus transplantation, towards a treatment for absolute uterine factor infertility. Brännström is today regarded as the pioneer of uterus transplantation. In 2002 his group demonstrated for the first time ever live births in a uterus transplantation animal (mouse) model. By a systematic, translational approach, including two rodent species, two large domestic species as well as non-human primates, Brännström and his team was able to optimize uterus transplantation towards human trials. In 2013 Brännström and his team conducted the first clinical trial of uterus transplantation, including nine live donor uterus transplantation procedures. Nine women underwent uterus transplantation and the world´s first live birth after this procedure took place in Sweden in September 2014. Totally nine babies were born from this initial uterus transplantation trial. Subsequent clinical trials have involved introduction of robotic-assisted surgery in uterus transplantation. Today almost 90 uterus transplantation procedures have been performed worldwide and with around 50 babies born. Successful transplants have occurred in more than 10 centres in four continents. The Swedish team have been involved in training and surgery at most of the centres. Brännström was a founding member and the first president of the International Society of Uterus Transplantation (ISUTx) and is now the registry chair of the international ISUTX registry, which collects worldwide data on uterus transplantations and outcomes. Professor Brännström is the author of a round 250 research papers and 150 review articles. His articles have been cited more than 12,000 times.
Mark Brincat
MRCS, LRCP, PhD(Lond), FRCOG, FRCPI
Professor Brincat served as Chairman and Director of Obstetrics and Gynaecology with the Department of Health on the Maltese Islands from 1991-2018.He is currently Professor at the University of Malta Medical School (O&G) and Hon. Clinical Professor at Queen Mary University London (QMUL), from Nov ’17 to present (Medical Education). He is also an Associate Dean at QMUL, Bart’s Medical School (Malta).Professor Brincat has held several posts and has served on several committees including ISGE, EMAS, IMS and ESHRE. His academic work was mostly in Gynaecological Endocrinology. He has had a special interest in Menopause and his PhD (King’s College, University of London) concerned work on the relationship of the Menopause and HRT on connective tissue, particularly on the skin and bone.He has presented keynote lectures and published extensively on the subject of the menopause in a broad range of subjects. He also founded the first Maltese ART (IVF) Unit and has also had a long-standing interest in reproductive endocrinology and infertility.Prof Brincat continues to lecture both undergraduates and postgraduates and is still actively involved in Menopause and Infertility, recently also picking up an interest in the application of gynaecological laser techniques.
Frank Broekmans (1956), MD, PhD, is a gynaecologist and Professor in Reproductive Endocrinology and Surgery at the University Medical Center Utrecht. Recently, he has started to combine his academic career with clinical work in the Centre for Reproductive Medicine at the Dijklander Ziekenhuis in Purmerend. He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the VU Medical Center Amsterdam in 1983, became consultant OBGYN in 1990, completed a Fellowship in Reproductive Medicine at the VU Medical Center Amsterdam in 1993, and received his PhD degree in 1995. In October 2010 he was appointed Professor at the University Medical Center in Utrecht.
His scientific career has long been devoted to the field of female reproductive ageing. Special focus has been on the normal ovarian ageing pattern, assessment of actual and future fertility status, genetic backgrounds of the variation in the ovarian ageing process, and the link between vascular and ovarian ageing. At present he is supervising 3 PhD students.
Recent focus has moved towards the role of the endometrium in reproductive success. The banking of endometrium tissue from several patient groups has allowed to develop a research line where endometrium organoids are utilised to unravel many functional aspects that could lead to understanding and prevention of several reproductive failure conditions.
Within these fields of scientific interest he obtained several grants from the Dutch Organisation for Scientific Research (ZonMW) and the Dutch College for Health Care Insurance.
He has held an Associate Editorship for Human Reproduction between 2005 and 2009, he is the former chairman of the Dutch Flemish Society for Studies on Fertility, he participates in several Advisory boards, is reviewer for Gynaecological Obstetrical Investigation, Fertility Sterility, Human Reproduction, and Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, he was a member of the Institutional Review Board UMC Utrecht between 2012 and 2014, he was chairman of the department Board on Ethical issues in Reproductive Medicine between 2012 and 2015, he was the coordinator of the Board of the Special Interest Group Reproductive Endocrinology of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology between 2015-2017, he was chairman of the pillar Reproductive Medicine of the Dutch Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology between 2015-2018 and has published over 293 peer-reviewed scientific papers, contributed 37 book chapters and presented over 154 invited lectures at international meetings.Tina Buchholz M.D.
Tina Buchholz is a clinical specialist in Reproductive Genetics. During her training, she specialized in Human Genetics and in Gynecology and Obstetrics and Reproductive Medicine and became an associated Professor at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich, Germany. She is head of a private Centre for Reproductive Genetics in Munich. Her genuin interests are identifying as well as facilitating solutions for genetic conditions in human reproduction as well as supporting global access to fertility care.
She is the former President of the German Society of Reproductive Medicine. Dr. Buchholz represented this society for many years on the board of the International Federation of Fertility Societies (IFFS), prior to serving as Scientific Director of the IFFS. Recently she has been appointed as Director for Development and most recently as the Audit Chair of the IFFS. Further to this she was elected as a member of the International Academy of Human Reproduction. With regard to her interdisciplinary expertise, she is the editor for Genetics for the Journal of Reproductive Medicine and Endocrinology as well as for the Journal Global Reproductive Health.
Dr. Buchholz published numerous peer reviewed articles, proceedings and book chapters. Predominently she presented her scientific work as an invited speaker many times at international reproductive and genetic conferences. She has been involved in the scientific and local organization of many international congresses, such as the various World Congresses of IFFS in Munich 2010, Boston 2013, New Delhi 2016 and Shanghai 2019, the ESHRE congress in Munich 2014, the World Congress of the International Academy of Human Reproduction in Berlin in 2015, in Rome 2017 and Dublin 2019, as well as numerous education training programs and workshops in various regions of the world (Argentina, Panama, Malaysia, Japan, Philippines, Myanmar, Russia, Uganda, Nigeria and Ghana) in the field of infertility awareness, global access to fertility care and reproductive medicine.Esra Bulgan Kılıçdağ received her medical degree from Çukurova University, Turkey, in 1994. She completed his residency in Department of Obsterıcs and Gynecology, Fırat University in 2000. Her interested area is endoscopic surgery and assisted reproductive technologies. She has published more than 40 articles in her field.
Professor Ying Cheong
Position: Professor in Reproductive Medicine; Medical Director, Complete Fertility Centre
Affiliation: University of Southampton; Complete Fertility Centre Southampton
Ying is a Subspecialist in Reproductive Medicine and Surgery and Professor in Reproductive Medicine at the University of Southampton. She founded the Complete Fertility Centre Southampton at the Princess Anne Hospital in 2011. Ying’s research interests centre around understanding the biology of endometrium and endometrial associated pathology (endometriosis and adhesions); and she works closely with collaborators across disciplines in the School of Electronics and Computer Science and Nanoscience within the University of Southampton in the development of nano-therapeutics and medical biosensors. She holds several NIHR and commercial grants and is an experience clinical trialist. Ying is active in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching.Prof Justin Clark is a Consultant Gynaecologist at the Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital and is an Honorary Professor of Gynaecology at the University of Birmingham. He is a recent Past President of the British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy. His clinical and research interests are in the diagnosis and treatment of abnormal uterine bleeding, pelvic pain and endoscopic surgery. He has helped pioneer ambulatory gynaecological intervention. He has published widely, holds over £9 million research grants including a grant to run the LAVA Trial: An RCT comparing laparoscopic and abdominal hysterectomy. He is an Editorial Board member of the British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology and an Associated Editor on the European Society of Gynaecological Endoscopy Journal; Facts, Views and Vision in Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Herjan Coelingh Bennink, Netherlands
Herjan Coelingh Bennink (HCB), MD, PhD
Herjan Coelingh Bennink (HCB), MD, PhD, trained in Internal Medicine and Gynaecology in the Netherlands and certified in 1976 as specialist in ObGyn. In 1974 he was Research Fellow at the Centre of Reproductive Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA (Prof Jan Behrman). Since 1976 he was director of the Department of Reproductive Endocrinology at the University Hospital in Utrecht. In 1980 he completed his PhD thesis on Gestational Diabetes. From 1997-2005 HCB was visiting professor Reproductive Medicine (RM) at the Free University in Brussels, Belgium (profs Devroey and van Steirteghem).From 1987-2000 HCB was Executive VP of the Women’s Health R&D programme at Organon in The Netherlands, where he was responsible for the development of RM drugs such as recFSH (Puregon) and the GnRH antagonist Antagon, both for IVF; the contraceptive vaginal ring (Nuvaring), a progestogen implant for contraception (Implanon), a progestogen-only desogestrel oral contraceptive (Cerazette) and the steroid tibolone (Livial) for menopausal hormone therapy (MHT).
HCB founded Pantarhei Bioscience in December 2000, where he discovered (i) the natural fetal estrogen Estetrol (E4) as a drug for oral contraception and MHT, licensed out to Mithra Pharmaceuticals in Belgium in 2015, (ii) a new combined contraceptive pill containing DHEA to prevent symptoms caused by the loss of testosterone due to COCs (the Androgen Restored Contraception ARC pill), licensed out to Gedeon Richter in Hungary in 2018 and (iii) an immunotherapy for the treatment of Zona Pellucida 3 (ZP3) cancer antigen expressing ovarian, prostate, breast, colon and non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The ovarian cancer ZP3 application was licensed out to HRA in France in 2014. That same year Pantarhei Oncology was founded as a subsidiary of Pantarhei Bioscience to develop new cancer drugs in the field of Reproductive Endocrine Oncology (REO), with a focus on improved endocrine treatment of advanced breast cancer (BCa) and advanced prostate cancer (PCa). For both cancer applications successful phase 2 proof-of-concept studies have been completed and published in November 2020 (BCa) and May 2021 (PCa) and next phase 2 and 3 studies are in preparation.
September 2022
Jacques Cohen is a reproductive biologist, embryologist, laboratory product developer and high complexity laboratory director (HCLD). He is director and founder of the ART Institute of Washington, which runs the joint National Institute of Health and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center IVF program in Bethesda Maryland (USA). He is product developer and co-founder of IVFqc/Althea Science, which develops software solutions for laboratories and clinics. He was co-founder of Reprogenetics, a PGT service, now continuing as Cooper Genomics. He was a co-founder and product developer of Life-Global/IVF-Online. He has (co-)authored more than 300 publications, several textbooks and 12 patents. He is Emeritus Chief Editor of Reproductive Biomedicine Online. He was one of the founders of Alpha – Scientists in Reproductive Medicine, one of the founders of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis International Society – PGDIS and a founding member of the International IVF Initiative (i3).Jacques Cohen grew up in Maastricht, The Netherlands and graduated (M.Sc.) in Biology of Reproductive Science in 1978 at Leiden University (Leiden, The Netherlands). He has a Ph.D. from Erasmus University in Rotterdam (supervisor Prof. Gerard Zeilmaker), in aspects of in vitro fertilization and male factor infertility. His postdoctoral studies (1982-1985) were performed at Cambridge University (UK) and Bourn Hall Clinic (supervisor Prof Robert Edwards). Jacques Cohen has (co-)developed a number of embryological methodologies and devices: blastocyst cryopreservation, assisted fertilization, co-culture, assisted hatching, preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy, ooplasmic donation, single sperm freezing, CODA filtration, Global media, and GPS dishes. He currently serves on Advisory Boards of biotech startups TMRW, Kindbody, DADI (Ro), Orchid Health, IVF 2.0, and Phosphorus.
Ben Cohlen
Experienced Gynecologist with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital & health care industry. Currently Gynaecologist and Head of the Women’s and Childrens Center of Isala, Zwolle. Skilled in Clinical Research, Medical Education, Medical Devices, Medical leadership, Medicine, and Fertility. Strong healthcare services professional with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) AND Registrar Obstetrics and Gynaecology focused in O & G and specialized in Fertility treatment.
Over the years trained his management skills in and outside of Isala to become a medical leader in VBHC, Lean and other strategies to improve healthcare for the patient and his/her family. Was trained with his team in shared decision and Hospitality (by Tanja Schilthuizen). Did many green field sessions to reorganize care, including the patient.
He has been medical trainer post-graduate training in OB/Gyn for more than 10 years.
Organizes two-yearly scientific meetings in Zwolle with the national heads of fertility.
Author of over hundred peer-reviewed publications and book-chapters.
Editor of two international recognised books on Fertility Treatments:
Intra-Uterine Insemination, Evidence Based Guidelines for Daily Practice
Edited By Ben Cohlen, Willem Ombelet
http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781841849881
Ovulation Induction, Evidence Based Guidelines for Daily Practice
Edited By Ben J. Cohlen, Evert Van Santbrink, Joop Laven
http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781498704076Tessel Cooijmans , is a novice, enthusiastic researcher at the Maxima MC and recently graduated as a MD. Currently she is participating as a PhD candidate in research projects in benign gynaecology, specifically regarding uterine fibroids, under the supervision of Professor Marlies Bongers. Her current work focuses on the Sonata treatment for uterine fibroids, and its additional value clinically and in terms of cost-effectiveness compared to conventional treatment, a research project in cooperation with the Dutch Healthcare Authority (NZa).
Edith Coonen is a Senior Clinical Embryologist working at the department of Reproductive Medicine next to a laboratory specialist in Reproductive Genetics employed by the department of Clinical Genetics at the Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC+), the Netherlands. She is appointed assistant professor at Maastricht University.
Edith is actively involved in research concerning innovations in reproductive genetics, amongst which Preimplantion Genetic Testing (PGT) and research aimed at elucidating the relationship between laboratory aspects of ART procedures and ART outcome.
She is (co)author of over 50 peer reviewed scientific articles, including international guidelines and expert opinion papers and a collaborator on various projects under the auspices of the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM), Council of Europe.
Edith has been an active member of the ESHRE PGT Consortium from its foundation in 1996, she is past Steering Committee member and past chair. Currently, she is a member of the ESHRE Executive Committee.Odette de Bruin is a medical doctor and PhD student in Obstetrics in the Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital in Utrecht, The Netherlands. Her research is mainly about SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy and medication used targeted at the COVID-19 disease, among which maternal SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations.
Corinne de Vries, Netherlands
Dr Adam Devall
Associate Professor of Maternal Health Clinical Trials
University of Birmingham, UK
Adam’s primary research focus is clinical trials in early pregnancy care, with a particular focus on miscarriage, infertility and global women’s health. As Associate Professor of Maternal Health Clinical Trials, he collaborates with the Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit to manage a portfolio of national and international clinical trials. He is also a senior consortium member of the University of Birmingham WHO Collaborating Centre for Global Women’s Health and Deputy Director of the Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research, led by Professor Arri Coomarasamy.
Jacques Donnez was born in Tournai (Belgium) on 16 July, 1947.
He studied at the Catholic University of Louvain.
He defended his PhD thesis in 1984, entitled “The fallopian tube: normal and pathological
histophysiology”.
He became Full Professor and Head of the Department Gynaecology and Andrology in 1986.
He also founded the Infertility Research Unit of the Catholic University of Louvain in 1986.
He has focused his research activities on three main topics: tubal infertility, endometriosis
and finally, ovarian cryopreservation and transplantation.
He published over 600 original articles in peer-review journals.
Prof. Donnez was the first President of the recently created International Society for Fertility
Preservation (until end of 2010) and has been elected in Februari 2009 at the Royal Belgian
Academy of Medicine.Prof. Andrew Drakeley is a Subspecialist in Reproductive Medicine and Consultant Gynaecologist at the Hewitt Fertility Centre, Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust, UK. He is an Honorary Clinical Associate Professor, University of Liverpool and visiting Professor to Guadalajara University, Mexico. He is the Vice Chair of the RCOG subspecialty training committee. For the last 3 years, his research has concentrated on utilising deep machine learning AI to assist Embryologists in assessing sperm and embryos.
J.J. (Hans) Duvekot, Netherlands
Prof. Dr. Christian Egarter was appointed as specialist for OB/GYN at the University of Vienna in 1988. From 1991-1993 he was Head of the Department of OB/GYN in Vöcklabruck, Upper Austria. Thereafter, he returned to Vienna to become Deputy Head of the Department of Obstetrics. Since 2007 he served as Deputy Head of the Department of Gynecological Endocrinology & Reproductive Medicine at the Medical University of Vienna and became Head of the Department in 2011. In 2012 Prof. Egarter became President of the “Austrian Society for Sterility, Fertility, and Endocrinology” and Vice-president of the “Austrian Family Planning Society”. In 2014 he was appointed as Member of the Bioethics Commission at the Federal Chancellery of the Austrian government. Prof. Egarter published more than 300 papers in national and international journals and the elaborate number of research grants includes the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science and Concerted Actions of the EU Commission.Dr. M. Max Ezzati is the Medical Director of Fertility Services at Palo Alto Medical Foundation in Palo Alto, California. He is double Board-certified in both Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (REI) as well as Obstetrics and Gynecology. He graduated from Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2002 following which he completed his basic specialist training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at University College London Hospitals (UCLH) in London, and Cambridge University Hospitals in Cambridge, UK. In 2007, he moved to the United Stated where he completed his Obstetrics and Gynecology residency at Washington Hospital Center- Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC, followed by a 3-year fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (REI) at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas. His research interests and publications include topics such as reproductive ageing in women, molecular mechanisms involved in ovarian primordial follicle activation, fallopian tube physiology, uterine fibroids, and endometriosis.
Bart Fauser, MD, PhD, FRCOG, is a Professor Em. of Reproductive Medicine, former Head of the Department for Reproductive Medicine and Gynaecology and former Chair of the Division of Woman & Baby at the University of Utrecht and the University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands.
He is a Fellow ad Eundum of the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (RCOG), Honorary member of European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), executive Board member and scientific director of the International Federation of Fertility Societies (IFFS), international member of the (US) National Academy of Medicine, Editor in Chief of Reproductive Biomedicine Online (RBMO), Night in the order of the Netherlands Lion, past member of the board of the Dutch Medical Research Counsel (ZonMW), past Editor in Chief of Human reproduction Update, and past Professor and Division Chief at the Erasmus Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
He previously held posts as a Fulbright scholar at the University of California, San Diego; visiting professorships at Stanford University School of Medicine (California, USA), Free University (Brussels, Belgium), University of Siena (Italy), University of Southampton (UK), and the University of Adelaide (Australia). He was a past chair of the World Health Organization (WHO) steering committee for infertility guidelines.
His major research interests include the pathophysiology of human ovarian function (including PCOS, and POI), ovarian stimulation, IVF and women’s health (including contraception, menopause and healthy aging). He has published close to 500 peer-reviewed articles (Hirsch factor > 100), is one of the most cited authors in reproductive medicine and his work has been widely covered in the national and international lay pressArie Franx, Netherlands
Professor Rene Frydman,
Current Positions and Rank:
Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University Paris XIand Head of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics of AntoineBeclereHospital, since 1990 – Director of Research Unit on Reproductive Medecine
Awards of Distinction:
Officer of the French Legion d’Honneur
Areas of Special Interest and Accomplishments:My special areas of interest in Gynecology and Obstetrics include infertility and high- risk pregnancy. My work in infertility led the first baby born in France as a result of in vitro fertilization in 1982, after embryo freezing in 1986, after PGD in 2000, after oocyte cryoperservation 2010.
My other area of interest has been biomedical ethics. My work in this realm led to many invitations to debate the moral issues created by the use of the techniques of artificial procreation. I have had an active participation in the preparation on the law on bioethics.
I have actively worked with the Medecins du Monde and Medecins sans Frontieres.Peggy Geomini Gynecologist at Maxima Medical Center in Veldhoven, The Netherlands. Special interest in benign gynaecology and minimally invasive surgery (including endometriosis care). In addition to clinical tasks involved in research in the field of heavy menstrual bleeding and diagnostics of adnexal pathology.
Professor Yinon Gilboa
Current Positions and Rank:
Associate Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine,
Tel Aviv University, Israel.
Director, Obstetrics and Gynecology Ultrasound Unit at Rabin Medical Center, Israel, a 3rd level hospital with more than 20,000 examinations per year.Areas of Special Interest:
His main clinical research is focused on early first trimester fetal anatomic malformations, fetal growth restriction, invasive placenta, ultrasound in the delivery room, ultrasound evaluation of infertility and 3D and 4D technology ultrasound evaluations.
Dr. Norbert Gleicher, MD, FACOG, FACS, is the Chief Scientist and Medical Director at the Center for Human Reproduction in New York, NY.
Dr. Gleicher grew up in Vienna, Austria, where he initiated his medical studies at Vienna University Medical School. After preclinical years, he switched to Tel Aviv University’s Sackler School of Medicine in Israel, where he graduated and completed a year of rotating internship. He then moved to New York City for a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology, and a fellowship in reproductive immunology at Mount Sinai Medical Center. As Chief Resident he was awarded the Dr. Solomon Silver Award in Clinical Medicine, given annually to “that younger member of The Mount Sinai Hospital and Medical Center staff who best exemplifies the ability to apply the advance in research to the practice of clinical medicine.”
Upon graduation, Dr. Gleicher was appointed to the medical school faculty of Mount Sinai School of Medicine as Assistant Professor, in the department as Head of the Division of Reproductive Immunology and given responsibility for all student and resident education in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Two years later he moved to Chicago as Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Mount Sinai Hospital and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Immunology/Microbiology at Rush Medical College. He held these positions for 10 years until his resignation in 1990, when he started to concentrate on development of the Center for Human Reproduction (CHR), which he founded in 1981. Since 1990 Dr. Gleicher has held a variety of academic professorial appointments at Chicago Medical School and, after his move back to New York City, at New York University School of Medicine and Yale University School of Medicine. Since 1999 he is President, Medical Director and Chief Scientist of CHR-New York and President of the not-for-profit Foundation for Reproductive Medicine. He also holds an appointment as Guest Investigator at Rockefeller University and Professor (Adj.) at Medical University Vienna.
Dr. Gleicher has published over 400 peer-reviewed scientific papers, hundreds of abstracts and book chapters in reproductive endocrinology and infertility, relating to medical complications in pregnancy and to the immune system in reproduction. He served as founding Editor-in-Chief for the American Journal of Reproductive Immunology (AJRI), and for 30 years as founding editor of the Journal of In Vitro Fertilization and Embryo Transfer, in 1992 renamed Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics (JARG), now an official organ of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). He in addition served and is serving as editor and/or editorial board member on many other medical journals and edited several major textbooks. In 1991, he was awarded Austria’s highest scientific and cultural award, the Austrian Honor Cross for Science and Art for his scientific achievements. In 2009, Dr. Gleicher was invited to give the prestigious bi-annual Patrick Steptoe Memorial Lecture to the British Fertility Society, in recognition of his contributions to advancements in the in vitro fertilization field.
He is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and of the American College of Surgeons, and, in addition to many other societies and professional organizations, a member of the ASRM and the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE).
Alessandra Graziottin, MD
Alessandra Graziottin is currently Director of the Centre of Gynaecology and Medical Sexology at the H. San Raffaele Resnati in Milano, Italy. She is specialised in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, in Oncology and a certified Psychotherapist in Sexual Medicine.
She is Founder and Chair of the Alessandra Graziottin Foundation for the cure and care of pain in women NPO.
She was Consultant Professor at the Advanced Master in Andrology and Sexual Medicine of the University of Firenze, Consultant Professor at the Advanced Master in Clinical Sexology of the University of Pisa, and Professor at the Master Course of Sexual Medicine for Students of Psychology of the University of Venezia and Salesian University (UPS) of Roma.
Prof. Graziottin has published: 24 scientific books (as author, co-author or editor); more than 90 chapters of scientific books, more than 120 refereed papers and more than 300 proceeding contributions and non-refereed articles; 7 lay books and 8 educational booklets for women. Since 1984 she has been regular columnist on women’s health in Italian national newspapers and magazines.
She wrote, with Filippo Murina:
– Clinical management of vulvodynia (Springer Verlag, 2011);
– Vulvar pain from childhood to old age (Springer Verlag, 2017).
As a leading expert and teacher in Gynaecology and Medical Sexology, with special focus on Chronic Pelvic pain, Vulvar pain and associated comorbidities, she has given more than 1700 lectures (more than 90 state of the art lectures) at international and national meetings and courses.
She is currently:
– Regional Contact for Lombardy for the International Society of Dietary Supplements and Phytotherapy (ISDSP);
– member of the Scientific Board for the “Comorbidity and Psychopathology” Area of the Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Motilità dell’Apparato Digerente (GISMAD);
– member of the Core Faculty of the European School of Oncology (ESO);
– member of the permanent International Organizing Committee (IOC) of Controversies in Obstetrics, Gynecology & Infertility (COGI);
– coordinator of the Italian Association of Hospital Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (AOGOI) for the Milan Metropolitan Area.
She also served in the Board of:
– the Italian Menopause Society from 1997 until 2001;
– the Italian Menopause Project (PMI) from 1997 to 2007;
– the European Society of Menopause and Andropause (EMAS) from 2000 to 2006;
– the Italian Society of Psychosomatic Gynecology and Obstetrics (SIPGO) from 2002 to 2008;
– the Italian Society of Psychosomatic Gynecology and Obstetrics (SIPGO) from 2008 to 2012, as Vice-President;
– the Italian Society of Gynaecology of the Elderly (SIGITE) from 2003 to 2006;
– the Italian Society of Preventive and Social Paediatrics (SIPPS) from 2008 to 2012;
– the Italian Society of Ginecology and Obstetrics (SIGO), as Coordinator of the Special Interest Area on “Pelvic Pain” (2009-2011);
– the Female Sexual Function Forum, FSFF (2000-2001), as Vice President;
– the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health, ISSWSH (2001-2002), as President;
– the International Society for Sexuality and Cancer (ISSC) from 2003 to 2010;
In June 2004 she was awarded the Honorary Membership by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC).Sergio Haimovich
• PhD in Obstetrics and Gynecology (Cum Laude) Barcelona Autonomous University
• Director of the Gynecology Department. Laniado University Hospital. Netanya, Israel.
• Head of the Hysteroscopy Unit. Gynecology Department at the Del Mar University Hospital. Barcelona, España
• Vice Chair of the AAGL Hysteroscopy SIG
• Director of the International School of Laser in Gynecology. Nadezhda Hospital. Sofia, Bulgaria.
• Co-Chair and co-Founder of the “Global Community of Hysteroscopy”
• Clinical Assistant Professor Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion. Israel
• Clinical Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the Republic University of UruguayMiriam Hanstede, Netherlands
Joyce Harper, BSc, PhD
Joyce Harper is an author, academic, scientist and educator. She is Professor of Reproductive Science at University College London in the Institute for Women’s Health where she is Head of the Reproductive Science and Society Group. She is a Director of the Embryology and PGD Academy which delivers an online certificate in clinical embryology, founder of Global Women Connected and Reproductive Health at Work.
She has worked in the fields of fertility, genetics and reproductive science since 1987, written over 230 scientific papers and published three books. She started her career as an embryologist, then moved into reproductive science and genetics. Now she is researching into fertility and reproductive health education, FemTech, IVF add-ons, gamete donation and the menopause.
Joyce is a passionate educator at all levels, from the general public to PhD students. She is invited to numerous international meetings, including key note and plenary lectures. She regularly appears on TV, radio and in the press. She gives talks for companies to understand fertility issues in the workplace, including the menopause. In 2022, she is giving free talks in UK schools to discuss fertility education.
She is founder of Reproductive Health at Work, helping companies ensure that the reproductive health needs of their staff are catered for https://joyceharper.com/repro-at-work/
She is co-founder of the UK Fertility Education Initiative (www.fertilityed.uk) and founder of the International Fertility Education Initiative (www.eshre.eu/ifei).
Her latest book, Your Fertile Years, What you need to know to make informed choices, has been published by JOHN MURRAY PRESS, SHELDON PRESS and signed copies can be ordered from www.joyceharper.com.
She is a cold-water swimmer and an ambassador for This Girl Can.
Further information – www.joyceharper.com
Follow on Twitter, Instagram, Tiktok and Linkedin – @ProfJoyceHarper
Professor Roger Hart is sub-specialist in reproductive endocrinology and infertility, he is the Medical Director of Fertility Specialists of Western Australia and the National Medical Director of City Fertility Australia, and Professor of Reproductive Medicine, Deputy Head of the Division of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Western Australia, and the lead clinician for the public fertility service of Western Australia. He has active research interests in the early life origins of male and female reproductive disorder, polycystic ovary syndrome and all aspects of infertility management and has published over 250 papers in the field of reproductive medicine.Prof. Liran Hiersch received his MD from Tel Aviv University, Israel. He did a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Rabin Medical Center and Lis Hospital for Women, both affiliated to Tel Aviv University, followed by a fellowship in Advanced Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the University of Toronto (Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada). He is the head of the Maternal-Fetal Medicine inpatient unit and the High-Risk Pregnancy outpatient clinics at Lis Hospital for Women and an Associate Professor at Tel Aviv University. He has published more than 150 original manuscripts, reviews and chapters in books, focusing on the field of pregnancy-complications and maternal-fetal medicine.
Ward Hofhuis
Education
2004 – 2010 Specialist Registrar, Dept. Of Gynaecology, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Prof. Dr. M.J. Heineman).
1999 – 2004 Doctoral research, Dept. Of Paediatric Pulmonology, Sophia Children’s Hospital, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (Prof. Dr. J.C. de Jongste).
Doctoral thesis (PhD), ‘Clinical applications of infant lung function testing’, June 10th, 2004
1992 – 1999 Medical School, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Qualification as a medical doctor: September 29th, 1999Professional Experience
2010 – today Gynaecologist, with expertise in gynaecological oncology. Franciscus Hospital, Rotterdam, The NetherlandsReports and documents written
PhD thesis “Clinical applications of infant lung function testing”, ISBN:9061095646Other activities
2016 – 2021 Chairman Steering committee Oncology Franciscus Hospital
2014 – 2017 Board member Scientific Committee, Dutch Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (NVOG)
2013 – 2017 Secretary of the Board Gynaecological Conferences, Dutch Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (Gynaecongres NVOG)
2013 – 2016 Chairman Safety committee Franciscus Hospital
2010 – 2016 Board member Steering committee Oncology Franciscus HospitalResearch
Co-founder of ongoing VACCIN-trial:
BMC Cancer 2020 Jun 9;20(1):539. Adjuvant VACcination against HPV in surgical treatment of Cervical Intra-epithelial Neoplasia (VACCIN study) a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.
Prof. Dr. med. Dr.h.c.mult. Wolfgang Holzgreve, MBA, FACOG, FRCOGWolfgang Holzgreve has double citizenship of Germany and Switzerland, graduated in medicine from the University of Münster Medical School in Germany and in genetics from the University of California in Berkeley.
He became a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology in Germany and did his postdoctoral fellowship in reproductive genetics at the University of California in San Francisco. In 1995 he was appointed as Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Basel, Switzerland. From there he was recruited back to Germany to become Medical Director and CEO of Freiburg Medical Center. In 2010/2011 he has been on a sabbatical at the Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin. Since 2012 he is Medical Director of the University Bonn Medical Center.
Prof. Holzgreve´s main research has been in the area of prenatal diagnosis and therapy, and he was involved with the development of invasive techniques such as chorionic villus sampling and Non-invasive Prenatal Diagnosis from maternal blood. His research resulted in more than 600 original papers, more than 10 books, Editorial Board memberships of 15 journals. His Hirsch index was 70.
He received many awards including the Maternite award, the Liley medal etc, and received seven honorary doctoral degrees. He was President of many professional organizations such as the German Societies of Reproductive Medicine and of Perinatal Medicine, as well President of the Swiss Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Treasurer of the European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (EBCOG) and of the World Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) for six years each.
In 2018 he received the Ordination of First degree (Bundesverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse) from the President of the Federal Republic of Germany.
He has served the German National Academy of Science Leopoldina in various Capacities; and in 2019 was elected into the Executive Committee of the Inter Academy Partnership (IAP).
In 2020 he was reelected as Medical Director and CEO of the Universit Medical Center Bonn for the period of Jan.1, 2022 – Dec. 31, 2026.Hafez Ismaili M’hamdi, Netherlands
Jeroen Kaijser, Netherlands
Işıl Kasapoğlu,MD, was born in 1982 and recieved her medical degree from Ankara University School of Medicine in 2006. After her residency training and following a certification programme in infertility and assited reproduction, she studied ovarian aging at Yale School of Medicine Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences. She has been working as Associate Professor at Uludag University Faculty of Medicine Department of Obs & Gyn, Division of Reproductive Endocrinology , Bursa , Turkey. She is interested in all aspects of clinical IVF and endoscopic surgery and has been a member of the Executive Committee of Turkish Society of Reproductive Medicine (TSRM).
Asma Khalil is a Professor of Obstetrics and Maternal Fetal Medicine at St George’s Hospital, University of London. She is the Obstetric Lead of the National Maternity and Perinatal Audit (NMPA). She gained her MD(Res) at the University of London in 2008. She also has a Masters degree in Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and an MRC scholarship. She is a subspecialist in Maternal and Fetal Medicine. Since 2008, she has maintained busy clinical (Obstetrics, Fetomaternal Medicine), research and teaching roles. Asma is the Lead for the Twin and Multiple Pregnancy service at St George’s Hospital. She also leads the Reproductive Health Research Group at St George’s Hospital.She has published more than 350 peer reviewed papers, and many published review articles and chapters. She was awarded many research prizes, both at national and international meetings. Her research interests include twin pregnancy, fetal growth restriction, hypertensive disorders in pregnancy and infections in pregnancy.She is passionate about innovation. She is the inventor of the HAMPTON, which is an award-winning digital innovation which enables pregnant women to monitor their blood pressure safely at home. She is a National Innovation Accelerator (NIA) Fellow.She is committed to the implementation of clinical guidelines in practice and believes that they could reduce inequalities in care across the NHS. She had a three year Fellowship with NICE and has been a member of the NICE Clinical Standards and Expert Advisor to the NICE Centre for Clinical guidelines.She is an Editor for the Ultrasound on obstetrics and Gynecology Journal. She is an International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology (ISUOG) Trustee and is an Ambassador to North Africa and the Middle East. She works closely with the Twins trust Charity and together has set up the world-first Twins Trust Centre for Research and Clinical Excellence at St George’s Hospital.
Dorit Kieslinger , MSc., was born in Austria and studied Biology in Austria and The Netherlands. Dorit works as a clinical embryologist and PhD candidate at Amsterdam UMC, The Netherlands. Her research interests include time-lapse monitoring, microfluidic embryo culture and metabolomic profiling.
Ludwig Kiesel, MD, PhD, is chairman of the Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics at the University of Muenster, Germany. He studied medicine in Heidelberg,Germany and in London, UK followed by a research fellowship at NIH in Bethesda, Maryland,USA. He is the president of German Society of Gynaecological Endocrinology and Fertility Disorders, the past president of the German Menopause Society as well as of the German Endometriosis Research Foundation (SEF). He previously served as a board member of the European Menopause and Andropause Society (EMAS) and the World Endometriosis Society (WES). He has been involved in national and international guidelines on menopause, contraception, endometriosis and endometrial cancer. His research interests focus on hormonal treatment in menopause and endometriosis as well as the mechanisms of cell proliferation and invasion in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. He has performed trials in the fields of endometriosis, oncology, menopause and endocrinology. The main aspect of his clinical work is endoscopic surgery in benign and malignant diseases..Katariina Laine
Associate Professor in University of Oslo, Norway Katariina Laine, MD, PhD, is a Senior Researcher in Norwegian Research Centre for Women’s Health, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway. Specialist in OBGYN since 2001, PhD in 2013.
She has 50 peer reviewed publications with more than 1800 citations, and she is an author in several book chapters.
Research profile: Special interest in pregnancy and birth complications. Ongoing research on preeclampsia, stillbirth, diabetes, maternal obesity, preterm birth, post term pregnancy, labor induction, cesarean section, labour duration, obstetric anal sphincter injuries, episiotomy and anal incontinence. Supervisor of 6 PhD students, numerous master students and medical students.
Cornelis B. Lambalk, NetherlandsProf. dr. C.B. (Nils) Lambalk, MD, PhD Professor Lambalk is a gynaecologist/fertility specialist and works as professor of Reproductive Medicine and Scientific Director of de division of Reproductive Medicine at the department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology of the Amsterdam University Medical Centres, VU University in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and guest professor in the Gynaeco-Urology/Reproductive Medicine, University of Gent, Belgium.
His scientific interests are: neuroendocrinology of reproduction (including GnRH-analogues), physiology of natural twinning, reproductive aging, fertility preservation ,PCOS, embryo quality assessment and implantation.
He has published over 300 papers in international peer-reviewed journals and is a member of the scientific board of several international and national organizations.
Per January 2019 he is Editor in Chief of Human Reproduction.
Professor Joop S.E. Laven is professor in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility based at Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam in the Netherlands and was initially trained at the University of Utrecht in the same country. After Medical school he completed his Ph.D. thesis on clinical and experimental aspects of varicocele at Utrecht University in 1991. From 1991 till 1997 he continued his training at the University Medical Center St. Radboud in Nijmegen. In 1997 he became board certified in OBGYN (FRCOG) and moved to the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam. In 2000 he became certified subspecialist Reproductive Medicine. He is a member of ESHRE, ASRM, the Endocrine Society, the Society of Gynecological Investigation (SGI) and the Royal Dutch College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He is the past president of the Dutch Society of Reproductive Medicine. He is the president-elect of AE-PCOS society
For many years he had a particular interest in the management of polycystic ovary syndrome covering the full spectrum from the effects of the syndrome during adolescence and adult life on the menstrual cycle, fertility, body weight and cosmetic aspects. During the last decade the research focussed on more fundamental effects that PCOS may have on quality of life and long-term health risks as well as the genetic basis of the disease. More recently he was also involved in Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS) exploring the genetic basis of PCOS, premature ovarian insufficiency, menarche and menopause.
He has published over 350 peer-reviewed papers and several reviews as well as chapters in books, and has delivered over 400 lectures to international scientific audiences. He is a past member of the editorial board of Human Reproduction Update, Human Reproduction and the Journal of Endocrine Society. He is a visiting professor at the University of Shandong, Shandong, China and the University of Adelaide, Australia. He is also a member of the international guideline groups for PCOS, POI and unexplained infertility within the Center of Research Excellence (WHIRL) Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.Paul Leeson is Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Oxford and a Consultant Cardiologist at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. His research group has pioneered the application of computational modelling and artificial intelligence to imaging data, collected within clinical studies and randomised trials, to understand what drives progression of cardiovascular disease in young people. The work has generated novel insights ranging from an understanding of how the cardiovascular system in both the mother and child is impacted by pregnancy complications, such as preeclampsia and preterm birth, through to methods for automated diagnostics in echocardiography, which are now used in hospitals in the US and Europe. Their most recent work has focused on the post-partum period of a hypertensive pregnancy and has identified the puerperium as a critical window of cardiovascular remodelling for the mother, during which clinical management can have long term implications for their cardiovascular health. He sits on the NIHR Invention for Innovation and Fellowship funding panels as well as the Imaging Advisory Board of UK Biobank. He is a member of the NHS National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Cardiovascular Disease prevention guideline committee and has had leadership roles in the European Association of Preventive Cardiology and British and Irish Hypertension Society.
Nicholas Leyland, Canada
Diede Loopik
Dr. Diede Loopik studied Medicine at the Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and did a research internship on conservative management of CIN2 in young women at the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, under supervision of Professor Bentley. Hereafter, she worked as a medical doctor at different hospitals (both academic and non-academic) at the Obstetrics and Gynaecology department. Simultaneously, she did a PhD in personalized management of cervical cancer prevention. Currently, she works as a medical advisor with a focus on improving the Dutch healthcare systemYvonne Louwers works as a gynecologist in the field of reproductive endocrinology and infertility in the Erasmus MC University hospital. She studied medicine in Rotterdam the Netherlands. She obtained her PhD in 2014, ‘PCOS: from phenotype to genotype’. She has a special interest in the care for women with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), and has developed a multidisciplinary outpatient clinic.
Her research has focused on ovarian ageing , especially fundamental effects that premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) may have on quality of life and long-term health risks, as well as on the genetic basis of these diseases. She is member of the international PCOS guideline group as well the Center of Research Excellence (WHIRL) Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.Angela Maas, PhD is a clinical cardiologist since more than 30 years and has developed a main interest in heart disease in women over the past decades. She established the first outpatient clinic for women in the Netherlands in 2003. Her main interests are the early identification of women at increased CV risk and symptom evaluation in women at middle-age. She has received many awards such as by the Dutch Society of female physicians (2010), the Radboud University (2014) and was knighted by the King in 2017. She is currently one of the most influential female doctors in Dutch healthcare and was the 2020/21 Women’s representative of the Dutch Government to the United Nations. From May 2022 onwards she focusses on research and advisory tasks only.
Jacques Maas is gynaecologist and subspecialist in reproductive medicine. He is a member of the expertise center endometriosis of the department Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maastricht University Medical Center. Other aspects of his clinical work are endoscopic surgery, benign gynecology, psychosomatics and sexual medicine. He is ambassador of the World Endometriosis Society and founder and past-president of the dutch SIG Endometriosis. He was a working group member of the recently published ESHRE guideline Endometriosis. Topics of interest in endometriosis research are mainly related to patient centeredness. He is main applicant of the SOMA trial: Surgical or Medical treatment of Endometrioma.
Nick Macklon is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Copenhagen and Medical Director of London Womens Clinic. His previous appointments include Professorships and Departmental Chair in Utrecht and in Southampton. He currently holds Visiting Professorships at the University of Adelaide and the University of Kent.
His main research interests relate to human implantation, endometrial function and periconceptional medicine. He is a well known international speaker and his external roles include associate editorships of leading journals in the field and membership of the ESHRE Executive Committee.Sebastiaan Mastenbroek, Netherlands
Dr. Sebastiaan Mastenbroek is an Assistant Professor at the University of Amsterdam and one of the Senior Clinical Embryologists of the Center for Reproductive Medicine of the Amsterdam UMC. An important focus of his research has been Preimplantation Genetic Screening (PGS / PGT-A). Publication of his RCT on PGS in the New England Journal of Medicine started a fiercely debated controversy on the use of PGS as it showed that the technique actually lowered pregnancy rates after IVF instead of increasing them. He is an associate editor of Human Reproduction Open, editor of the Cochrane Gynaecology and Fertility Group, chair of the Science Committee of the Dutch Society for Clinical Embryology, board member of the special interest group ART of the Dutch Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, board member of the SAF foundation, and board member of the Amsterdam Reproduction and Development Research Institute.
Dr. Dir Melamed, MD, MSc
Dr. Melamed is a staff physician in the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Division at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Canada, and a Professor at the University of Toronto.
He is a Senior Scientist at the Sunnybrook Research Institute and the Director of Research at the Women and Babies Program.
Dr. Melamed is the recipient of the Waugh Family Chair in Twin Research at the University of Toronto and is the Director of the Sunnybrook Twin Research Center (https://twincentre.sunnybrook.ca/).
Dr. Melamed has co-authored over 200 original research papers. His main topics of interest include twin pregnancies, placental disease, and fetal growth.
Micheline Misrahi
Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University Paris-Saclay
Molecular Genetics of Reproductive and Metabolic diseases
Bicetre Hospital, France
Research Interests: Reproductive Endocrinology. Gonadotropins and their receptors. Progesterone receptor. Thyrotropin receptor. Reproductive genetics. Genetics of male and female infertility. Primary ovarian insufficiency. Disorders of puberty. Genetic diseases of G protein coupled receptors
Ben (Willem) Mol (MD PhD FRANZCOG) is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Monash University. He is focused on the organisation of multi-centric evaluative research in Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Fertility, with the research concentrating mainly upon everyday practices. Born and trained in the Netherlands, Ben was instrumental in setting up a nationwide research consortium in women’s health that produced many landmark studies.
Ben came to Australia in 2014 and started at Monash in 2018. Since his arrival, Ben has held continuous NHMRC funding, including a prestigious investigator grant. During his time in Australia, he developed extensive relations with Asian universities. Ben has mentored >110 PhD students and published >1500 papers, many in high impact journals. A publication in Nature acknowledged Ben as one the most prolific medical scientists. His professional adage is ‘A day without randomisation is a day without progress.’Marian Mourits
EDUCATION (achievements)
2001, July
PhD Thesis: Tamoxifen effects on the female genital tract. Faculty of Medicine, State University of Groningen, The Netherlands (Promoters Prof E.G.E. de Vries & Prof. A.G.J. van der Zee)
1986 -1991
Residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology 1986-1991
• RK Ziekenhuis Groningen, The Netherlands 1990-1991
• University Medical Center Groningen 1986-1990
1985
Medical School, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The NetherlandsEMPLOYMENT & POSITIONS
2014 -2016 Chair of Supervisory Board of postgraduate program directors (COC) at UMCG
2013 -2015 Head Department Gynecological Oncology UMCG
2012 -2014 Vice chair of Supervisory Board of postgraduate program directors (COC) at UMCG
2008 – present Full Professor in Gynecologic Oncology at Faculty of Medicine, State University of Groningen, The Netherlands (Focus: Gynecological oncology, in particular the hereditary predisposition for gynecological cancer).
2006 -2016 Program director of Postgraduate Training in Obstetrics & Gynecology, UMCG
2006 – 2008 Assistant Professor in Gynecologic Oncology at Faculty of Medicine, State University of Groningen, The Netherlands
1999 -present Consultant in Gynecologic Oncology at Dept. of Gynecology of University Medical Center Groningen
1997 -1999 Fellowship in Gynecological Oncology at Dept. of Gynecologic Oncology & Dept Surgical Oncology, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen
1991 -1997 Staff member Department of Gynecology and Sexuology, University Medical Center GroningenCOMMITTEES
2021-present Member European Consensus Guidelines Group for genetic testing including HRD for newly diagnosed ovarian cancer patients
2020-present Member Bestuur Koninklijk Natuurkundig Genootschap
2020–present Member Scientific Committee DEScentrum
2020–present Member Advisory Board DEScentrum
2017 – 2020 Member Quality Committee, NVOG
2015 – 2020 Chair Steering Committee Postgraduate Medical Education (College Vervolgopleiding), NVOG
2015 –present Faculty Leadership program ‘Academie voor Medisch Specialisten‘
2016 – 2019 Ambassadors Network Patient Safety FMS
2015 -2017 Project leader ISO Certifying Project for Postgraduate Medical Education (Centrale Opleidingscommissie)UMCG
2012 – present Chair of the National Guideline Committee for the management of women with hereditary ovarian cancer
2006 -2010 Project leader In VIVO committee (change agent in competence based medical education) North Netherlands (OOR-NO)MEMBERSHIP
2013-present Nederlandse Vereniging voor Toezichthouders in de Zorg (NVTZ)
2009 – present Working party for women with hereditary gynecological cancer at UMCG
2006 & 2015 Guideline Committee of the Dutch Hereditary Colorectal Cancer Guidelines for the management of patients with Lynch Syndrome
2004 – 2011 Guideline Committee of The Dutch Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology for guidelines for patients with gynaecological cancer
2002 -2015 Guideline Committee (chair) Hereditary Ovarian Cancer (national)
1999 -present Board member of the working party for women with hereditary gynaecological cancer (HEBON)
1999 -present Dutch working party for Gynecologic Oncology (WOG)
1999 -present European Society Gynaecologic Oncology (ESGO)
1999 -present International Gynecological Cancer Society (IGCS)
1991 -present Dutch Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (NVOG)SPECIAL INTEREST
• Gynecological Oncology & Hereditary Gynecological Cancers
• Quality of life & sexual functioning after cancer diagnosis and treatment
• Medical leadership
• Supervisory boardSIDE ACTIVITIES
2019- present Chair Supervisory Board ‘Basalt Revalidatie’, The Hague a.s.
2016-present Member Klankbordgroep [Ont]regel de Zorg
2014 – 2019 Member Supervisory Board ‘Sophia Revalidatie’, The Hague.
2013 -present Member Supervisory Board ‘Stichting Serviceappartementen Oranjewoud’,
Heerenveen.ADDITIONAL COURSES / LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
2021 Avicenna Governance college for Supervisory Board members
2021 Avicenna Governance college for Supervisory Board members
2020-2022 Binq, Intervision group for chairs of supervisory boards- Utrecht
2019 Hospital Leadership Academy –Landgoed het Rode Koper, Leuvenem
2013 – 2014 Authentic Leadership for top-women; van Iren Consultancy & Asscher Consultancy, Amsterdam
2012 Teach the Teacher III, Groningen Hampshire Hotel
2011 ‘Development Vademecum Clinical Leadership’ UMCG
2009 -present Mentor of female tenure tract talents RUG
‘Mentoring project RUG/UMCG’
2006 Teach-the-Teacher I, Groningen NH Hotel
2006-2016 Chair national visitation committees on medical education O&G
2005-2006 Course Strategic Leadership’, by Anna Hinze (psychiatrist, consultant) and Caty Asscher (psychologist, consultant)
2005-2006 Coaching by Caty Asscher, Asscher Consultancy Amsterdam
2003-2005 ‘Peergroup project palliative care’ as specialist-consultant, Galamadammen, The Netherlands
AD HOC REVIEWERSHIP
• Lancet
• Lancet Oncology
• Annals of Oncology
• Journal of Clinical Oncology
• Journal of Clinical Pathology
• European Journal of Cancer
• International Journal of Cancer
• International Journal of Gynecological Oncology
• Maturitas
• Breast Cancer Research and Treatment
• British Medical Journal
• British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
• Familial Cancer
• Nederlands Tijdschrift voor GeneeskundeEDITORIAL BOARD
2015 – present Member Editorial Board, Maturitas
PUBLICATIONS https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=mourits+mj
International:
> 180 peer reviewed publications in PubMed (Mourits MJ)
National:
> 50 publications on medical education, medical leadership and gynecological oncologyProf. Sezcan Mumusoglu , MD is an Associate Professor at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey. He completed both his residency and clinical fellowship in the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the same university. He took the “Introduction to Clinical Research Training (ICRT)” program at Harvard Medical School and completed the program in May 2016. He studied with Professor Aaron Hsueh at the Stanford University School of Medicine as a Visiting Scholar in between 2018 – 2019 and focused on pathophysiology and genetics of premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). He has been teaching phase 4 students, interns, and residents at Hacettepe University School of Medicine. Dr. Mumusoglu has produced more than 40 publications in peer reviewed journals. Since 2020 he has been serving as an Associated Editor for Human Reproduction and also a reviewer for 10 journals including Hum Reprod, Fertil Steril, and RBMonline. His research interests include reproductive endocrinology, ovarian reserve markers, all aspect of clinical IVF, PCOS, and POI.
Flor M. Munoz, USA
Ludovico Muzii received his MD degree cum laude in 1988 and completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology in 1992. He achieved the PhD Degree in Obstetircal and Gynecologicel Sciences in 1997.
He is currently Full Professor at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.
He is Director of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program at Sapienza University. He is Director of the Reproductive Medicine Unit and of the Gynecological Surgery and Oncology Unit at the Policlinico Umberto I in Rome.
His main fields of interests are endometriosis, reproductive medicine, assisted reproductive techniques, endoscopy, and gynecological oncology. He is Editor and Reviewer in many peer review journals. He was awarded with several scientific prizes, among which the Golden Hysteroscope Award, AAGL 2011, the Carlo Romanini Award for Best Endometrisosis Paper, AAGL 2005, and the Kurt Semm Award for Excellence in Pelviscopy, AAGL 2003.
He is author of more than 315 papers published in peer-reviewed journals, with a H-index of 44 (source: Scopus).Annemiek Nap is a professor in Reproductive Medicine and head of the department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics at the Radboudumc, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. She has a special interest in endometriosis. Her research focuses on decreasing the diagnostic delay in endometriosis, and on treatment of endometriosis related pain.
She is head of the Division Reproductive Medicine of the Dutch Society for Gynaecology and Obstetrics, and member of the executive Board of the World Endometriosis Society.
Scott Nelson is the Muirhead Chair in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Glasgow. Scott’s additional roles include Scientific Director of The Fertility Partnership, Medical Director of Access Fertility and visiting Professor at the University of Bristol. His research covers use of biomarkers to individualise care and epidemiology including e-health records and data linkage.Hans W. Nijman works as a gynaecologic oncologist (since 2003) at the University Medical Center in Groningen, and appointed head of the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology since 2015. My research group does translational and early clinical research in the field of tumor immunology. Next, I am involved in regional and national health care organization and innovation to achieve accurate and sustainable care for every patient with cancer
Inês Nunes , MD, PhD, is a Specialist in Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Intrapartum Care, at the Centro Materno-Infantil do Norte (CMIN) – Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Porto (CHUPorto), Portugal. She is an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics at ICBAS – School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and a researcher in the area of intrapartum fetal monitoring and obstetric simulation at CINTESIS – Center for Research in Health Technologies and Services, at the University of Porto, Portugal. With an H-index of 7, she has published 20 papers in international Medline-indexed journals, has collaborated in national and international books, and has given more than 70 lectures at national and international scientific meetings. She is currently a member of the Special Interest Group on Intrapartum Care, at the European Association of Perinatal Medicine (EAPM) and is an Associate Member of the Committee on Childbirth and PPH at the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO). She recently coordinated the European Guideline on Perinatal Care – “Oxytocin for induction and augmentation of labor”.
Professor Guid Oei, MD, PhD ,
Obstetrician Gynecologist at Máxima Medical Center and head of the fundamental perinatal research group at Eindhoven University of Technology.
He is co-initiator of the Perinatal Life Support project with the aim to develop a liquid filled incubator for extremely premature infants.Assoc. Prof. Dr. Johannes Ott , born in September 1980 in Vienna, Austria, currently is the deputy head of the Clinical Division of Gynecologic Endocrinology and Reproductive Medicine at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria. He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles with a main focus on polycystic ovary syndrome, fertility surgery, recurrent miscarriage, artificial reproduction, thyroid function and autoimmune thyroiditis.
Manon Oud works as a Clinical Laboratory Geneticist in training at the department of Human Genetics at the Radboudumc, the Netherlands (March 2020-present). She obtained her PhD in genetics of male infertility in the Genomic Disorders group of Prof. Veltman at the Radboudumc in which she applied state-of-the-art sequencing techniques to study the genetic causes of male infertility. During her PhD, she visited the group of Prof. O’Bryan at Monash University in Australia for three months, to characterize the role of novel candidate genes for male infertility. Currently she is focusing on the implementation of a new diagnostic genetic test for patients with male infertility. Her work has led to multiple publications and prizes. Furthermore, she has been a board member for the Network for Young Researchers in Andrology (NYRA) since 2018.
Martijn Oudijk is Professor of Obstetrics with special focus on prevention and treatment of preterm birth at the Amsterdam UMC.
He is the current chairman of the Fetal-Maternal Medicine board of the Dutch Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and chairman of the Scientific Committee of the Fetal-Maternal-Medicine board.
Nick Panay BSc MBBS FRCOG MFSRH/strong>Present position
Consultant Gynecologist, Subspecialist in Reproductive Medicine
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Chelsea & Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London
Professor of Practice, Imperial College London
Guest Professor, Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University.Summary CV
As director of the Menopause & PMS Centres at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea & Westminster Hospitals, Nick leads a busy clinical and research team which publishes widely, presents at scientific meetings and trains health professionals at all levels.He set up his Gynaecological Endocrinology (Gynae Endo) Research Unit within the Women’s Health Research Centre of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. He also runs a research programme at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital (C & W). He and his team of research fellows and research nurses run an active research programme consisting of translational, clinical and pharmaceutically sponsored research in menopause, premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), premenstrual syndrome, androgens and contraception.
Nick has authored nearly 200 peer reviewed publications with more than 7000 citations to date and has a Google Scholar h index of 41. He has presented at numerous national and international conferences, as an invited key note and plenary speaker.
Through his work with a number of societies, councils and women’s groups he campaigns actively for women’s health issues both nationally and internationally. His affiliations include:
Board Member and President Elect, International Menopause Society,
Past Chairman of The British Menopause Society (BMS),
Medical Advisory Council Member, BMS
Chairman of The National Association for Premenstrual Syndromes,
Clinical Advisory Board Member, International Association for Premenstrual Disorders,
Patron of Daisy Network
Past Honorary Director of Conferences, RCOG,
Past President and Council member, Royal Society of Medicine (O & G Division).Nuria Pellicer
Dr. Pellicer has participated as a researcher in several clinical research projects, including phase II and phase III clinical trials, she has given more than 20 lectures and has published more than 12 scientific papers and 6 book chapters. Her current research is based on ovarian rejuvenation with autologous stem cells and platelet-rich plasma in patients with low ovarian reserve and early ovarian failure, understanding the origin of pre-eclampsia in assisted reproduction treatments and analysis of the effect of protein expression in patients with PCOS.Guido Pennings: full professor of ethics and bioethics at Ghent University (Belgium) where he is also the director of the Bioethics Institute Ghent (BIG). He has published extensively on ethical problems associated with medically assisted reproduction and genetics.
He is Guest Professor on “Ethics in Reproductive Medicine” at the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences of the Free University Brussels since 2009.
– past coordinator of the Special Interest Group on Ethics and Law of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE),
– member of the National Advisory Committee on Bioethics in Belgium
– chair of the Federal Commission on Medical and Scientific Research on Embryos in vitro
– advisor to the World Health Organisation (WHO)
– chair of the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy, Ghent University.
Bibliography: http://users.ugent.be/~gpenningEmily Phijffer is a medical doctor and PhD student in pediatrics in the Wilhelmina Childrens Hospital in Utrecht, The Netherlands. She works in the RSV research group of Louis Bont and has a special interest in maternal RSV vaccinations.
Dr. Mina Popovic completed her undergraduate studies in Sydney, Australia. She received her PhD from Ghent University in Belgium, investigating the impact of chromosomal instability on early human development. Prior to her doctoral studies, she worked as a clinical embryologist for over five years, at Genea (previously Sydney IVF) in Australia. She is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher at Clinica Eugin in Barcelona and is the coordinator of the ESHRE Special Interest Group Stem Cells. She is involved in several projects relating to preimplantation genetic testing, in vitro models of human peri-implantation development and reproductive aging.
Annalisa Raccawas born in Italy on 26-02-1987.
In 2012 she graduated, Cum Laude, in Medicine and Surgery -University of Genoa, where
she also specialized, with commendation, in Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2018.
She obtained a PhD in reproductive endocrinology at the VUB (Brussel) and she did a scholarship in statistics with Harvard University.
Since January 2022 she is the Scientific Director of the Reproductive Medicine Service at Dexeus University Hospital.Dr. Catherine Racowsky, Ph.D., HCLD
Dr. Catherine Racowsky is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Emerita, Harvard Medical School and is a University Consultant for Hopital Foch, Suresnes, France. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Zoology at the University of Oxford, her Ph.D. in Reproductive Physiology from the University of Cambridge and undertook her post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Racowsky is Immediate Past President of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and has served on several professional committees including the Society of Assisted Reproductive Technology Executive Council, the International Taskforce for Stem Cell Research, government oversight committees for reproductive medicine, and the ASRM Practice Committee. She is a past Associate Editor of Human Reproduction and Fertility & Sterility and is currently an Associate Editor of the Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics, and a member of the editorial boards of Fertility and Sterility and Reproductive Biomedicine Online. Her research interests include investigating the effects of maternal and environmental factors on oocyte quality, studying the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying oocyte maturation in vivo and in vitro, expanding methodologies for assessing human embryo developmental competency, and improving quality control and quality management in the clinical IVF laboratory. She has authored over 150 peer-reviewed papers on various aspects of mammalian oocyte and embryo physiology, has published numerous news releases and book chapters, and has co-edited seven books.
Laura Rienzi
Adjunct Professor of Biotechnology in Assisted Reproduction, University of Urbino, Italy
Director of the Scientific Executive Committee of GeneraLife and co-founder of Genera
Senior Clinical Embryologist
With 30 years’ experience in human assisted reproduction technologies, pre-implantation genetic testing and cryopreservation of human oocytes, sperm and embryos, Laura Rienzi is the Director of the Scientific Executive Committee of the GeneraLife network of IVF clinics in Europe.
Laura obtained her degree in Biology magna cum laude at the University of Rome “La Sapienza”, University of Rome, a Master degree and a course specialization in Reproductive Medicine at the University of Padua. Since 2016, she is Adjunct Professor of Biotechnology in Assisted Reproduction at the Faculty of Biology, University of Urbino, Italy. She has authored >200 articles (Scopus Index 52), reviews and book chapters, she has also been invited to speak in more than 300 national and international scientific meetings and has won several awards regarding fertility investigation and innovation.
In 2008 she founded together with Dr. Filippo Maria Ubaldi the Genera IVF centers, with 4 different locations in Italy, where she is Laboratory Director. In 2020, she was actively involved in the creation of GeneraLife, a network of >30 clinics in 5 different countries in Europe: the name GeneraLife was inspired by the group she founded 12 years before.Michael Schenk is Medical director of the “Kinderwunsch Institut Schenk GmbH” fertility clinic in Dobl, Austria. As gynecologist he is constantly challenged to improve the techniques of IVF. His research interests are predominantly related to biomarkers in fertility treatment as well as preimplantation genetics and early implantation events.
Sam Schoenmakers, Netherlands
Mark Schoberer is consultant Neonatologist and Pediatric Intensivist at the University Hospital in Aachen, Germany. His research is focused around life-sustaining and safety-related medical technological solutions for preterm and term neonates. This includes artificial amniotic sac and placenta technology as well as mechanical ventilation, drug safety and automated movement analysis.
Shalimar Shadeed re-joined Elsevier in 2021 as Expert in Publishing Ethics. Shalimar worked in the publishing industry for 11 years and held various publishing roles. She had active role in managing a portfolio of journals within Europe, Middle East & Africa; and was very active in presenting at outreach events and championing projects to improve publishing processes. In 2017, Shalimar took strategic responsibility for the larger regional portfolio and guided third-party owners in implementing publishing best practices, including the introduction of new ethical standards such as CRediT authorship statements. Shalimar has acted as a Senior Publisher at Atlantis Press (acquired by Springer Nature) from 2018- June 2021, managing a large journal portfolio, supporting business development activities and driving the implementation of publishing ethics best practice and policies.
Kevin D Sinclair, PhD, DSc
Professor of Developmental Biology, Head of Division of Animal Sciences, University of Nottingham.
Research interests lie in metabolic programming during early development, where epigenetic outcomes are determined in embryonic cells and tissues, and long-term developmental consequences assessed in offspring. First to discover that developmental anomalies following embryo culture were due to errors in genomic imprinting. Also, first to demonstrate that reductions in folate and vitamin B12 in maternal diets lead to epigenetic modifications to DNA methylation associated with hypertensive and insulin resistant offspring. Subsequently demonstrated that paternal malnutrition epigenetically modifies DNA methylation and adversely affects cardio-metabolic health in offspring. Published the first detailed reports of cardio-metabolic and musculo-skeletal health in aged cloned offspring, and provided details of concordant DNA methylation in embryonic and somatic-cell lineages. Ongoing work is assessing the nature and extent of aneuploidy and epigenetic dysregulation following mammalian embryo culture.
Régine Steegers-Theunissen, NetherlandsProf. Dr Régine Steegers-Theunissen, epidemiologist, medical doctor and chair of Periconception Epidemiology at the Erasmus MC. She is an (inter)national pioneer in periconception health research, care and innovations of digital and blended lifestyle care. Her research interests relates to the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease paradigm with a focus on the periconception period as “earliest window of the life course” involving the role of lifestyle, 1C metabolism and epigenetics in the complex pathophysiology of birth defects, low birth weight and subfertility. She is principle investigator of the ongoing Rotterdam Periconception cohort (Predict study, >2009) embedded in patient care with a focus on periconception parental health determinants, epigenetics, and periconception- and long term health outcomes in mother and child. She initiated and implemented successful preconception outpatient clinics for tailored nutrition and lifestyle counselling (2007) and blended lifestyle care (2018). From 2003 onwards several web-based eHealth coaching programmes on the mobile phone have been developed and implemented: www.slimmerzwanger.nl (Smarter Pregnancy), release 2011, vs 4.0 in 2020 acknowledged by the RIVM), www.slimmeretenmetjekind.nl, release 2014, www.mijnleefstijlzorg.nl/programmas/vervolg, release 2020. In 2021 the digital Erasmus MC life course care platform has been released to provide integrated patient journeys of lifestyle-, medical and social care and research. The loyalty program www.SnellerZwangerWorden.nl has been released and will be tested in the coming year to increase the uptake of preconception lifestyle care of vulnerable women. The success of Smarter Pregnancy has been demonstrated in a large population based survey, randomized control trials in (sub)fertile populations, and in the Predict Study. Smarter Pregnancy has also been successfully tested by UCL in London (UK) and RCTs in obese women are ongoing. From 2019 she is Erasmus MC lead of the Convergence flagship My Digital Twin. Currently she is partner in the EU projects LIFECYCLE (Horizon2020), DohArt-net (ITN), and JPI Precise (ERA). Her ultimate aim is to improve health of current and future generations in the periconception period as the earliest time window of the life course. She is (co)author of > 435 international publications, H-index 57 WoS.
Ambitious new project as part of the Convergence of Erasmus MC, TU Delft and Erasmus University Rotterdam: My Digital Twin. ‘We want to collect large amounts of data, generate knowledge from that, and use that knowledge to develop products that improve healthcare. These products are intended for healthcare providers, the colleagues around them, and patients and their immediate surroundings. ‘We start by collecting the data, building the necessary infrastructure. the design of the algorithms used to analyze the data. And finally, we need to bring the knowledge gained from those analyses to the benefit of patients and caregivers.
https://convergence.nl/my-digital-twin/Dr. Teklenburg is a graduate Medical Biology (MSc) and Medical Doctor (MD PhD) and has been working in the field of Reproductive Medicine for more than 15 years. He’s a consultant gynecologist in the Isala Fertility clinic, one of the largest non-academic centers in The Netherlands. A team member in different international research groups and an enthusiastic young medical professional. He has an ambition to innovate infertility treatment options and is driven to improve patient care for couples with infertility. He does so through active involvement in committees for writing national guidelines and projects on value based healthcare.
Professor Basky Thilaganathan
Research interests
Preeclampsia, uteroplacental function, fetal growth and maternal cardiac adaptation in pregnancy
Biography
Basky Thilaganathan was appointed Director of Fetal Medicine at St George’s Hospital in 1999. He has authored over 300 peer-reviewed publications in indexed journals. His major research interest is placental dysfunction leading to pre-eclampsia, fetal growth restriction and stillbirth (TED talk: http://bit.ly/2i1SqDk). He has led on the implementation of algorithm-based screening at St Georges which has led to an 80% reduction in preterm pre-eclampsia and a 30% reduction in perinatal death (https://vimeo.com/rcog/authorinsights16361). He is the Clinical Director of the Tommy’s National Centre for Maternity Improvement (https://vimeo.com/638468663/23d205d029) located at the RCOG and is Editor Emeritus of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, the medical journal affiliated to ISUOG. He is a Council Member on the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (RCOG) and represents the RCOG on the UK National Screening Committee and the DH Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle oversight committee. He is also the Clinical Lead for the first dedicated high-throughput cfDNA screening NHS lab to undertake cfDNA aneuploidy screening (NIPT) in pregnancy (www.theSAFEtest.co.uk). The unit he leads was recently covered in a Channel 4 TV series entitled “Baby Surgeons” (2021) and the Times magazine.Patrick Turley is an assistant professor (research) of economics at the Center for Economic and Social Research (CESR) and in the Department of Economics at University of Southern California. He directs the Behavioral and Health Genomics Center at CESR. Dr. Turley is the chair of the Method Development Working Group and a member of the Steering Committee for the Social Science Genetic Association Consortium. His research fields include in social science genomics, statistical genetics, econometrics, and labor economics. Dr. Turley obtained his PhD in Economics from Harvard University.
Frank Tüttelmann
Frank is a human geneticist and clinical andrologist working on the genetic underpinnings of infertility and reproduction. He is the Director of the Institute of Reproductive Genetics, University of Münster and coordinator of the DFG Clinical Research Unit ‘Male Germ Cells: from Genes to Function‘. Frank aims to not only identify but also functionally scrutinise novel genes and quickly translate the findings into the clinical setting.
Dr. Bulent Urman
After his residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology in the University of Hacettepe, Dr Urman completed a 3-year fellowship program in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility in Vancouver, Canada. He returned to Hacettepe University in 1991 and participated in the foundation of one of the first IVF clinics in Turkey. He worked as an Associate Professor until 1996 in the same institution. Dr Urman resigned from the university in 1996 and founded the Assisted Reproduction Unit of the American Hospital of Istanbul, one of the biggest IVF centers in the country. His major areas of interest are clinical assisted reproduction, laparoscopic and hysteroscopic surgery, endometriosis and fibroid research. He has published extensively in these fields, having over 180 articles published in renowned international journals. He has written several book chapters and lectured in numerous national and international meetings. He is a reviewer for many international journals. He served as the president of the Turkish Society of Reproductive Medicine between 2007 and 2012. In 2011 he was appointed as a clinical faculty of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the Koc University School of Medicine. He served as the head of the same department for 4 years. Dr. Bulent Urman has the highest H index among Turkish Gynecologists and was awarded as one of the 100 most influential physicians in Turkey.
Heleen J van Beekhuizen, NetherlandsDr Heleen J van Beekhuizen is a gynaecological oncologist in Erasmus MC The Netherlands and has special interest in endometrial cancer, carcinosarcoma of the uterus and HPV related gynaecological (pre) cancer. She is PI of several studies in these areas.
Ralf van de Laar, Netherlands
Dorenda van Dijken, NetherlandsDorenda van Dijken MD is a gynecologist in OLVG West Amsterdam since 1994. She is active for more than 25 years in the field of menopause and women’s health. She is the present Chair of the Dutch Menopause Society since 2015 and the present chair of the Steering group Women’s Health of the Dutch Gynecologist Association (NVOG).
She is co-author of the NVOG guideline management of menopause 2018, the guideline obesity and menopause 2022, and of the publication in the European Heart Journal in 2020:Cardiovascular health after menopause transition, pregnancy disorders, and other gynaecologic conditions: a consensus document from European cardiologists, gynaecologists, and endocrinologists
She set up the first multidisciplinary outclinic for complex menopause problems in the Netherlands in 2020.
Together with a cardiologist she wrote a book for women: Heart & Hormones. Another book, together with a psychiatrist and a sexuologist/psychologist: “Brain, Hormones and Sex” is in progress
Her mission is to gain more attention for women with severe menopausal complaints and more awareness in women about their risk factors and future health. She is in favor of HRT for women with severe complaints and wants to lift the taboo about HRT in the Netherlands.
Jeanine van Klink, NetherlandsDr. Jeanine van Klink is an Assistant Professor and Medical Psychologist, working at the LUMC WAKZ Department of Pediatrics (Neonatology and Medical Psychology) in close collaboration with the department of Obstetrics (Fetal Therapy). Her research line focuses on the neurodevelopmental outcome of children following severe pregnancy complications and fetal therapy, in particular in monochorionic twins.
Ans van Pelt is Professor in Translational Reproductive Biology and head of the Reproductive Biology Laboratory at Amsterdam UMC, the Netherlands. She has over 30 years of experience in research on testis development and especially in spermatogonial stem cells and spermatogenesis with more than 100 peer reviewed publications. Her main research topic is to translate her knowledge on spermatogonial stem cells to novel fertility therapies to preserve fertility in prepubertal boys diagnosed with cancer and to restore fertility in men with spermatogenic failure. She reported as the first in the world the proof of principle of in vitro propagation of adult and prepubertal human spermatogonial stem cells, which is a major requirement for future potential clinical application of spermatogonial stem cell transplantation therapy. She is the PI on the ZonMW TAS grant ‘Spermatogonial stem cell transplantation to restore fertility in childhood cancer survivors’ and the ZonMW PSIDER grant ‘In vitro generation of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived gametes to model human embryogenesis‘. She was coordinator of the Marie Curie FP7 ITN program Growsperm (www.Growsperm.eu) and assistant coordinator in the European FP project: EU FP5 (QLK-2000-00305). Furthermore, she was PI on many other successful past Kika, EU and ZonMW grant applications related on male fertility. In addition, she is the secretary of the Dutch Society for Stem Cell Research (DSSCR) and co-organizer of their annual conferences.
Prof. Dr. Arne Vanhie is a gynecologist at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology from the University Hospital Leuven, Belgium, with a special interest in endometriosis and infertility. He obtained his medical degree at Leuven University, Belgium. During his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology he worked at the University Hospital Leuven and University Hospital of Wales, in Cardiff. He holds a PhD in Biomedical Sciences with a thesis on microRNA as biomarkers for endometriosis. As part of his PhD he worked on a two year project in the baboon model for endometriosis at the Institute of Primate Research in Nairobi, Kenya. After a research fellowship at the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at Yale University, USA he started working in the Leuven University Fertility Center. The greater part of his clinical practice are couples who need pre-implantation genetic testing (PGT-M) and women with endometriosis-related pain or infertility. Along with his clinical work Prof. Dr. Arne Vanhie is researcher at Leuven University in the Laboratory of Endometrium, Endometriosis and Reproductive Medicine (LEERM). His research is focused on reproductive genetics and non-invasive diagnosis of endometriosis.
Dr. Vassena earned a DVM and a PhD in Biotechnology applied to reproduction from the University of Milan, Italy. She has worked and trained in Canada and the United States, and has been a researcher at the National Stem Cell Bank in Barcelona, Spain.
Since 2011 she is the Scientific Director of the Eugin Group, where she directs the group international research, and supervises directly the group’s basic research unit.
Dr. Vassena is Associate Professor of translational medicine at the University of Barcelona; she is the co-director of the international master’s degree in human assisted reproduction techniques at Pompeu Fabra University – Barcelona School of BUsiness, and she is the president of the Eugin ethics committee for clinical research.Dr. Vassena is co-author of more than 110 scientific articles in high-impact international journals, has been the coordinator of the ESHRE stem cell special interest group, and has served for 4 years on the Executive Committee of the same society. She is currently serving in the executive committee of the Spanish Fertility Society.Joanne Verweij, Netherlands
Prof. Gerard H.A.Visser
Emeritus professor Obstetrics and former head of department, University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Member and past chair FIGO Committee Safe Motherhood Newborn Health. Former president of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine. Honorary Fellow of the Flemish, South African, Royal ( British; fellow ad eudem) and Romanian Colleges of O&G and of the German Perinatal Society. Awarded the Maternity price of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine in 2016. Research interests: fetal ( neurological) development, fetal monitoring, asphyxia, IUGR, cesarean section, diabetes and pregnancy. Over 480 PubMed articles, which have been cited over 33.000 times according to Google Scholar; supervisor of 73 completed PhD projects.
Zdenko Vizintin has been working in laser technology for more than 40 years, having graduated from the Ljubljana Faculty of Electronics as an Electronics Engineer. Throughout his professional career he has been deeply involved in R&D and production of various laser systems for different industries. In his current position in Fotona as Medical Laser Program Director responsible for the Applications Development, and as Researcher and Expert Lecturer for Laser and Health Academy (LA&HA) Zdenko Vizintin is actively involved in new medical laser application development and validation through many clinical studies. He is the author and co-author of numerous laser engineering papers, as well as studies in the applications of laser in medicine. In last ten years Zdenko is deeply involved in development of novel minimally invasive laser therapies in gynecology.
Prof. Yariv Yogev graduated medical school in The Technion University, Haifa, Israel and completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Helen Schneider Hospital, Rabin Medical Center. He completed his clinical and research fellowship in Maternal Fetal Medicine at Columbia University and St. Lukes-Roosvelt Hospital in New York. Currently, he is full professor at Tel Aviv University and the Chairman of Lis Hospital for Women in Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center which is a tertiary University affiliated Hospital with approximately 12,000 deliveries a year. Prof. Yogev is the past President of the Israel Society for Maternal and Fetal Medicine, the past moderator of the diabetes in pregnancy program in the American Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine (SMFM) and board member in the Israel residency board exams. He contributed more than 240 peer-reviewed articles, editor of 2 books and wrote many chapters in books, and his main in interest in research are pregnancy complication, especially diabetes and preterm labor.
Petra L.M. Zusterzeel, NetherlandsPetra L.M. Zusterzeel MD, PhD
Gynecological oncologist at the Radboud UMC, Associate professor in gynecological oncology and Principal Clinician with emphasis on patient-centered care.
Involved in the treatment and care of patients with gynecological cancer, specialized in minimal invasive and robot-assisted surgery, and patient-centered care.
Trained at the Radboud University Medical Centre (RUMC) and the QCGC Queensland Center for Gynecological Cancer (QCGC) in Brisbane, Australia
She has been part of the research group for MITeC (Medical Innovation and Technology expert Center) from the initial stage on, developing several research lines that focus on optimizing oncological surgery, robot-assisted surgery and sentinel lymph node detection techniques.