Biography
John J. Sciarra, M.D., Ph.D. is the Watkins Professor and Chairman Emeritus of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Feinberg School of Medicine of Northwestern University. From 1974 to 2003 he served as Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at both Northwestern University and the Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. From 1991 to 1994, Dr. Sciarra was president of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), an association representing societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology in over 130 member countries. From 1985 to 2007, Dr. Sciarra was the editor of the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics and is now Editor Emeritus. Dr. Sciarra was the Editor-in-Chief of the six volume series, Gynecology and Obstetrics, that has been transformed into an internet-based publication entitled The Global Library of Women’s Medicine (GLOWM) that was launched in the fall of 2008 and now is the FIGO educational portal that provides educational information for physicians in over 170 countries. Dr. Sciarra has written more than 200 scientific publications and has authored or edited 16 books in the areas of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Family Planning, and Contraceptive Development. He has served as president of many national and international organizations, including the American Gynecologic Club and the International Society for Gynecologic Endoscopy. Dr. Sciarra has received many awards and honorary memberships, included being admitted to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (London) as a fellow ad eundem in 1992 and in 2006 he was made a guest professor at Peking University (China). He was recently awarded the annual COGA Award of the Chinese Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. He is the Vice-President of the International Academy of Human Reproduction.