Discover the topics and speakers of this year’s Masterclasses. These are a highlight in our program as world-renowned clinicians speak about their area of expertise in a 40-minute session.

Find out more below about our masterclass program - which will cover top obstetrics and gynecology issues over three days - below.
 

Provisional masterclass program

Friday 16 October 2020

Obstetrics
 
The whole heart: a quick guide to assessing structure and function
  • Don’t miss these critical heart defects - Joshua Copel (USA)
  • Top anatomic regions - Alfred Abuhamad (USA)
Hot topics in fetal surgery
  • Fetal surgery in the current era and moving forward - Jan Deprest (Belgium)
  • Recognising and managing complications of monochorionic twins - Asma Khalil (UK)
 
Congenital infections: the latest evidence
  • New approaches in CMV - Yves Ville (France)
  • ISUOG congenital infections guideline - Asma Khalil (UK)
 
Management of abnormal first trimester screening results
  • Interpretation, management and counselling of positive NIPT results - Caterina Bilardo (the Netherlands), Francesca Grati (Italy)
  • Fetal exome sequencing in clinical practice - Lyn Chitty (UK)
 
Gynecology
 
How to use ultrasound to investigate and manage women with endometriosis who are struggling to conceive?
  • Scan demonstration: Planning endometriosis surgery using transrectal ultrasound - George Condous (Australia)
  • Video masterclass: matching the ultrasound picture to the surgical findings in endometriosis patients - Matthew Leonardi  (Canada)
 
Examining women who present with acute abdominopelvic pain: differential diagnosis and case examples
  • Examining women who present with acute pelvic pain: differential diagnosis and case examples - Beryl Benacerraf (USA)
  • Avoiding diagnostic error when managing early pregnancy complications - Tom Bourne (UK)

Saturday 17 October 2020

Obstetrics
 
How to predict and prevent poor obstetrical outcomes with Doppler
  • A comprehensive approach to screening, stratifying, managing and preventing FGR and pre-eclampsia from the first to third trimesters - Liona Poon (Hong Kong) 
  • Doppler ultrasound to prevent stillbirth - Basky Thilaganathan (UK)
 
How to save lives with ultrasound: getting to the right diagnosis for AIP and vasa previa
  • What is the optimal management of AIP in 2020? - Loic Senthiles (France)
  • Screening for vasa previa
 
Keeping up with the latest developments in imaging
  • How artificial intelligence in ultrasound imaging could change obstetric care - Aris Papageorghiou (UK)
  • MRI: from form to function - Ellen Grant (USA)
 
Taking the second trimester anomaly scan a step further
  • Tips and tricks in renal ultrasound: how to get to the right diagnosis
  • Ultrasound and ciliopathies - Rabih Chaoui (Germany)
 
Gynecology
 
Imaging and oncology: multidisciplinary case discussion of  tumours
- Wouter Froyman (Belgium), Richard Smith (UK), Vincent Vandecaveye (Belgium), Lil Valentin (Sweden)
 
Managing early pregnancy complications
  • How to interpret serum hCG and progesterone values in patients with a PUL - Shabnam Bobdiwala (UK)
  • Management of non-tubal ectopic pregnancy - Dirk Timmerman (Belgium)
  • The optimal management of vomiting in pregnancy - Nicola Mitchel-Jones (UK)

Sunday 18 October 2020

Obstetrics
 
How to use ultrasound in the labour ward
  • How to use ultrasound in the labor ward: theory - Christoph Lees (UK)
  • How to use ultrasound in the labor ward: video demonstration - Torbjorn Eggebo (Norway)
 
First trimester screening and beyond
  • First trimester fetal brain: what every clinician needs to know and more - Simon Meagher (Australia)
  • Management of large nuchal translucency at 10 and 12 weeks: which test and when - Karl Oliver Kagan (Germany)
 
Ultrasound in improving perinatal outcomes
  • Use, misuse and abuse of ultrasound in LMICs - Gerard Visser (the Netherlands)
  • Universal cervical length screening - Zarko Alfirevic (UK)
 
Expert tips to common problems: how to approach brain anomalies
  • Isolated and non-isolated ventriculomegaly: all you need to know - Magda Sanz Cortes (USA)
  • How to analyse brain gyration - Karina Haratz (Israel)
 
Gynecology
 
Live session: Using ultrasound to evaluate women with pelvic pain and possible endometriosis - Gernot Hudelist (Austria), Stefano Guerriero (Italy), Matthew Leonardi (Canada)
 
Endometrial and myometrial pathology
  • How to evaluate women with possible endometrial or myometrial pathology: video class to show the use of IETA and MUSA consensus in clinical practice - Thierry Van den Bosch (Belgium)
  • Why I always use 3D ultrasound to evaluate the uterus - Beryl Benacerraf (USA)

We have a host of international favourites in the field who are promised to deliver ground-breaking masterclasses. 

Masterclass speakers include:

Dr. Abuhamad is a physician-scientist-educator who is recognized internationally for his expertise and leadership in maternal-fetal medicine, ultrasound, prenatal diagnosis, global outreach and patient safety.
 
Dr. Abuhamad came to EVMS in 1992. Currently, he is the Mason C. Andrews Chair in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Professor and Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
 
As President of the American Institute for Ultrasound in Medicine, he oversaw a year-long initiative to encourage widespread use of ultrasound to minimize radiation exposure with other imaging modalities. He established the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology’s outreach program and has led several ultrasound training missions to the developing world to include Haiti, Ghana and Somaliland. He also is a past President of the Society for Ultrasound in Medical Education and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.
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Prof. Zarko Alfirevic is Professor of Fetal and Maternal Medicine at the Liverpool Women’s Hospital, one of the largest maternity  hospitals in Europe with more than 8,300 births per annum. He is Head of Department of Women’s and Children’s Health at the University of Liverpool.

His main research interests are evidence based medicine and clinical trials in high risk obstetrics.

He is the Editor of the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group  and was Chair of the Clinical Standards Committee for the International Society for Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology until 2013.

Notable Publications:

He has more than 170 publications listed in PubMed.

Country: UK

Field: Obstetrics

Specialties: Maternal and fetal Doppler, Preterm delivery; research synthesis; pre-term births; fetal growth restriction.

Languages: English; Croatian

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2001 Gold Medal Award article

Receiving her MD in 1976 from Harvard Medical School, Dr. Benacerraf went on to complete her internship at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, her residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, and her fellowship in ultrasound and computed tomography at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. During her 30-year academic affiliation with Harvard Medical School, she has risen to the rank of clinical professor in obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology and radiology. From 1991 through 1993, Dr. Benacerraf was codirector of high-risk obstetric ultrasound at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and from 1993 through 1999 she was director of the obstetric ultrasound at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Active in the ultrasound community, Dr. Benacerraf has directed and organized a host of postgraduate ultrasound courses. Among her many roles in the ultrasound community, she is an elected fellow of the American College of Radiology and the Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound, was treasurer of the World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology for 7 years and is a current board member of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.  She was treasurer of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) for 2 years,  is the current President of that society.   Dr. Benacerraf is also the medical director and president of Diagnostic Ultrasound Associates, PC, a medical practice that she founded in 1982.  She has served as Editor in Chief of the Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine from 2000 to 2010.   Her contributions to the field of diagnostic ultrasound have been recognized by the receipt of the Ian Donald Gold Medal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Frye Award and the Holmes award both of the American Institute of Ultrasound.  She was selected to deliver the Silver Lecture at Barnard College in 2007, and received the 2008 Marie Curie Award from the Association of Women Radiologists. In 2010, she was the recipient of the Larry Mack award for lifetime achievement in ultrasound research from the Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound.

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Accreditation & Certification Sub-Committee, VISUOG Case of the Month Lead, UOG Editorial Board

Prof. dr. C.M. (Katia) Bilardo is Professor of Fetal Medicine at UMCG in the Netherlands and is an expert on ultrasound and invasive prenatal diagnosis. 

Caterina (Katia) M. Bilardo was born in Savigliano (Piedmont), Italy. After completing
cum laude in 1983 the Medical studies and the Specialization in Obstetrics and
Gynaecology at the University of Turin, she trained as Fellow in Prenatal Diagnosis and
Fetal Medicine (1985- 1989) at King’s College Hospital, London, where she worked
under the supervision of Prof. S. Campbell and Prof. K. N. Nicolaides.


Since 1989 she has relocated to the Netherlands where she has worked as Consultant
and Head of the Prenatal Diagnosis Department at the Academic Medical Center
Amsterdam (1992-2010). From 2010 to 2017 she has worked as Head of the Fetal
Medicine Department at the University Medical Center Groningen where, in 2011, she
has been appointed Professor in Fetal Medicine. Since October 2017 she has moved
with the same position to the Amsterdam UMC, location VU Medical Center in
Amsterdam, where she has also been appointed as Professor in Obstetrics, Gynecology
and Fetal Medicine. In the Netherlands she has been President of the Dutch Working
Party for Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology and is currently member of the
Committee Prenatal Screening of the National Health Council.


Since 2007 she is in the Editorial Board of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Since 2009 she is Board member of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics
and Gynecology (ISUOG). Between 2013-2017 she was Chair of the Education
Committee within ISUOG. And in 2018-2020 she has been President of the same
Society.


She has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles and supervised numerous PhD students.
In 2021 she was bestowed the Stuart Campbell award for Education.


Research Areas
• Doppler study of the utero-placental and fetal circulation (chief researcher
Truffle study)
• Fetal dysmorphology ( 2D and 3D studies)
• First and second trimester ultrasound screening for aneuploidies
• First trimester ultrasound
• Psychological aspects of Screening
• Fetal cardiology


Field: Obstetrics

Country: The Netherlands

Specialties: Fetal anomaly screening T1 & T2; fetal biometry and wellbeing; aneuploidies; fetal anomalies; fetal heart; fetal brain; fetal growth restriction; maternal and fetal Doppler; fetal interventional procedures; 3D & 4D ultrasound; genetics

Languages: English; Italian; French; Dutch

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Executive Committee, Honours Committee, Nominations Committee

Professor Tom Bourne

ISUOG President 2020 - 2022, Virtual World Congress Technical Congress Chair 2020 and 2021, 2022 World Congress Co-Chair, Executive Committee, Finance & Risk Committee, Nominations Committee

Professor Tom Bourne was ISUOG President between 2020 and 2022 and is curently Chair in Gynaecology at Imperial College London, Hon Consultant Gynaecologist at Queen Charlottes and Chelsea hospital and Visiting Professor at KU Leuven in Belgium. He is an authority on managing early pregnancy complications, emergency gynaecology and gynaecological ultrasonography. He trained in ultrasound at Kings College Hospital in London. He subsequently worked at the University of Göteborg, Sweden as Medical Research Council visiting scientist, Hamar in Norway, and Leuven in Belgium. He was appointed senior lecturer and consultant gynaecologist at St George's University Hospital London before moving to Imperial College. He has edited seven books and published over 400 papers. He sits on the management committee of the Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research. He is medical advisor and trustee of the patient group, the Ectopic Pregnancy Trust. He is immediate Past-President of the UK Association of Early Pregnancy Units. He is co-founder and CEO of the International Ovarian Tumor Analysis (IOTA) group and sits on the steering committees of several large multicentre international trials. He is founder member of the RCOG task force on “supporting our doctors”. He is honorary fellow of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, honorary member of the Australasian Society for Ultrasound in Medicine and honorary member of the Brazilian and Hungarian Ultrasound Societies.

His principal research interest is diagnostics in early pregnancy and gynaecology including the IOTA, IETA, IDEA and MUSA studies, microbiome, metabolomics, novel biomarkers, and AI. His interests include the psychology of pregnancy loss and physician welfare including studies with the BMA and RCOG.

Country: UK

Language: English

Field: Gynaecology

Specialties: Early Pregnancy Care, Emergency Gynaecology, Ultrasound in Oncology, Gynaecological Ultrasonography, Physician Wellbeing

Selected Notable Publications:

Sporadic miscarriage: evidence to provide effective care. Coomarasamy A, Gallos ID, Papadopoulou A, Dhillon-Smith RK, Al-Memar M, Brewin J, Christiansen OB, Stephenson MD, Oladapo OT, Wijeyaratne CN, Small R, Bennett PR, Regan L, Goddijn M, Devall AJ, Bourne T, Brosens JJ, Quenby S.

Lancet. 2021 May 1;397(10285):1668-1674. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00683-8. Epub 2021 Apr 27.

Validation of models to diagnose ovarian cancer in patients managed surgically or conservatively: multicentre cohort study.

Van Calster B, Valentin L, Froyman W, Landolfo C, Ceusters J, Testa AC, Wynants L, Sladkevicius P, Van Holsbeke C, Domali E, Fruscio R, Epstein E, Franchi D, Kudla MJ, Chiappa V, Alcazar JL, Leone FPG, Buonomo F, Coccia ME, Guerriero S, Deo N, Jokubkiene L, Savelli L, Fischerová D, Czekierdowski A, Kaijser J, Coosemans A, Scambia G, Vergote I, Bourne T, Timmerman D.

BMJ. 2020 Jul 30;370:m2614. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m2614.

Posttraumatic stress, anxiety and depression following miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy: a multicenter, prospective, cohort study.

Farren J, Jalmbrant M, Falconieri N, Mitchell-Jones N, Bobdiwala S, Al-Memar M, Tapp S, Van Calster B, Wynants L, Timmerman D, Bourne T.

Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2020 Apr; 222(4):367.e1-367.e22. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2019.10.102.

Risk of complications in patients with conservatively managed ovarian tumours (IOTA5): a 2-year interim analysis of a multicentre, prospective, cohort study.

Froyman W, Landolfo C, De Cock B, Wynants L, Sladkevicius P, Testa AC, Van Holsbeke C, Domali E, Fruscio R, Epstein E, Dos Santos Bernardo MJ, Franchi D, Kudla MJ, Chiappa V, Alcazar JL, Leone FPG, Buonomo F, Hochberg L, Coccia ME, Guerriero S, Deo N, Jokubkiene L, Kaijser J, Coosemans A, Vergote I, Verbakel JY, Bourne T, Van Calster B, Valentin L, Timmerman D.

Lancet Oncol. 2019 Mar; 20(3): 448-458. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(18)30837-4.

Defining safe criteria to diagnose miscarriage: prospective observational multicentre study. Preisler J, Kopeika J, Ismail L, Vathanan V, Farren J, Abdallah Y, Battacharjee P, Van Holsbeke C, Bottomley C, Gould D, Johnson S, Stalder C, Van Calster B, Hamilton J, Timmerman D, Bourne T.

BMJ. 2015 Sep 23; 351:h4579. doi: 10.1136/bmj.h4579.

Evaluating the risk of ovarian cancer before surgery using the ADNEX model to differentiate between benign, borderline, early and advanced stage invasive, and secondary metastatic tumours: prospective multicentre diagnostic studies. Van Calster B, Van Hoorde K, Valentin L, Testa AC, Fischerova D, Van Holsbeke C, Savelli L, Franchi D, Epstein E, Kaijser J, Van Belle V, Czekierdowski A, Guerriero S, Fruscio R, Lanzani C, Scala F, Bourne T, Timmerman D; International Ovarian Tumour Analysis Group.

BMJ. 2014 Oct 15;349:g5920. doi: 10.1136/bmj.g5920.

Diagnostic criteria for nonviable pregnancy early in the first trimester. Doubilet PM, Benson CB, Bourne T, Blaivas M; Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound Multispecialty Panel on Early First Trimester Diagnosis of Miscarriage and Exclusion of a Viable Intrauterine Pregnancy, Barnhart KT, Benacerraf BR, Brown DL, Filly RA, Fox JC, Goldstein SR, Kendall JL, Lyons EA, Porter MB, Pretorius DH, Timor-Tritsch IE.

N Engl J Med. 2013 Oct 10; 369(15): 1443-51. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra1302417.

Limitations of current definitions of miscarriage using mean gestational sac diameter and crown-rump length measurements: a multicenter observational study. Abdallah Y, Daemen A, Kirk E, Pexsters A, Naji O, Stalder C, Gould D, Ahmed S, Guha S, Syed S, Bottomley C, Timmerman D, Bourne T.

Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol. 2011 Nov; 38(5): 497-502. doi: 10.1002/uog.10109.

He is President of the UK Association of Early Pregnancy Units (AEPU), Trustee of the Ectopic Pregnancy Trust and on the steering committee of the International Ovarian Tumor Analysis (IOTA) trial.

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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.

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Consultant Gynaecologist at Nepean Hospital and Director of OMNI Gynaecological Care, Centre for Women’s Ultrasound.
 
He is Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Sydney Medical School, Nepean, University of Sydney and specialist in Gynaecological Ultrasound and Advanced Endosurgery. He set up the first and only Acute Gynaecology Unit in Australia which utilises ultrasound at the first point of contact for women with emergency gynaecological as well as early pregnancy complications (miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy). He is also responsible for the One-Stop Ultrasound based diagnostic clinics; which review women with abnormal uterine bleeding, chronic pelvic pain (endometriosis), adnexal pathology (ovarian cysts) as well as post-menopausal bleeding. He performs Advanced Endosurgery procedures for women who need intervention for pelvic masses, adnexal pathology, severe endometriosis or hysterectomy. He also runs ‘Hands on’ Live Sheep Laparoscopic Workshops for gynaecologists at Camden Veterinarian School.
 
Country: Australia
 
Field: Gynecology
 
Specialties: Gynecological ultrasound; early pregnancy
 
Language: English

 

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Country: France

Field: Prenatal Imaging

Specialties: Fetal brain; fetal anomalies; CNS malformations

Languages: English; French

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Country: Germany

Field: Obstetrics; Prenatal Medicine

Specialties: Fetal anomaly screening T1 & T2; fetal biometry and wellbeing; aneuploidies; fetal anomalies; fetal heart; fetal brain; fetal growth restriction; maternal and fetal Doppler; fetal interventional procedures; multiple pregnancy; preeclampsia; preterm delivery; genetics; early pregnancy; first trimester screening

Languages: English; German

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Dr Haratz is a Senior Physician, Division of Ultrasound in ObGyn at Lis Maternity Hospital, Tel Aviv Sourasky medical center. She has earned a MD degree in 2004 from the Federal University of Parana, Brazil and a Title of Specialist in Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2006. Since then Dr Krajden Haratz has maintained a lively medical practice as Senior Physician in Hospitals and Private Practice. Further she specialized in Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Fetal Medicine and earned Title of Specialist in both areas, from the Brazilian Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics – FEBRASGO. Her Fellowship in Prenatal Diagnosis and Fetal Neurology was under the auspices Prof. Gustavo Malinger at Wolfson Medical Center, Holon Israel. After her aliyah she completed the requirements and earned a Title of Specialist in Obstetrics and Gynecology from the Israeli Medical Association.

 

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Executive Committee, Finance & Risk Committee, Courses Sub-Committee, Twins Special Interest Group, Doppler Special Interest Group

Prof. Asma Khalil is a Professor of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine at St George’s University Hospital (University of London). She is a subspecialist in Maternal and Fetal Medicine, specialising in scanning women and babies with complications in pregnancy. She is the lead for the Multiple Pregnancy service at St George’s Hospital, the referral unit for the South West London region, but also cares for women with low risk pregnancies.

Prof. Khalil gained her MD at the University of London in 2009 following two years’ research into pre-eclampsia (high blood pressure in pregnancy). She also has a Masters degree in Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and an MRC scholarship. She has published more than 45 peer reviewed research papers in medical journals, and many review articles and book chapters. She has been awarded many research prizes, at both national and international meetings.

Her research interests include hypertensive disease in pregnancy, multiple pregnancy, and other complications of pregnancy.

You can follow her on twitter @ProfAsmaKhalil

Notable publications: She has published more than 45 peer reviewed research papers in medical journals, and many review articles and book chapters. Read more.

Country: UK

Field: Obstetrics; Fetal Medicine

Specialties: Fetal anomaly screening T1 & T2; fetal biometry and wellbeing; aneuploidies; fetal anomalies; fetal growth restriction; maternal and fetal Doppler; multiple pregnancy; preeclampsia; prenatal diagnosis; fetal therapy; interventional procedures during pregnancy.

Languages: English; Arabic

"I am committed to supporting ISUOG’s membership growth and providing educational opportunities in underrepresented regions of the world. I have contributed to the Society’s scientific program, speaking at their Intensive education courses and even running two Approved courses of my own, which have become popular in their own right. One of these courses takes place in Egypt, the other in the UK, where there is a shortage in opportunities for basic training in the field. Through these initiatives I have introduced more than 70 new members to the Society in the last year alone and strive to continue delivering ISUOG’s resources in areas where there is most in need."

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Advanced gynecologic surgeon and sonologist in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Hamilton Health Sciences

Dr. Mathew Leonardi is an advanced gynecologic surgeon and sonologist in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Hamilton Health Sciences and assistant professor at McMaster University. His special interests are imaging technologies including transvaginal ultrasound, endometriosis, advanced gynecologic surgery, innovation in diagnosis, and research. Mathew is completing a PhD in Medicine (University of Sydney, Australia), focusing on the utility of ultrasound in the diagnosis and management of endometriosis. He completed his MD and residency at the University of Toronto and fellowship at the University of Sydney.

Mathew is an early career researcher, co-supervisor of a fellowship in minimally invasive gynecologic surgery, and appointee in the Medical Sciences department at McMaster University. He is on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology and an Associate Editor for Reproduction & Fertility. He is involved in with the VISUOG Gynecology endeavour. Mathew is committee member of EndoAct Canada and contributing the latest clinical practice guidelines on endometriosis in Canada. He is leading a research program locally and contributing to international research studies.

Country: Canada

Field: Gynecology; Imaging; Surgery

Specialties: Endometriosis; adenomyosis; intracavitary pathology; ovarian masses; intra-abdominal adhesions; advanced gynecologic surgery; transvaginal ultrasound; transrectal ultrasound

Languages: English

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Perinatal Doppler and Vascular Focus Group (Chair), UOG Editorial Board

Christoph Lees is Professor of Obstetrics as Imperial College London; Honorary Consultant in Obstetrics and Head of Specialty for Fetal Medicine at the Centre for Fetal Care, Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust; Clinical Director for Fetal Medicine for North West London and Visiting Professor KU Leuven (Belgium).  His research interest is on fetal assessment and in particular the use of Doppler ultrasound to assess the health of the baby, scanning in labour, and non-invasive fetal surgery. He is the Chief Investigator of The Trial of Umbilical and Fetal Flow in Europe (TRUFFLE), a Collaboration of 51 Centres across Europe; co-founder of the International Working Group of Maternal Haemodynamics and Intrapartum ultrasound ISLANDs group. He was awarded £2.2m grant from the Medical Research Council for first in human studies of high-intensity focused ultrasound in 2017, a £2.5m grant from the NIHR in 2019 to undertake the TRUFFLE 2 RCT and a £2.1M grant from the NIHR for a study on ultrasound of breech pregnancy at 36 weeks in 2023. 
 
Country: UK

Field: Obstetrics

Specialties: Fetal anomaly screening T2; fetal biometry and wellbeing; aneuploidies; fetal anomalies; fetal growth restriction; maternal and fetal Doppler; preeclampsia; safety of ultrasound

Language: English
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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

 

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Executive Committee, Nominations Committee, China Sub-Committee, UOG Editorial Board

Professor Liona Poon is an Academic Subspecialist in Maternal Fetal Medicine, devoted in improving maternal and fetal health. She has had a prolific research output throughout her clinical and research posts, including over 130 peer-reviewed publications in high impact international journals. In the last 10 years she has focused her research on establishing a programme for effective early prediction and prevention of preeclampsia, a major cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. With her success in developing a first-trimester prediction model for preeclampsia using maternal risk factors, ultrasound, blood pressure and biochemical markers, and on Aspirin prophylaxis against preeclampsia, her goal in the next 10 years is to improve obstetric care worldwide, through clinical research and education. 

Notable Publications:
Aspire trial: incidence of preterm preeclampsia in patients fulfulling ACOG and NICE criteria according to risk by the FMF algorithm. Poon LC, Rolnik DL, Tan MY, Delgado JL, Tsokaki T, Akolekar R, Singh M, Andrade W, Efeturk T, Jani JC, Plasencia W, Papaioannou G, Blazquez AR, Carbone IF, Wright D, Nikolaides KH.
Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 2018 Jan 30. doi: 10.1002/uog.19019 [Epub ahead of print]

Aspirin versus Placebo in Pregnancies at High Risk of Preterm Preeclampsia. Rolnik DL, Wright D, Poon LC, O'Gorman N, Syngelaki A, de Paco Matallana C, Akolekar R, Cicero S, Janga D, Singh M, Molina FS, Persico N, Jani JC, Plasencia W, Papaioannou G, Tennebaum Gavish K, Meiri H, Gizurarson S, Maclagan K, Nicolaides K.H.
New England Journal Medicine 2017, 2017 Jun 28. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1704559. [Epub ahead of print]

Country: China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Field: Obstetrics

Specialties: Fetal anomaly screening 1st trimester and 2nd trimester; fetal biometry and wellbeing; fetal anomalies screening; aneuploidy screening; fetal anomalies; fetal growth restriction; maternal and fetal Doppler; multiple pregnancy; preeclampsia; preterm delivery; fetal growth; detection of fetal and neonatal growth abnormalities; ultrasound on the labour ward

Languages: English; Chinese (Mandarin); Chinese (Cantonese)

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Associate Professor Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Baylor College of Medicine

Dr Sanz Cortes current academic position is in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, Texas), as an Associate Professor.  She is a fetal surgeon at Texas Children's Hospital providing care for patients who receive any fetal intervention from the time of pre-surgical evaluation, surgery and until delivery. Part of her clinical care is also dedicated to the management of the fetal neurosonology clinic at the same center.  She is also very invested in multiple research projects related to fetal conditions that require utero therapy from a multidisciplinary approach and with particular emphasis on advanced imaging techniques.  She is passionate about research mentorship, education, development of biomedical devices and innovation.  One of the main focus of her research has been dedicated to understanding the effects of fetal spina bifida repair and its minimally invasive approach, leading initiatives such as the International Consortium for Fetoscopic Myelomeningocele Repair.  

Other current affiliations that she holds are:  Member of the Steering Committee of Texas Children's Hospital Fetal Center, Steering Committee of the North American Fetal Therapy Network, Scientific Committee of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology (ISUOG), part of the Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Prenatal Diagnosis journal editorial boards.

 

Country: USA

Field: Obstetrics

Specialties: Fetal anomalies; fetal brain; fetal growth restriction; maternal and fetal Doppler; fetal therapy and intervention

Languages: English; Spanish

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Professor in Fetal Medicine at St George’s Hospital, University of London, Director of Fetal Medicine at St George’s Hospital, former Editor-in-Chief UOG 2011-2018

Prof. Basky Thilaganathan is a specialist in the medical and surgical management of highrisk pregnancies (materno-fetal medicine) with a focus on twin pregnancy, fetal growth, fetal abnormality and pre-eclampsia. Prof. Thilaganathan's research methods include uterine Doppler and trophoblast invasion, screening for pre-eclampsia, echocardiography-based studies of maternal cardiac adaptation to pregnancy, and clinical studies of twin pregnancies.

He has authored two undergraduate and five postgraduate textbooks in obstetrics and fetal medicine and is the lead trainer for the Maternal-Fetal medicine sub-speciality training programme at St George’s Hospital, London. Prof. Thilaganathan was Editor-in-Chief of ISUOG’s Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology for nearly 8 years, within that time raising the Journal’s impact factor to 5.654. Furthermore, he has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications in indexed journals. He is a Council Member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), member of the National screening Committee and also the Clinical Lead
for the first dedicated high-throughput NIPT lab in the UK NHS to undertake cfDNA aneuploidy screening in pregnancy.

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ISUOG Advisory Group, UOG Editorial Board

Prof. Dirk Timmerman  is a Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology at KU Leuven, Belgium, and Clinical Head of benign gynecology and early pregnancy UZ Leuven. He is also Vice-chair of the Medical Council at the University Hospitals Leuven and Senior Clinical Investigator of the Scientific Research Fund (FWO) Flanders. He is coordinator of the International Ovarian Tumor Analysis (IOTA) collaborative group, including more than 50 centres for ovarian cancer diagnosis throughout the world. The IOTA group aims to develop new algorithms and liquid biopsies to diagnose and detect ovarian cancer and provide optimal care of adnexal tumors (included patients n>22,500). He has been awarded the Inbev Baillet-Latour Prize for Clinical Research 2014, Fellowship ad eundem from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG, London, 2014) and the William J. Fry Memorial Lecture Award from the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine  2016 at AIUM Annual Convention, New York.

Country: Belgium

Field: Gynecology

Specialties: Gynecological ultrasound; gynecological oncology; early pregnancy

Languages: English; Dutch; French

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Honours Committee Member

Prof. Thierry Van den Bosch defended his PhD in 2007 on the diagnosis of endometrial disease. His clinical research focuses on the diagnosis of endometrial and myometrial pathology, endometriosis and fertility exploration. He has published over 150 papers and has been over 100 times invited speaker at international conferences in English, Dutch and French.

He completed his residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the KU Leuven (Belgium) and at the University of Pretoria (South Africa). In 1992 he was appointed consultant at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Unit of Gynecologic Oncology, of the University of Stellenbosch and Tygerberg Hospital (South-Africa). In 1994 he moved back to Belgium. He worked as gynecologist at the Regional Hospital RZ Tienen, consultant UZ Leuven and KU Leuven and became the Head of department in RZ Tienen.

He currently works at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital UZ Leuven, at the Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, and is Senior Clinical Investigator of the Scientific Research Fund (FWO) Flanders, Belgium. 

Notable Publications

Country: Belgium

Field: Gynecology

Specialties: Gynecological ultrasound

Languages: English; French; Dutch

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Emeritus professor Obstetrics and former head of department Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Neonatology and former vice-dean of medical faculty, University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Member and past chair FIGO Committee Safe Motherhood Newborn Health. Former chair of the Dutch Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and 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. Awarded the title ‘’Officer in the Order of Oranje-Nassau’’ by the Queen of the Netherlands.

Research interests: fetal (neurological) development, fetal monitoring, fetal growth restriction, corticosteroids and preterm birth, diabetes and pregnancy, Cesarean sections. Over 470 PubMed articles, which have been cited more than 31.000 times according to Google Scholar (Hirsch Index 86); supervisor of 73 completed PhD projects.

Country: The Netherlands

Field: Obstetrics and Gynecology

Specialties: Obstretrics; Perinatology

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