Awards to be presented during the President’s Gala and Opening Ceremony at the 2022 ASRM Scientific Congress

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) today announced its major societal awards for 2022. After an organization-wide nomination process, the awardees were selected by ASRM’s Executive Committee. Presentation of the awards will take place at the society’s Scientific Congress during the President’s Gala and Opening Ceremony on Sunday, October 23rd and Monday, October 24th, respectively.

“These individuals have made great contributions to ASRM and the reproductive medicine field. Their dedication and passion for the work they do has helped advance our field and we are extremely lucky to be able to honor these incredible individuals.”
– Marcelle Cedars, MD, ASRM President

Awards to be presented at the ASRM President’s Gala:

The 2022 recipient of ASRM’s Lifetime Achievement Award is Robert W. Rebar, MD This award honors a member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine who has made exemplary contributions to the field of reproduction during his/her career. Robert W. Rebar, MD received his MD from the University of Michigan, completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas and at the University of California, San Diego. He completed a fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Rebar served on the faculties of UCSD and Northwestern medical schools before becoming Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Cincinnati. He served as Executive Director of the ASRM for 11 years. After “retirement,” Dr. Rebar assumed the mantle of Founding Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the new Western Michigan University Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine, recruited the initial faculty, and with them developed a medical school clerkship and a residency program in obstetrics and gynecology before stepping down to teach.

The Kavoussi Family Outstanding Teacher Award goes to Larry I. Lipshultz, MD. Dr. Lipshultz is Professor of Urology and Chief of the Scott Department of Urology’s Division of Male Reproductive Medicine and Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Dr. Lipshultz, who holds the Lester and Sue Smith Chair in Reproductive Medicine, is a well-known authority on abnormalities of male reproduction, erectile dysfunction, and male hormone therapy. He completed his medical training and urology residency at the University of Pennsylvania and was the first American Urological Association (AUA) research scholar. He is a member of the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons, a founder of the Society for the Study of Male Reproduction and the American Society of Andrology, and he is the second urologist elected President of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

The 2022 Arnold P. Gold Foundation Humanism in Medicine Award for Practicing Physicians goes to Samuel C. Pang, MD. After earning his BSc (Biochemistry) and MD from the University of British Columbia, Samuel C. Pang, MD completed a rotating internship followed by a residency in Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Toronto. He completed his fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology at UCLA. He is board certified in Obstetrics & Gynecology and in Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility. In 1993, he joined IVF America Boston (later, Reproductive Science Center of New England) and was appointed Medical Director of RSCNE in 2007. In October 2014, he joined Boston IVF following a merger with RSCNE. Dr. Pang has a reputation for commitment to excellence and meticulous attention to detail in patient care, and he is respectful, empathic, sensitive and compassionate in communicating with patients, engendering their trust and confidence. Dr. Pang is a pioneer in providing reproductive care to LGBTQ+ patients. In 1998, he was among the earliest physicians applying ART to gay men who sought parenthood via donor eggs and gestational surrogacy. In 2007, he began providing IVF services to lesbian couples without infertility, coining the term “reciprocal IVF” for one person providing oocytes and the other gestating. In 2012, he began treating transgender men for fertility preservation and reciprocal IVF, and transgender men who choose to gestate themselves. He was a charter member and second chairperson of the LGBTQSIG at ASRM.

Awards to be presented at the Opening Ceremony:

The ASRM COVID-19 Task Force are the recipients of the 2022 Suheil J. Muasher, MD, Distinguished Service Award, an award supported by an endowment from Suheil J. Muasher, MD. Each year, ASRM honors individuals who have provided distinguished service to ASRM. Recipients are selected based on their scientific, leadership, organizational, political or societal service contributions to the ASRM, reproductive medicine and/or reproductive medicine patients.

In March 2020, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine established the COVID-19 Task Force. The task force, comprised of experts in reproductive medicine and patient representatives, is being recognized for their expertise, commitment, and for their time in staying ahead of the curve to provide guidance and recommendations to preserve the health and safety of patients and health care workers throughout the time of the pandemic.

Kyle E. Orwig, PhD has been chosen as the recipient of the ASRM Distinguished Researcher Award. This award recognizes a member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine who has made outstanding contributions to clinical or basic research in reproduction published during the previous 10 years.

Dr. Orwig is a Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences. He directs the UPMC Fertility Preservation Program and the UPMC Magee Center for Reproduction and Transplantation. Dr. Orwig received his PhD in Animal Sciences and Biochemistry/Biophysics at Oregon State University where his research focused on ovarian function in cows and sheep. He conducted postdoctoral studies at the University of Kansas Medical Center characterizing prolactin family genes in the uterine decidual and placenta of rodents before starting his life’s work on stem cells and spermatogenesis in a senior postdoc/junior faculty position at the University of Pennsylvania. He was recruited to Magee-Womens Research Institute and the University of Pittsburgh as a tenure track assistant professor in 2003. Dr. Orwig’s lab has been continuously funded by NIH and other Sources. His research focuses on stem cells, germ lineage development, fertility and infertility. His lab is recognized for its leadership in translating stem cell and testicular tissue transplantation technologies to nonhuman primates and to the clinic. He currently serves as Chair of the ASRM Research Institute Advisory Committee and is honored to be recognized with the ASRM Distinguished Researcher Award.

This year the Ira and Ester Rosenwaks New Investigator Award, supported by an endowment from Zev Rosenwaks, MD, goes to Audrey J. Gaskins, ScD. Audrey Gaskins, ScD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health. She earned her Doctoral Degree in Nutrition and Epidemiology from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. This training was preceded by a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering from Duke University. As a reproductive and environmental epidemiologist, Dr. Gaskins’ research uses creative study designs and methodologies to advance the science in environmental, dietary, and lifestyle influences on human reproduction. Her research, which includes 145 papers, has been cited over 3,500 times and resulted in many awards including multiple NIEHS Extramural Science Papers of the Month, the Best New Researcher Award from the International Society of Environmental Epidemiology, and the Rising Star Award from the Society of Pediatric and Perinatal Research. She has been the principal investigator of three research grants from the NIEHS including a recently completed K99/R00 award on maternal exposure to air pollution and early pregnancy outcomes, an ongoing R01 focused on air pollution and fertility among couples undergoing donor oocyte ART, and a newly awarded R21 on extreme heat and human reproduction using national ART surveillance data.