American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology Honors Dr. Larry Gilstrap III
To honor Dr. Larry C. Gilstrap III’s legacy as executive director of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) and in recognition of his profound impact on the health of women and children whose care he has influenced, ABOG has made a generous gift to the CDC Foundation to establish a new named fund—the ABOG/CDC Larry Gilstrap MD Fellowship. The fellowship program provides training opportunities for obstetricians and gynecologists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) focusing on infectious diseases and sexually transmitted diseases in women and in pregnancy. The fellowship is assigned within CDC’s Division of Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention and collaborates with the Division of Reproductive Health.
Before retiring in January, Dr. Gilstrap served the last 10 years as the director of evaluation and then as the executive director of ABOG. The focus of his career has been maternal-fetal medicine with a special emphasis on infectious diseases in women and in pregnancy. His passion is transforming clinical research into clinical practice improvements. He has authored hundreds of peer-reviewed publications, more than 100 chapters and several textbooks. To honor his academic and public health career at his retirement, ABOG partnered with the CDC Foundation and CDC to host a fellowship in his name.
OB/GYNs with expertise in infectious disease, including sexually transmitted diseases, is a growing need as many OB/GYNs lack this training and expertise. The aim of the ABOG/CDC Larry Gilstrap MD Fellowship is to provide a unique public health training experience for OB/GYN scientists who, upon completion, can be appointed to universities, or federal, state or local public health agencies with a focus on maternal and child health (MCH) and STD/HIV prevention programs.
This fellowship will help reshape MCH and STD/HIV prevention focus for the next century, both nationally and globally by helping develop a cadre of OB/GYN scientists. Through this experience these fellows will have the opportunity to become experts in STD/HIV prevention, have an understanding of the public health system in this nation, and be able to address STD/HIV prevention needs at the population level and across public and private sectors.
The first fellow, Shivika Trivedi, MD, MSc, was selected through a competitive process and began her fellowship this past July. Dr. Trivedi holds an MD from the Emory University School of Medicine and an MSc in Physiology and Biophysics from Georgetown University. She has received numerous awards and honors, including Society of Maternal & Fetal Medicine Excellence in Obstetrics. She has held several leadership and teaching roles throughout her studies, including serving as administrative chief resident.
Dr. George Wendel, Jr., executive director of ABOG, says of Dr. Trivedi, “She is an ideal candidate from an excellent OB/GYN residency program.”
The CDC Foundation is excited about this new fellowship program. Working hand-in-hand with CDC scientists over the course of one year, fellows will gain invaluable experience that ultimately will have a positive impact on their service to women and to the fields of public health and obstetrics and gynecology.
Make a donation to this program or to learn more about this fellowship contact Amy Macklin,senior advancement officer, 404.523.1874, amacklin@cdcfoundation.org.
