Dear AGOS fellows,

Greetings and best wishes for a happy and healthy 2023.

I want to start by thanking Dee Fenner for leading our Society this past year and ushering our re-emergence from Covid isolation with our first in-person meeting in three years. In her President’s welcoming message, Dee said “how wonderful it will be to once again, see old friends and colleagues, meet our new members and visit with mentors and mentees”. Her aspiration became a reality and so much more. Dee, thank you and congratulations to you and your team for rekindling the enthusiasm of the AGOS membership, which is the beating heart of academic Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Although social, political and health-related headwinds persist, resilience, passion and commitment to our mission guided us through the very successful 2022 hybrid meeting and have energized us to organize an exciting get together in Chicago for the 2023 annual meeting (September 28-30). This will be, at least for one year, a three-day meeting with formal presentations and discussions of hot topics involving our specialty during the three mornings AND with coordinated afternoon roundtable discussions informed by the morning sessions on Thursday and Friday afternoons. The purpose of extending the meeting and organizing the afternoon sessions is to allow the time for fellows to reconnect and network after the long two years of the pandemic, to help us guide the new strategic plan that will be spearheaded by president-elect Ronnie Alvarez during his 2023-24 presidential year and to identify, brainstorm and develop plans to address major challenges facing our specialty, such as research funding, education and training as well as the specialty’s fragmentation. This is the only annual meeting during which the academic leaders across the whole spectrum of activities and interests in obstetrics, gynecology and women’s health have the opportunity to meet, discuss, strategize and provide valuable feedback from ALL interested parties to ABOG, ACOG, the NIH, the ACGME and other critical to the specialty organizations. Such a meeting happens only once a year and we should take full advantage of the opportunity. Please plan to attend. Our goal is for the 2023 meeting to provide the spark for rejuvenating the Society, affirm existing or suggest new academic direction(s) for the broad field of women’s health, energize the past and new fellows and set new goals to strive for.

In an attempt to maintain closer communication with AGOS Fellows, I will be sending out periodic emails with updates of our activities and plans for the future as well as to solicit suggestions for the re-invigoration of our Society as we are emerging from the isolating pandemic. Please get engaged with the Society. Thank you!

Best regards,

Christos Coutifaris, MD, PhD
President, AGOS