In the News

Inside Business, a business journal in Hampton Roads, Virginia, has recognized Dr. Sergio Oehninger, Director of the Jones Institute, as one of its 2008 “HealthCare Heroes” in Southeast Virginia. Dr. Oehninger received the award based on his achievements in reproductive medicine and his subsequent contribution to the improvement and advancement of medicine in Virginia. The award epitomizes the spirit embodied in the word “hero” in the delivery of health care to the community. The purpose of the program is to recognize excellence, promote innovation, encourage emulation of successful programs, educate the general public and contribute to the enhancement of the value and quality of health care by recognizing those who are most deserving.

Dr. Oehninger was profiled in a special supplement of Inside Business and was presented an award at a banquet on February 9, 2009.

NORFOLK, VA — Just ahead of the 30th birthday of the world’s first “test tube baby,” the first person born in the U.S. through in-vitro fertilization (IVF) visited the place that made her birth possible.

Elizabeth Comeau, along with her husband, David, stopped in to see Howard Jones, M.D., and take a look around the institute that pioneered IVF science in this country. Her arrival also triggered an impromptu reunion as several members of the team that worked at the institute in its early days came by to check in on their first success story.

After catching up with Jones — the two speak at least annually — Comeau, now a journalist for the Boston Globe, got a look at how far infertility science has come since her mother went through the IVF procedure. Thousands of babies later, the once hours-long, uncomfortable process now takes a matter of minutes.

“It was very primitive compared to how it is now,” said Comeau.

Images and story courtesy of Eastern Virginia Medical School

The Shirley D. Kheel Lectureship featured Dr. Pasquale Patrizio, Yale Fertility Center, February 28, 2008

Professor Pasquale Patrizio, MD, MBE, HCLD, Director of the Division of Reproductive Medicine at the Yale Fertility Center, discussed “Strategies for Fertility Preservation” as the annual Jones Institute Foundation Shirley Dungan Kheel lectureship program on February 28, 2008. Dr. Patrizio spoke about the current strategies for fertility preservation in females and males with cancer and/or those who may be at risk of losing gonadal tissue due to other conditions.

Jones-Andrews Scholars in Reproductive Medicine
February, 2008

The Jones Institute hosted two scientists in residence during the month of February. Dr. Jose Horcajadas and Dr. Vanesa Rawe each spent several days at the Institute instructing and collaborating with physicians and scientists as part of the Jones-Andrews Scholars in Reproductive Medicine.

Dr. Hocajadas is an instructor at the Instituto Valenciano de Infertilidad, Valencia, Spain.

Dr. Rawe is an instructor at the Center of Gynecological and Reproductive Studies, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Dr. Gearhart, a Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Physiology and Comparative Medicine and Population Dynamics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, was the guest speaker at the Jones Institute’s Clinical Embryology & Andrology Master’s Program on May 21, 2007. As the Director of Stem Cell Biology at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Gearhart is a pioneer in human pluripotent stem cell research. His leadership in the Stem Cell Biology effort focuses on understanding the natural life cycle of human embryonic germ cells, which were first isolated in Gearhart’s lab. Click here for the entire article.

The Jones Institute has opened a new outpatient surgical center which is designed to provide patients with a private and comfortable setting for all of their infertility treatment – from the initial consultation to the post-operative care. The second floor of the Jones Institute, which formerly housed administrative offices, has been completely renovated so that many of the comprehensive medical services that were previously performed at neighboring Norfolk Sentara General Hospital, may now be handled in the Institute. Click here for the entire article.

Ari Babaknia, M.D., founder and CEO of DrSoy Nutrition, LLC, spoke to physicians and residents on So(y)lution to Menopausal Health

Dr. Ari Babaknia, Clinical Associate Professor, Dept. of OB/GYN, University of California, Irvine spoke to the OB/GYN practicing physicians and residents on September 7, 2006 about the benefits of using soy to enhance menopausal health. He discussed the evidence in medical literature that supports the use of this non-hormonal nutrition therapy as an alternative to traditional hormone replacement therapy. Click here for the entire article.

The Jones Institute Recognizes Two Outstanding Students

At the Eastern Virginia Medical School graduation on May 20, 2006, the Clinical Embryology and Andrology Master’s Degree program of the Jones Institute presented two of their graduates with awards for outstanding achievement. These awards are significant for two reasons. New to the list of EVMS graduation awards, these distinctions recognize two students who have completed a complex distance learning program and they honor two late pioneers in the field of reproductive medicine. Dr. Georgeanna Seegar Jones and Dr. Gary D. Hodgen were members of the faculty and research team at the Jones Institute prior to their deaths in 2005. Click here for the entire article.

Jones Institute study seeks to preserve fertility in young cancer patients

Each year, 50,000 women in the United States under the age of 40 are diagnosed with cancer. One in 1,000 girls will be diagnosed with and survive childhood cancer.
For these young cancer patients, the very treatment that is often the best hope to save their lives can also rob them of their dreams to one day have children. Chemotherapy and radiation cause premature ovarian failure in a significant proportion of these women. Bone marrow or stem cell transplants -- combined with other adjuvant treatments that are used in many forms of pediatric cancer -- cause a loss of ovarian reserve in 95 percent of patients. Click here for the entire article.

Dean’s Faculty Achievement Awards

Clinical Service Award

Dr. Sergio Oehninger was one of five faculty members who were honored at the eastern Virginia Medical Schools Annual Dean’s Faculty Achievement Awards on June 1, 2005.

Just a few hours before flying off to Europe to serve as a guest speaker at two scientific organizations, Sergio Oehninger, M.D., Ph.D., paused for a few minutes between patients to reflect on his prolific career in reproductive medicine and his love of his profession.

“Even though it sound s soap-operaish, the fact that you get to help people get pregnant, conceive and establish a family is wonderful,” he said.

It is not unusual to catch Oehninger between tasks, and when one reflects on his resume, it is easy to see why. Oehninger, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and urology, is also director of the Division of Reproductive Medicine at EVMS. He has three graduate degrees – an M.D., a Ph.D., and a M.S. – and juggles work as a clinician, researcher and mentor. For his extraordinary contributions to Eastern Virginia Medical School, Oehninger received the Dean’s Faculty Achievement Award in Clinical Service.

“Everything we have achieved depends on the group of people we have working with us – nurses, andrologists, embryologists and our colleagues – that’s why I’m here,” Oehninger said upon accepting his award.

One colleague, in acknowledging Oehninger’s outstanding resume, said: “What impresses me the most is the volume of his scholarly production. While taking care of patients in the operating room, the hospital and the clinic all day long, Dr. Oehninger has managed to publish more than 200 peer-reviewed papers and over 35 book chapters, reviews and other publications.” The colleague goes on to note that Oehninger participates in numerous EVMS committees, reviews manuscripts for 12 medical journals, directs and teaches national and international courses in andrology and infertility and writes Grant proposals for his funded research.

Oehninger said he became interested in obstetric and gynecology because it combines surgery with endocrinology and medicine. In the early 1980s, the then-new fields of IVF and advanced reproductive technology piqued his interest and led to his decision to sub-specialize in reproductive endocrinology and infertility.

Infertility also has its frustrations, he conceded.
“It’s true that the coin has two sides,” he said. “Not all treatments are efficient in everyone and we are disappointed many times, but the successes far outweigh the failures and it is wonderful that we can help.”

Oehninger’s work, in conjunction with colleagues from the Department of Urology, has led to expanded treatment options for a special population of infertile men. He has also spearheaded research to transplant frozen ovarian tissue into chemotherapy/cancer-surviving patients, give them hope that they may one day have children of their own

Dr. Sergio Oehninger Receives HealthCare Hero Award