Overview

Dr Simon Meagher is consultant sonologist at the Perinatal department, Mercy Hospital for Women, Melbourne. He also serves as Medical Director of Monash Ultrasound for Women where he oversees a team of 50 sonologists, sonographers, genetic counsellors, phlebotomists and administrative staff in delivering a tertiary level ultrasound service across south east Melbourne. Dr Meagher has dedicated 30  years of his term as Medical Director, teaching and lecturing in obstetric and gynaecological ultrasound both locally and overseas. He has delivered over 800 lectures, across 17 countries, and 43 cities worldwide. In 2015, he was awarded ‘Sonologist of The Year’ by the Australian society of Ultrasound in medicine (ASUM) in recognition  of his teaching skills and his commitment to  hands on training within the hospital setting at the Mercy Hospital for Women and for  his commitment and contributions to ASUM.

His interest in clinical research has focussed on early pregnancy screening and diagnosis he has published over 100  articles in peer review journals, including 15 articles  in the last 3 years focusing on first trimester  pregnancy screening and diagnosis. Dr Meagher has described five original sonographic fetal markers during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy. He is now focusing his interest on aneuploidy and embryo development from  seven to 10 weeks as we approach the dawn of a new era of genetic screening via free fetal DNA analysis.  

Dr Meagher has taken on multiple leadership positions - early in his career as the Chair of the Standards of Practice Committee at ASUM, examiner and executive board member for the ASUM Diploma of diagnostic ultrasound and later as council member of ASUM. Thereafter he served as Chairman of the Victoria Obstetric Sonologists group and on several  ISUOG Sub-Committees  at the  International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetric and Gynaecological Ultrasound.

Country: Australia

Field: Obstetrics and Gynaecology

Specialties: Prenatal Diagnosis. First and Second Trimester Fetal anomaly screening. Aneuploidy screening and diagnosis. NIPT and prenatal Exome sequencing. Maternal and Fetal Doppler Ultrasound. Invasive Prenatal Procedures.  Ultrasound and Infertility. Tubal Patency Testing. 

Languages: English

Dr Fatima Crispi is a physician scientist, consultant and professor in Maternal Fetal Medicine at BCNatal, University of Barcelona, with a strong focus on fetal cardiology. She has spent stays abroad (i.e. Harris Birthright Research Center with Kypros Nicolaides and St. Georges Hospital London with George Sutherland) and developed a PhD, directed by Eduard Gratacós, that first demonstrated postnatal persistence of in utero cardiac remodelling after fetal growth restriction. She has pioneered research on Fetal Cardiac Programming, establishing fetal cardiac function standards, developing animal and in silico models of placental disease, applying -omics in preeclampsia, implementing artificial intelligence tools and exploring the link between fetal and adult cardiac disease. She established a unique clinic on fetal cardiac function incorporating new imaging tools for assessing the fetal heart. She is fully committed to education having directed 17 PhDs and leading a Postgraduate degree on Fetal Cardiology at the University of Barcelona.

She has been involved with ISUOG for almost 20 years, with numerous scientific communications and invited participations to ISUOG congresses and educational activities and contributions to the Fetal Heart Special Interest Group.

Country: Spain

Field: Obstetrics; Imaging; Fetal Medicine

Specialties: fetal cardiology; fetal biometry and wellbeing; preeclampsia; fetal growth restriction; maternal and fetal Doppler; echocardiography; congenital heart disease; cardiac function

Languages: English, Spanish, Catalan

Reem S. Abu-Rustum, MD, FACOG, FACS, FAIUM, RDMS

Professor & Director of Ultrasound Services, Education and Research at the University of Florida

Prof. Reem S. Abu-Rustum obtained her medical degree and completed her residency training in obstetrics & gynecology at the University of Florida (USA). She is a fellow of the American Congress of Obstetrics & Gynecology, the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine and the American College of Surgeons. She is certified by the Fetal Medicine Foundation in first and second trimester ultrasound.

Currently, Reem is Professor and Director of Ultrasound Services, Education and Research in the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Florida. Within ISUOG she is President, Past-Chair of the Basic Training Sub Committee and past Ambassador to Lebanon and Outreach in the Middle East. She is a board member-at-large of the Fetal Heart Society and a member of their Membership Committee.

Reem was a board member of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine and Co-Chair of their Annual Convention Committee. She is the past Vice-Chair of the Society of Maternal Fetal Medicine Patient Education Committee and was a member of their Education and Global Health Committees. She was Co-Founder and President of SANA Medical NGO dedicated to obstetrical care within an outreach setting in Lebanon. She is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades and has received the Presidential Award of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, the Clinical Excellence Award from the College of Medicine Council at the University of Florida and the CREOG National Award for Excellence in Resident Education. She has a special interest in the first trimester fetus and the fetal heart, ultrasound education and global outreach. She has served on two ISUOG outreach missions to Sudan and has authored the text "A Practical Guide to 3D Ultrasound".

Notable publications:

• Abu-Rustum RS, Pierre K, Dyrda M, Smith E, Abchee N, Bilardo CM. Developmental Changes of the Coronary Sinus Between the First and Second Trimesters: A Pilot Study. J Ultrasound Med. 2024 Nov;43(11):2163-2168. doi: 10.1002/jum.16547. Epub 2024 Aug 8. PMID: 39115155.

• Abu-Rustum, RS, Berwick, M, Heft, J. Successful Implementation of the AIUM Standardized Four-Year Residency Ultrasound Curriculum in Obstetrics and Gynecology: Lessons Learned and Way Forward. J Ultrasound Med. 2024 Jun;43(6):1109-1119. doi: 10.1002/jum.16439. Epub 2024 Mar 3. PMID: 38433458.

• Smith E, Pierre K, Acevedo A, Egerman R, Rajderkar D, Abu-Rustum RS. First-trimester cavum veli interpositi: prevalence and natural history. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol. 2024 Apr;63(4):502-506. doi: 10.1002/uog.27523. PMID: 37902788.

• Abu-Rustum RS, Ziade MF. The 3 sweep approach for fetal anatomic assessment in the outreach setting. Journal of Fetal Medicine 2017; 4(1): 25-30.

• Abu-Rustum RS. A Practical Guide to 3D Ultrasound. First Edition. CRC Press. 9 Dec 2014.

• Abu-Rustum RS, Ziade MF, Abu-Rustum SE. Reference values for the right and left fetal choroid plexus at 11-13 weeks: an early sign of ‘developmental’ laterality? J. Ultrasound Med 2013; 32: 1623-1629.

• Abu-Rustum RS, Ziade MF, Abu-Rustum SE. Defining the spatial relationships between 8 anatomic planes in the 11+6 – 13+6 week fetus. Prenatal Diagnosis 2012; 32: 875-882.

• Abu-Rustum RS, Ziade MF, Abu-Rustum SE. Learning curve and factors influencing the feasibility of performing fetal echocardiography at the time of the first trimester scan. J. Ultrasound Med 2011; 30: 695-700.

Country: USA

Field: Obstetrics 

Specialties: Fetal anomaly screening 1st trimester and 2nd trimester; aneuploidy screening; fetal heart; 3D & 4D ultrasound; basic training; the first trimester fetus; ultrasound in medical education.  

Languages: English, Arabic, Italian

Professor Carvalho is a paediatric cardiologist who specialises in imaging and managing abnormalities of the fetal heart during pregnancy. She works in London, at the Royal Brompton and St George’s NHS Foundation Trusts and is Professor of Practice at St George’s University of London.

Professor Carvalho graduated with Honours in Brazil (MB BS) and initiated her Cardiology training in São Paulo. She obtained her PhD and completed her specialist training in paediatric cardiology in London. Since 1999, she has focused her interest in imaging the fetal heart throughout pregnancy and managing high-risk pregnancies (fetal cardiology). She is Head of ‘Brompton Centre for Fetal Cardiology’ at the Royal Brompton Hospital, Lead Fetal Cardiologist at St George’s Hospital and Professor of Practice at St George’s University of London.

She is Fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), Fellow of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology (ISUOG), and Chairperson of ISUOG Fetal Heart Special Interest Group.  She was ISUOG Board Member and Trustee (2009-2016), Editor for Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology (2011-2014) and Council Member of the British Congenital Cardiac Association (BCCA, 2016-2019).

She is known internationally for her clinical, educational and research interests in Fetal Cardiology and lectures regularly at national and international conferences.

Country: UK

Field: Obstetrics/Fetal and Pediatric Cardiology

Specialties: Fetal heart

Languages: English; Portuguese

Prof. Dr Rabih Chaoui, was born and schooled in Beirut, Lebanon. His medical studies and specialisation in obstetrics and gynecology were undertaken at the Charité Medical School, Humboldt University, in Berlin, Germany. Between 2001 and 2004, he was professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Charité University Hospital, Berlin and since 2004 he has worked at the Center of Prenatal Diagnosis and Human Genetics in Berlin. An ISUOG member since 1994, he has been a Board member from 2003 to 2013, including two terms as Chair of the Education Committee, and received the Stuart Campbell Award for Education in 2018.

Prof. Dr Chaoui has written three books on fetal ultrasound and more than 250 papers and monographies. Since 1986, his major interest has been in fetal ultrasound to include fetal heart, fetal 3D, first trimester ultrasound, ultrasound in genetic diseases and high-resolution ultrasound.

He is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Faculty of Medicine of the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) and head of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Service at the Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre in Madrid since 2016. With more than 30 years of experience in maternal-fetal medicine, between 2007 and 2016, he was head of the Fetal Medicine Unit of said service.

The main areas of her research have been perinatal medicine and, more specifically, the prenatal diagnosis and therapy of birth defects, especially cardiac abnormalities and placental dysfunction, including pre-eclampsia and fetal growth restriction.

His group has conducted pioneering research on the technique and outcomes of fetal cardiac interventions, and in the development of an automated platform to measure the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio, demonstrating its usefulness for early prediction, accurate and differential diagnosis of placental disease-related entities, and prediction of maternal and perinatal outcomes.

She is currently leading a research project to explore cardiovascular health in women with previous early preeclampsia, with the aim of studying whether vascular damage caused during an episode of early preeclampsia (<34 weeks) is subsequently associated with an accelerated development of subclinical atherosclerosis and/or endothelial dysfunction, compared to women who have not suffered early preeclampsia.

He has published more than 120 peer-reviewed articles, up to 70% of them in the first and second quartile, with an H-index of 35, and 67 book chapters. Together with his group, he has written two books, one on prenatal diagnosis and therapy of congenital heart defects, and the other on prenatal diagnosis of congenital anomalies.

He is also director of the Perinatal Medicine Research Group included in the Hospital 12 de Octubre Research Institute (i+12). He is a member of the Spanish Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics and the International Society of Ultrasound in Gynecology and Obstetrics.