Meet the Scientific Programme Committee

Australia

Ajay Rane

Professor Ajay Rane is the Director of Urogynaecology at Townsville University Hospital, Director of Mater Pelvic Health and Research and Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at James Cook University in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. In 2012, Ajay was a finalist for Australian of the Year and in 2013, he was awarded the Order of Australia for his work in Women’s Health. In 2016, he received the Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Award for Humanitarian Work in Women’s Health. Ajay also received an honorary fellowship from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologist for his work in advancing women’s health in May 2020.

Italy

Chiara Benedetto

Chiara Benedetto MD PhD FCNGOF, FEBCOG, FRCOG, FACOG is Professor of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Director of the School of Specialization in Gynaecology and Obstetrics, President of the Degree Course in Midwifery and Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 1, Sant’Anna University Hospital, The City of Health and Science of Torino, Italy.

She is currently representing the Italian Society of Obstetrics and Gyneacology in the Council of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) and the European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. She is also Chair of the FIGO Refugees Sub-committee.

She was President of the European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and launched, at the European Parliament, “The Standards of Care for Women’s Health in Europe” promoting the quality of ObGyn care across Europe. She also chaired the Surgical Group of the Union Européenne des Médecins Spécialistes.

She was Chair of the FIGO Women’s Health and Human Rights Committee, which held worldwide Workshops for professionals, developing competencies to enshrine Human Rights into the provision of Women’s Healthcare and prepared international Communication Campaigns, sharing health information to enhance women’s empowerment.

She established and presides the Medicina a Misura di Donna Foundation, dedicated to women’s health and safety.

Ireland

Edgar Mocanu

Dr. Edgar Mocanu is a practitioner and educator. He is a Specialist in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, an RCOG certified Subspecialist in Reproductive Medicine and Surgery and a Consultant at the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin. Edgar holds a Doctor in Medicine degree from Trinity College Dublin, is an Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and an RCOG and RCPI Fellow.

He divides his time between providing clinical care, academic education at under and postgraduate level and engaging and contributing to the activity of international organizations such as ESHRE, FIGO, IFFS and the WHO. He is serving as the IFFS President Elect. His academic interests are in medical under and postgraduate education, preventive reproduction, patient education, oncofertility, genetics in male infertility, reproductive surgery and lean services in IVF/ ICSI.

Ireland

Paul Fogarty

Paul Fogarty MD FRCOG is a Prof of Obstetrics & Gynaecology from Belfast, Ireland. From 1993 - 2017, he was a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, specializing in Labour Ward, ultrasound, and urogynaecology. In addition to this clinical expertise, he has a special interest in Medical Education, Medical Leadership, and Clinical Governance. He is an active member of the RCOG and was the Honorary Treasurer of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists from 2010-2013, and subsequently Senior Vic President (Global Health) from 2013-2016. From 2017-2020, he was Professor and Head of Department for Obstetrics and Gyneacology in Penang Medical School, Malaysia. From 2015-2017, he was the Co-chair of the Scientific Programme Committee for the FIGO 2018 World Congress in Rio. From 2016-present, he holds a role as an IJGO Sub Editor, and is a current member and past chair of the FIGO Minimal Access Surgery Committee.

Honduras

Wendy Karina Cárcamo Madrid

Dr. Wendy Karina Cárcamo Madrid is a surgeon and Gynaecology and Obstetrics Specialist at the National Autonomous University of Honduras. She has served as a Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist at the National Institute of Perinatology Isidro Espinoza de los Reyes, Mexico, as a Maternal Fetal Physician of the Honduran Institute of Social Security, Tegucigalpa, Honduras and as a Maternal Fetal Physician at Hospital Honduras Medical Center, Tegucigalpa, Honduras. She is a member of the Education Committee for FLASOG and of the Scientific Committee of FLASOG. She teaches the post-graduate degree of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Honduras and delivers specialist trainings, for example on zero deaths due to bleeding.

Australia

Michael Permezel

Michael Permezel was President of Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetrics & Gynaecology (RANZCOG) from November 2012 to November 2016 and continues to serve RANZCOG as Dean of Education.  He was appointed Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in the University of Melbourne in 1997 and following his retirement from the University in July 2019, holds the position of Emeritus Professor. His principal areas of research include perinatal outcome at term, gestational diabetes and preterm birth.

Ghana

Richard Adanu

Professor Richard Adanu is an obstetrician gynaecologist and a women’s reproductive health epidemiologist. He graduated from University of Ghana Medical School and completed his specialist training at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Ghana. He has a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and his research has been in maternal mortality and morbidity reduction, contraceptive use by women and cervical cancer screening. He served as the Dean of the University of Ghana School of Public Health from 2012 to 2018 and has developed a number of interactive web-based educational material in obstetrics and gynaecology. He the Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics. He is currently on sabbatical leave from the University of Ghana and serves as a research capacity strengthening consultant for the Reproductive Health and Research Department of the World Health Organization.

India

Nozer Sheriar

Dr Nozer Sheriar has served as Secretary General of the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India and as President of the Mumbai Obstetric and Gynaecological Society. He is a member of a Technical Advisory Committee for the World Health Organization (South East Asia Region) and of the Board of Directors of Ipas and of the Guttmacher Institute. His areas of specialist interest include safe abortion, operative obstetrics and gynaecological endoscopy.

Saudi Arabia

Ghadeer Al-Shaikh

Dr. Ghadeer Al-Shaikh is a Professor and Consultant of Obstetrics, Gynaecology, Urogynaecology and Pelvic Reconstructive surgery in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, King Saud University Medical City. Dr Al-Shaikh is the Founding Dean of the College of Medicine - Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University. She was also the Vice Dean for Academic Affairs, Preclinical Years, College of Medicine, King Saud University from 2010 July till February 2013. She was an Associate Professor and Consultant of Obstetrics, Gynaecology, Urogynaecology and Pelvic Reconstructive surgery in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, November 2013 till May 2018, and was an Assistant Professor from August 2008 till November 2013. She has a Fellowship in urogynaecology pelvic reconstructive surgery from Ottawa University Canada. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC), Member of the Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of Canada (SOGC) and Member of the Saudi Urogynaecology Group. She has been awarded on many occasions for her achievements. She has published many articles based on professional studies and participated in many workshops, presentations, posts and conferences as a speaker and instructor.

Colombia

Edgar Ivan Ortiz

Dr. Edgar Ivan Ortiz obtained a Graduate Degree in Perinatology at the University of the Republic of Uruguay and an Obstetrics and Gynaecology Specialist Masters in Public Health from the Valle University, Cali, Colombia. He has been Professor of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the Universidad del Valle since 1984. Edgar was author and leader of the initiative for the surveillance of Extreme Maternal Morbidity and the Clinical Safety model for the Care of Obstetric Emergencies in Colombia and the Region of the Americas, as an innovative initiative for the reduction of maternal mortality, with multiple publications in national and international texts and journals. Edgar has served as President of FECOLSOG (Colombian Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecology) and as President of FLASOG (Latin American Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecology). He is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Edgar has served as an advisor to the Ministry of Health of Colombia for programs to reduce maternal mortality since 2007 and was distinguished as Master of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Valle del Cauca in 2012 and of Colombia in 2016.

Latvia

Dace Rezeberga

Dace Rezeberga is an obstetrician – gynaecologist and Professor. She graduated from the Riga Medical Institute in 1985 and completed PhD studies at the Riga Stradiņš University, 2000-2006. Dace is currently Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Riga Stradiņš University, medical director at Riga Hospital, lead specialist in obstetrics and gynaecology at the Ministry of Health of Latvia and Riga East University Hospital. Her main areas of interest are: reproductive tract infections during pregnancy, nutrition during pregnancy, pelvic floor dysfunction after childbirth, perinatal audit, confidential inquiries into maternal death, reproductive health, cervical cancer screening, molecular characteristics of precancerous lesions of uterine cervix, health care organisation, undergraduate and postgraduate training, simulation based training in obstetrics and gynaecology. Dace is a board member of the Latvian Association of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists since 2002, president of the association 2006-2012, board member of the Latvian Association of Health Care Organisers since 2012, board member of the International Society of Infectious diseases in obstetrics and gynaecology since 2016.

United States of America

Meg Autry

Dr. Meg Autry is a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at UCSF. She received her medical training at Wake Forest University, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, and completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at UCSF. She is the Residency Director and Director of Graduate Medical Education in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproductive Sciences at UCSF. Since serving 3 years in the US Army, where she was stationed in Germany, she has worked in education, initially at the Medical College of Wisconsin, then back at UCSF since 2001. She served on the CREOG question writing committee, as well as the NBME question writing committee, is a board examiner and in 2016, she completed her 2-year term as President of APGO (Association of Professors of Gynaecology and Obstetrics). She was the Program Chair of the Pacific Coast Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society in 2015 and is past President of the San Francisco Gyn Society. She is on the editorial board of the journal Obstetrics and Gynaecology as the representative of the Society of Academic Specialists in Gynaecology and Obstetrics (SASGOG) and is also on the board of SASGOG. She is on the ACOG presidential task force for Global Health and the ACOG Scientific Committee. Dr. Autry’s current research activities revolve around education and education innovations. She is interested in faculty attrition, workforce issues, and the impact of educational innovations implementation. Most recently, she has focused on education and skills transfer on a global level in collaboration with the Ob/Gyn Department at Mulago Hospital, Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. She has published an article in Obstetrics and Gynaecology on remote teaching of basic surgical skills. Dr. Autry was the primary investigator on an APGO educational grant developing a curriculum for learners in underserved settings both internationally and nationally. Her residency program received Song Brown Funding from the state of California to recruit and train learners in low resource settings particularly in California and is one of four Ob/Gyn residency programs who have Josiah H. Macy Jr Foundation money for interprofessional education.

Canada

Alon Altman

Dr. Alon Altman grew up in Port Coquitlam, B.C. and finished his Bachelor of Science in Honours Genetics and Doctor of Medicine at the University of British Columbia in 2004. He then went on to complete residency in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Dalhousie University in 2009 and his fellowship in Gynaecologic Oncology at the University of Calgary in 2011. He currently works as a Gynaecologic Oncologist and Associate Professor at the University of Manitoba, and the Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre/Cancercare Manitoba. He has a strong interest in undergraduate/postgraduate education and research. He is the director of education for the Society of Gynaecologic Oncology of Canada (GOC), the programme director for the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, chair of the University Medical Group (UMG), vice chair for the Medical Management Safety Committee (MMSC) at CancerCare Manitoba, and the co-chair of the Canadian Obstetrics and Gynaecology Review program (COGRP). He is actively involved in multiple university, national and international committees. His clinical research interests involve gestational trophoblastic disease, hormonal management of malignancy, Enhance Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) and postoperative clinical care.
On a personal note, Alon has been married to his beautiful wife, Cheryl, for 13 years and they have 3 amazing human children and 3 amusing canine children. He spends most of his free time camping, running, and chasing children or meandering the lanes at Home Depot or Costco. He also used to enjoy, painting, diving, rock climbing, and theatre, but these have taken a backseat for the time being.

SPC Chair, Germany

Frank Louwen

Frank Louwen is Professor of Medicine / Gynaecology and Obstetrics at the University of Frankfurt/Main, Germany. He is on the Goethe University Medical School Clinical Ethics Committee and Scientific Committee, Vice President of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe (DDGG - German Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics), member of the Board for Quality Management of the Government of Germany and President of the German Foundation for Women's Health. Internationally, he is Executive Board Member of International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), Council Member of the European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (EBCOG) and President of the German-Israel Society for Gynaecology and Obstetrics. He received an Honorary Doctorate from the Russian Academy of Sciences. Frank is the coordinator of Evidence Based Medicine Guidelines on Normal vaginal delivery and Sectio caesarea. His current research covers molecular mechanisms of preeclampsia, molecular correlation of obesity with preeclampsia and breast cancer, stem cells from breast milk in oncology and the function of mitotic regulators and their inhibitors in oncology.