Chair's Message

Charles J. Lockwood, M.D.

The Anita O'Keefe Young Professor and Chair Yale University School of Medicine Department of Obstetrics Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences

The Yale University School of Medicine's Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences has consistently been a leader in academic ObGyn. Our faculty members have compiled a long list of clinical innovations and basic research discoveries.

In Maternal-Fetal Medicine (MFM)

• Drs. Edward Hon and Orvan Hess - Invented fetal heart monitor.
• Drs. John Hobbins and Peter Grannum - Pioneered the art and science of prenatal diagnosis and fetal therapy.
• Dr. Roberto Romero - Made crucial contributions in discerning the pathogenesis of prematurity.
• Drs. Al Reece and Donald Coustan - Uncovered the basic mechanisms leading to diabetic embryopathy and fetopathy, respectively.
• Drs. Joshua Copel and Charles Kleinman - Pioneered fetal echocardiography and the management of fetal arrhythmias.
• Dr. Charles Lockwood - Discovered 1st biochemical predictor of prematurity and the first ultrasound biometric screen for fetal Down syndrome.

In Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (REI)

• Drs. Speroff, Glass and Kase - Rendered sensible the field of clinical reproductive endocrinology through their outstanding textbook and developed ovulation induction.
• Dr. Alan DeCherney - Improved upon the diagnosis and treatment of ectopic pregnancy and endometriosis.
• Dr. Charles Lockwood - described the biochemical mechanisms underlying menstruation and abnormal uterine bleeding.

The Department spawned an extraordinary number of chairs of departments of ObGyn from amongst its faculty and residents:

Chairs of Obstetrics and Gynecology

• Drs. Alan Weingold, John Grossman & Jack Larsen - George Washington University
• Dr. Edward J. Quilligan - Departments at Yale, U. of Wisconsin, and U.C. Davis
• Dr. Philip DiSaia - University of California Irvine
• Dr. Robert Resnik - University of California at San Diego
• Dr. Phyllis Leppert - SUNY Buffalo
• Dr. Robert Goldenberg - University of Alabama-Birmingham
• Dr. Donald Coustan - Brown University
• Dr. Nathan Kase - Mt. Sinai School of Medicine
• Dr. Richard Berkowitz - Mount Sinai School of Medicine
• Dr. David Gershenson - MD Anderson Cancer Center
• Dr. Alan DeCherney - Tufts University and the Univ. of California at Los Angeles
• Dr. Leon Speroff - Case Western Reserve University
• Dr. Frank Chervenak - Cornell University
• Dr. E. Albert Reece - Temple University
• Dr. David M. Gershenson - Professor and Chair, Gyn Oncology, MD Anderson
• Dr. Frederick Naftolin - Professor and Chair, Yale University
• Dr. Hung Winn - Professor and Chair, University of Missouri
• Dr. Charles Lockwood - Yale University

Three of the Department's former faculty were named deans of schools of medicine:

• Dr. Edward Quilligan - Dean and Vice Chancellor, University of California Irvine
• Dr. E. Albert Reece - University of Arkansas
• Dr. Nathan Kase - Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

Three former faculty members hold important positions at the National Institutes of Health:

• Dr. Florence Haseltine
• Dr. Pamela Stratton
• Dr. Roberto Romero

This tradition continues today led by outstanding physicians in all the subspecialties including:

• Hugh Taylor - Director, Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Section
• Joshua Copel* - Vice Chair and Director of Fetal Echocardiography
• Edmund Funai and Erol Norwitz - Co-Directors, Maternal-Fetal Medicine Section
• Charles Lockwood* and Mike Paidas - Recurrent Pregnancy Loss program
• Pasquale Patrizio* - REI Practice Director and Director, Yale Fertility Center
• Peter Schwartz* - Vice Chair and Director, Gyn Oncology Section

*Named New York Magazine Best Doctors

Our reproductive scientists and clinical investigators are highly productive researchers.

• We have over $7 million in annual grant support.
• We rank 5 th among departments of Ob/Gyn nationwide in total NIH-awarded grant dollars, and 2 nd in total number of individual NIH grants.

Training
We provide an outstanding and highly competitive residency program, our clerkship program for medical students is the top ranked clerkship at Yale, and our full complement of ABOG-approved fellowships combine excellent clinical training with premier research opportunities in the laboratories of our reproductive scientists. We actively sponsor training programs for Reproductive Physician Scientists, including two current NIH K-08 scholars, a Research Scientist Development Program (RSDP) Scholar, an American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Foundation (AAOGF) Scholar, and 3 Women's Reproductive Health Research Scholars.

Our mission and strategic direction for the next five years

While the department ranks in the top tier of academic programs as measured by its clinical innovations, federal grant dollars, and the competitiveness of its training programs, we will not rest on our laurels.

Mission
Our mission is to integrate outstanding reproductive science research with cutting edge, high quality, compassionate patient-centered clinical care to advance women's reproductive health. We also are committed to training the next generation of academic Ob/Gyn physician scientists and leaders.

Strategic Vision
The Yale University School of Medicine's Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences (Ob/Gyn) has a proud tradition of academic leadership, excellence in clinical training, innovations in clinical practice and advances in reproductive science research. To maintain its clinical and research leadership position and attract world-class clinical and reproductive science faculty, Yale University and its Medical School are committed to the following Ob/Gyn initiatives:

• Creation of a Comprehensive Women's Health Center (WHC), located at the new Long Wharf clinical practice site. The WHC will house the Department’s faculty group practices, including a state-of-the-art in vitro fertilization program, a first trimester screening and prenatal diagnosis program, urodynamic testing and pelvic reconstructive surgery, and reproductive tract cancer screening. Other women’s health clinical programs will include a women’s reproductive tract imaging service, a women’s cardiovascular health program, a bone health service, and a mental health and wellness program. The WHC will have state of the art informatics and teleconferencing capabilities, as well as a resource center for consumers.
• Establishment of a Center for the Study of Reproduction on the medical school campus. The center will have core facilities, individual labs, and strategic alliances with cutting edge genomic and proteomic facilities. Research will focus on oocyte biology and aging, implantation and placentation, parturition, basic reproductive endocrinology and molecular oncogenesis. In addition, the Department is committed to developing the new discipline of reproductive molecular epidemiology that will marshal Yale's strengths in proteomics and genomics to identify biochemical markers of early disease states and to identify the genotypes of at-risk patients. Discoveries in these areas will permit the development of targeted therapies and prevention strategies.
• Development of an ovarian cancer prevention and early detection program. This innovative program will have two major components: a comprehensive clinical service that provides high-quality and compassionate care for women with ovarian and other cancers as well as risk profiles for those who are disease-free, and a state-of-the-art translational research program that constantly informs the clinical service with new discoveries of risk markers.
• Development of a preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) research program. Yale Ob/Gyn intends to lead new developments in PGD that will dramatically improve the likelihood of a normal pregnancy for in vitro fertilization (IVF) couples, as well as allowing for the transfer of a single embryo while retaining a high probability for implantation. The Department is building a team of world-class researchers who collaborate with the IVF Program's clinicians and embryologists to advance the science behind PGD.
• Development of an Ob/Gyn Informatics Core Program. This program is designing and will oversee the databases for storage and analysis of data for clinical care, quality assurance, billing, clinical studies and randomized clinical trials.