Scientific Committee

Dr. Helen Feltovich (USA) is a Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist and System Medical Director of Obstetrics for North Memorial /Sanford Health in Minneapolis, where she focuses on advancing high-quality, accessible obstetric care in urban and rural areas alike. She is also Honorary Fellow in Medical Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research has included nearly two decades of NIH-funded investigation of quantitative ultrasound technologies and cervical biomechanics to better understand the mechanisms of parturition and improve prediction and prevention of preterm birth.

More recently, the work of her multidisciplinary research collaborative has expanded to the application of artificial intelligence, with the goal of expanding access to expert care and improve prediction of pregnancy outcome. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, given hundreds of invited talks, served as principal investigator on national and international research initiatives, and been a regular member of the NIH Clinical and Translational Imaging Science Study Section.

Helen has been involved with ISUOG for many years. She currently serves as Chair of the ISUOG Scientific Committee, working with colleagues from around the world to develop the Society's scientific program and advance its educational and research mission. She is committed to fostering global collaboration, innovation in ultrasound education, and the dissemination of evidence-based practice to improve outcomes for mothers and babies.

Country:  USA

Field:  Obstetrics, Imaging Science

Specialties: High-risk pregnancy, obstetric imaging, preterm birth, quantitative ultrasound imaging

Languages:  English

Publications:

Feltovitch H, Gall TJ. Quantative imaging of the cervix: setting the bar. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 2013 Feb 41 (2): 121-8

Myers KM, Feltovitch H, Mazza e etal, The mechanical role of the cervix during pregnancy. J Biomech 2015; Mar 11 (epub ahead of print)

Prof. Thierry Van den Bosch defended his PhD in 2007 on the diagnosis of endometrial disease. His clinical research focuses on the diagnosis of endometrial and myometrial pathology, endometriosis and fertility exploration. He has published over 150 papers and has been over 100 times invited speaker at international conferences in English, Dutch and French.

He completed his residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the KU Leuven (Belgium) and at the University of Pretoria (South Africa). In 1992 he was appointed consultant at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Unit of Gynecologic Oncology, of the University of Stellenbosch and Tygerberg Hospital (South-Africa). In 1994 he moved back to Belgium. He worked as gynecologist at the Regional Hospital RZ Tienen, consultant UZ Leuven and KU Leuven and became the Head of department in RZ Tienen.

He currently works at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital UZ Leuven, at the Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, and is Senior Clinical Investigator of the Scientific Research Fund (FWO) Flanders, Belgium. 

Notable Publications

Country: Belgium

Field: Gynecology

Specialties: Gynecological ultrasound

Languages: English; French; Dutch

A/Prof. Ligita Jokubkiene is an associated professor at Lund university, Sweden and senior consultant in obstetrics and gynecology at the Department of Obstetrics and gynecology, at Skane University Hospital in Malmö, Sweden.  

Ligita Jokubkiene performs both gynecological and obstetrical ultrasound examinations at an advanced level.  She has defended her thesis with the title” Three-dimensional ultrasound studies of normal and abnormal ovaries” in 2012. Se is an active researcher leading several research projects with focus on ultrasound diagnostics in endometriosis, pelvic pain and pelvic floor birth-related injuries. She is also a part of international multicenter studies lead by IOTA, IETA, IDEA and MUSA groups studying ovarian masses, endometrial and myometrial pathology and endometriosis. Ligita Jokubkiene is supervising master and PhD students and is a chief supervisor of Medical Students at the Faculty of Medicine, Lund University. 

Ligita Jokubkiene organizes and leads national and international courses on ultrasound diagnostics in gynecology from basic to advanced level to midwives and doctors. She has been an invited speaker at international courses and congresses. 

Ligita Jokubkiene is a Chair of Educational courses subcommittee at ISUOG. She is also a chair of the Ultrasound reference group at Swedish Society of Obstetrics and gynecology in Sweden, Advisory Board member of European Endometriosis League and a member of IOTA Editorial Board. 

Country: Sweden 

Field: Gynecology; Obstetrics  

Specialties: Endometriosis, pelvic floor ultrasound; 3D & 4D ultrasound; gynecological ultrasound; gynecological oncology; early pregnancy 

Languages: English; Swedish 

Fionnuala Mone is an Associate Professor and Consultant in Fetal Medicine at Queen’s University Belfast and has dual training and qualification in fetal and genomic medicine having trained in the National Maternity Hospital Dublin and Birmingham Women’s Hospital, UK where she completed a PhD, MSc (Genomic Medicine) and two clinical fellowships. She has been the editor for genetics for Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology since 2021 and has also been guest editor for a special prenatal genomics edition for Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology. Fionnuala has several roles within the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, UK where she is Chair of the Scientific Impact Committee and member of the Genomics Standing Committee and Academic Board Committee where she both writes and edits guidance related to genomic and fetal medicine practice. She is also scientific coordinator for the British Society of Maternal Fetal Medicine and has served as an invited faculty member for the International Society for Prenatal Diagnosis and ISUOG as well as serving as an invited committee member for the Fetal Genomics Group of the British Society for Genetic Medicine. Her research interests include cell-free DNA screening, deep phenotyping and next generation sequencing within fetal medicine.

Abstract: 

Developing and validating ultrasound-based radiomics models for predicting high-risk category in endometrial cancer patients (OC10.01) Presenter F. Moro, Italy. See the abstract being presented at 1:15PM on 16th October.

Professor Liona Poon is an Academic Subspecialist in Maternal Fetal Medicine, devoted in improving maternal and fetal health. She has had a prolific research output throughout her clinical and research posts, including over 130 peer-reviewed publications in high impact international journals. In the last 10 years she has focused her research on establishing a programme for effective early prediction and prevention of preeclampsia, a major cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. With her success in developing a first-trimester prediction model for preeclampsia using maternal risk factors, ultrasound, blood pressure and biochemical markers, and on Aspirin prophylaxis against preeclampsia, her goal in the next 10 years is to improve obstetric care worldwide, through clinical research and education. 

Notable Publications:
Aspire trial: incidence of preterm preeclampsia in patients fulfulling ACOG and NICE criteria according to risk by the FMF algorithm. Poon LC, Rolnik DL, Tan MY, Delgado JL, Tsokaki T, Akolekar R, Singh M, Andrade W, Efeturk T, Jani JC, Plasencia W, Papaioannou G, Blazquez AR, Carbone IF, Wright D, Nikolaides KH.
Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 2018 Jan 30. doi: 10.1002/uog.19019 [Epub ahead of print]

Aspirin versus Placebo in Pregnancies at High Risk of Preterm Preeclampsia. Rolnik DL, Wright D, Poon LC, O'Gorman N, Syngelaki A, de Paco Matallana C, Akolekar R, Cicero S, Janga D, Singh M, Molina FS, Persico N, Jani JC, Plasencia W, Papaioannou G, Tennebaum Gavish K, Meiri H, Gizurarson S, Maclagan K, Nicolaides K.H.
New England Journal Medicine 2017, 2017 Jun 28. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1704559. [Epub ahead of print]

Country: China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Field: Obstetrics

Specialties: Fetal anomaly screening 1st trimester and 2nd trimester; fetal biometry and wellbeing; fetal anomalies screening; aneuploidy screening; fetal anomalies; fetal growth restriction; maternal and fetal Doppler; multiple pregnancy; preeclampsia; preterm delivery; fetal growth; detection of fetal and neonatal growth abnormalities; ultrasound on the labour ward

Languages: English; Chinese (Mandarin); Chinese (Cantonese)

Prof Daniel Rolnik completed his Obstetrics and Gynaecology training and was awarded a Master’s degree at the University of São Paulo, Brazil.  

He then went on to work with Professor Kypros Nicolaides at King’s College Hospital and Fetal Medicine Foundation in London, and undertook the Diploma in Fetal Medicine and his PhD. Daniel led the ASPRE trial, a large-scale randomised trial investigating the role of low-dose aspirin in preventing preeclampsia in the context of a large first-trimester screening program. He has published over 175 peer-reviewed scientific papers. 

Daniel currently works as a Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Director of the Perinatal Care Centre at Monash Health and is an Associate Professor at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. 

He was recently awarded a Master of Public Health degree in Epidemiology at Harvard University, USA, and received The Australian 2023 Top O&G Researcher award.