Read the latest message from the ISUOG President Prof. Reem Abu-Rustum.
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
It was wonderful to see many of you in Cancún for our World Congress, and we thank all those who contributed to making it such a spectacular event, especially our members in LATAM for the warm hospitality, great turnout and unique cultural experience!
As we near the end of 2025 and get ready to welcome 2026, we look forward to an exceptional year packed with educational endeavours and advocacy, as we proceed full force with our educational agenda and our global initiative “Every Little Heart Matters”.
Inclusion: We have many upcoming events in person, hybrid and online, and through our approved courses planned across the world. This weekend, we have our first Symposium in the Middle East, in Doha, led by Profs. Ahmed, Jokubkiene, Khalil and Meagher, with an intensive agenda and hands-on scanning. In January, we are in anticipation of another Ultrasound Essentials, free of charge to lower-resource settings, led by Profs. Bourne, Nicolaides and Poon.
Modernisation: We are excited to share with you ISUOG’s recently released Artificial Intelligence Positioning Statement and a special thank you to Profs. Crispi and Khalil for leading this effort. In addition, in our ongoing commitment to innovation, we continue to create unique educational offerings through our online webinars, Academy, VISUOG and courses. We are now working on enhancing all educational content pertaining to congenital heart defects in line with “Every Little Heart Matters” and invite you to visit our “Every Little Heart Matters” website where we are constantly updating the content. A virtual issue of UOG dedicated to the fetal heart, a poster, pocket guide and Prof. Meagher’s Cardiac Handbook, are available to download for free.
People: As ISUOG celebrates 35 years, we celebrate our people, commencing with our staff in the office, the beating heart of ISUOG. We are forever indebted to our founders and experts who continue to be the innovators driving the evolution in ultrasound technology. Our volunteers are behind our guidelines that serve as a reference for clinicians worldwide, our Outreach program that is committed to equity, our foundational Basic Training program, and our Journal that is the launching pad for cutting edge research. A series of interviews with our innovators is planned, and you can access interviews with Profs. Bilardo, Hecher, Sibal and Poon, on the ISUOG website.
Advocacy: With our 35th Anniversary, and through “Every Little Heart Matters”, we have pledged to increase advocacy and give our patients a voice across all our platforms. We have shared patients’ experiences and have an upcoming podcast with Prof. Crispi. We welcome your thoughts and recommendations regarding this, as in all other aspects of our work.
Certification: Our teams continue to work on our certification efforts and are exploring new avenues to align with “Every Little Heart Matters”.
Teaching: As always, everything we do is centred around teaching at all levels and in all formats. Through the coming year, there will be a featured theme across all our educational activities focusing on the fetal heart. Our team is working on an “ELHM Approach” to screening for congenital heart defects, ensuring equity in education to sonologists no matter their background and location, and collaboration with like-minded organisations and partners in the industry to enhance the prenatal detection of congenital heart defects. We have a global forum planned in the Spring and our World Congress coming to Dubai. We invite you to submit your abstracts to our landmark event and are encouraging abstracts pertaining to the status of prenatal detection of congenital heart defects in the various regions, as well as local education needs or barriers to equitable screening.
With that, I wish you a blessed Holiday Season and an upcoming 2026 filled with peace, harmony and joy.
I remain available to you for any enquiries, ideas or suggestions.
Sincerely yours,
Reem S. Abu-Rustum
ISUOG President
Executive Committee, Finance & Risk Committee, Nominations Committee, 3D Special Interest Group
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