MEFS is a 22-year-old professional society whose mission is to improve fertility care of couples in the Arab world and Middle East through the transfer of medical knowledge and the promotion of scientific research.
Dr. Rizk, who also serves as director of reproductive endocrinology at USA, was named president-elect for the organization this past year and will serve a two-year term as president beginning in November 2017.
Every two years, the society’s board considers several international candidates for presidency and makes a decision based on academic careers and achievements.
Dr. Rizk, who was one of the founding members of the MEFS, said he was very honored and excited to be selected. “There is so much potential for development of the society, as well as for collaboration,” he said.
As president, Dr. Rizk will be responsible for creating a plan for the strategic development of the society to serve both patients and members with infertility. “One of the most important goals is to make infertility treatments available to patients worldwide who don’t currently have the resources available, as well as to direct research in the field where we could have simplified treatment with an increased success rate.”
His new role also involves serving as a liaison between the Middle East Fertility Society, the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, and the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. This is similar to the role he had in the past as chair of the international membership committee for the American Society of Reproductive Medicine.
Dr. Rizk has served on the editorial board for the Middle East Fertility Society Journal for the past 20 years. In addition, he has been invited to be a guest speaker for the society on several occasions.
Dr. Rizk, a world-renowned infertility specialist and reproductive endocrinologist, completed his fellowship training at the prestigious Bourn Hall Clinic in Cambridge, England, under the mentorship of Dr. Robert Edwards, Nobel Laureate in Medicine for achieving the world’s first in vitro fertilization baby. He was on faculty as senior registrar/lecturer at Cambridge University from 1990-1993. His publications include 20 medical textbooks and more than 400 published manuals, review articles and abstracts.
Dr. Rizk pioneered ovarian stimulation protocols for in vitro fertilization while he worked in London from the 1980’s through 1993. He lead the research in the investigation of the pathophysiology of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. Dr. Rizk is a skilled surgeon with great expertise in robotic laparoscopy and advanced hysteroscopy.
