World-leading obstetrician, Prof. Kypros Nicolaides, receives much-deserved award for his broad contributions to the field of ultrasound in obstetrics.
ISUOG’s Stuart Campbell Award has been awarded to Prof. Kypros Nicolaides - a professor of fetal medicine at King’s College Hospital and the founder of the Fetal Medicine Foundation (FMF). His professional identity is defined by his role as a pioneer of fetal surgery and equally as a transformative educator who has democratised specialised medical knowledge for tens of thousands of practitioners worldwide to help bridge the gap between standards of care in higher and lower resource countries.
“The award is a major honour for me because it is in the name of my teacher and mentor and it constitutes a challenge to continue our research for the benefit of women and their unborn children”, said Prof. Nicolaides.
Prof. Nicolaides is widely celebrated for his commitment to outreach. He established training centres across Africa, Asia, and South America. He has personally mentored hundreds of fellows who now lead fetal medicine departments globally, multiplying his impact exponentially.
Prof. Nicolaides developed a comprehensive approach to teaching the 11-13 weeks scan (nuchal translucency). This included implementing a strict audit and licensing process that ensures competency across borders and translating educational materials into over 30 languages, making life-saving ultrasound techniques accessible in many low-resource settings.
As the founder of the Fetal Medicine Foundation, Prof. Nicolaides collaborated with ISUOG to create Ultrasound Essentials, an annual event that offers free online lectures on the basics of ultrasound in obstetrics and gynecology to clinicians in low-resource settings. Attended by thousands of people each year, Ultrasound Essentials is widely considered a staple event in the calendar of many obstetricians and gynecologists and features specific sessions on working in resource-limited settings.
Prof. Raffaele Napolitano, Chair of the ISUOG Clinical Standards Committee said: “Prof. Kypros Nicolaides is the embodiment of the Stuart Campbell Award’s spirit. While his surgical ‘firsts’ are historic, his legacy is rooted in his relentless drive to teach. He transformed fetal medicine from a niche specialty into a global standard of care by making world-class education a universal right rather than a privilege.
“His innovative use of open-access technology, combined with a rigorous commitment to clinical standards, has saved countless lives by empowering the hands of ultrasound practitioners globally. Recognising that maternal-fetal outcomes depend on the skill of the operator, he shifted the paradigm from exclusive, high-cost seminars to a global, free-to-access curriculum. There is no candidate more deserving of recognition for advancing the field through the power of education.”