The Jones Institute ( JI ) for Reproductive Medicine
at Eastern Virginia Medical School's Reproductive Endocrinology and
Infertility ( REI ) Fellowship Program was established in 1982. Many
of the successful infertility programs throughout the world are staffed
by reproductive endocrinologists trained in our program.
In 1979, Dr. Howard
Jones and the late Dr. Georgeanna Jones came to the Department
of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Eastern Virginia Medical School to
accept the challenge of starting an in vitro fertilization,
IVF, program. Their work led to the birth of the first IVF baby
in the United States, Elizabeth Carr, on December 28, 1981. That birth,
the subsequent pregnancy successes, and research
innovations at the Jones Institute, have attracted a legion of
bright and talented scientists and physicians to our program.
Program Description
The JI REI fellowship program has a structured,
comprehensive, and intensive 3 - year postgraduate training format,
covering both the clinical and laboratory aspects of reproductive
endocrinology. This program is approved by the American Board of Obstetrics
and Gynecology. Taking advantage of our large clinical and research
faculty, this program provides both basic and clinical research experience,
as well as intensive training in infertility, assisted reproduction
techniques, and the full range of surgical treatment approaches.
These disorders which affect the reproductive tract
include operative endoscopy, tubal reconstruction, congenital anomalies
of the reproductive tract, and others. The program spans three continuous
years, beginning on July 1 of each year. The first year consists of
95% clinical work and 5% lab and clinical investigation. The second
year is comprised of 90% basic laboratory techniques, clinical and
animal investigation, and 10% clinical reproductive endocrinology.
The third year includes 80% clinical and basic research in the fellow's
focused area and 20% in the clinic.
The following sections demonstrate the breadth and
depth of the clinical and research training resources currently in
place.
Reproductive
Science Division
- Sperm function and physiology
- Oocyte freezing and chromosomal analysis
- Gene regulation of the endometrium
- Biomarkers of embryo developmental potential
Contraceptive
Research and Development
- Large - scale research sponsored by the
Agency for International Development targeted to develop new contraceptives.
Note: The fellows have access to a full - time technician who is
experienced in many laboratory methods, including molecular techniques
as well as standard assay methods ( including RIA ).
- Molecular mechanisms of endometrial bleeding
- Phase l and Phase 2 clinical testing of new
spermicides, microbicides, and virucidal compounds
- New treatment modalities for endometriosis and
menopause
- To provide comprehensive postgraduate training
in all clinical aspects of reproductive endocrinology and infertility
to make graduates fully competent to practice modern reproductive
medicine, particular training in genital tract surgery, assisted
reproduction techniques, cost - effective management of routine
infertility, and general reproductive endocrinology
- To provide training in allied disciplines (
medical and pediatric endocrinology )
- To provide intensive training in research methodologies,
including experimental design, epidemiology, statistical evaluation,
assay methodology, techniques of molecular biology, and other methods
pertinent to research efforts
- To provide training in grant writing and budget
development
- To provide training in effective teaching methods
Curriculum
Fellows, residents, and attending physicians participate
in these regularly scheduled conferences:
- Reproductive medicine lectures ( by attendings
) - weekly, one hour, Monday noon
- Reproductive medicine case reviews ( by attendings
) - weekly, one hour, Tuesday noon
- IVF case review - twice monthly, one hour, Wednesday
noon
- Departmental grand rounds - 3 times a month,
3 hours, Thursday morning
- Reproductive medicine chapter reviews ( by fellows
) - 3 times a month, one hour, Friday noon
- Reproductive Medicine Journal Club ( by fellows
) - once monthly, one hour, Friday noon
- IVF Journal Club - monthly over dinner
Other
major activities of fellows particular to their year of training are
summarized as follows:
Year
1: Full - time in clinic, seeing patients with attending physicians,
doing surgery, assisted reproduction, and management of reproductive
endocrine problems. Course work: statistics and physiology
- Several clinical projects undertaken
- SGI conference
- Fellows' Conference sponsored by the National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development ( NICHD ) and Ferring
Laboratories
Year
2: Full - time in research ( except to cover vacations, etc. )
- Research experience for thesis
- Attendance at the American Society for Reproductive
Medicine ( ASRM ) annual meeting and one other scientific meeting
Year
3: Finish research, write and publish thesis. ½ day "continuity
clinic" all year
- Day Donor Egg program all year
- Practice in Embryology, Andrology, and Endocrine
laboratories ( usually 1 week each )
- ASRM and one other meeting
- Pediatric Endocrine and Medical Endocrine clinics
( ½ day each week - 6 months on each clinic )
Fellowship
Director and Current Fellows
Fellowship Director
David F. Archer, MD, is Director of the CONRAD Clinical Research
Center and the Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine, Professor of
Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Director of the Reproductive
Endocrinology and Infertility Fellowship Program.
Dr. Archer received a BA in Zoology in 1956 from the University of
Louisville and his MD from the University of Louisville School of
Medicine. He completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at
Louisville General Hospital. Dr. Archer was a National Institutes of
Health (NIH) postdoctoral fellow in Reproductive Endocrinology at
the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (1966-1968) under
Luigi Mastroianni, MD, and was a special NIH postdoctoral at the
Hormonlaboratoriet of the Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden,
directed by Egon Diczfalusy, MD (1968-1970). During his fellowships,
he investigated steroid hormone metabolism in the fetoplacental unit.
Dr. Archer has published extensively on contraception and menopause.
His current research is in the mechanism related to endometrial
bleeding.
He is on the editorial board of Menopause, Menopause
Management and Contraceptive Technology. He is an ad hoc
reviewer for The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Obstetrics and Gynecology, Human Reproduction,
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, Steroids,
Journal of Women’s Health and Biology of Reproduction.
Dr. Archer was elected to the North American Menopause Society (NAMS)
Board of Trustees (1994), serving as the Society’s treasurer, chair
of the Scientific Committee for the 1997 Annual Meeting, and being
elected president of the Society for 1997-1998. He has been a
continuing member of the NAMS Exam Writing Committee since its
inception in 2002.
Dr. Archer is a member of the board of the International Menopause
Society. He served for eight years as secretary of the American
Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), and was a member of the
Board of Directors for three years. He has been president of the
Society of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (SREI) and
chair of both the Contraceptive Special Interest and the Menopause
Special Interest Groups for ASRM.
Fellows
E.
Hakan Duran, MD, is doing his third-year fellowship training in
Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the Jones Institute
for Reproductive Medicine.
He completed his medical training at Hacettepe University, Ankara,
Turkey, in 1991. This was immediately followed by his first
residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the same
institution. He then served as an assistant professor in Baskent
University School of Medicine, participating in foundation of their
assisted reproductive technologies program. He joined the Jones
Institute of Reproductive Medicine in 2001 and did research on sperm
DNA until 2003, when he started his second residency training in
Obstetrics and Gynecology at Eastern Virginia Medical School. He is
now eligible for board certification in Obstetrics and Gynecology
and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility.
Dr. Duran is a fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists and a member of the American Society for Reproductive
Medicine. He earned numerous teaching awards and honors throughout
his medical training. He is the primary or contributing author of
seventeen articles published in major peer-reviewed journals.
Abbaa Sarhan, MD, is in her second year of sub-specialty
training in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at The Jones
Institute for Reproductive Medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical
School.
She completed medical school at The George Washington University
School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, DC. Following
medical school, Dr. Sarhan completed a residency in Obstetrics and
Gynecology at the same institution.
She is a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology
and a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Omega Alpha honor
societies. She has also been the recipient of multiple leadership
and academic awards during her training.
Jennifer Agard, MD, is in her first year of sub-specialty
training in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at The Jones
Institute for Reproductive Medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical
School.
She completed medical school at the University of California, Los
Angeles. Following medical school, Dr. Sarhan completed a residency
in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in
Livingston, New Jersey.
She is a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology
and a member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. She
has been the recipient of multiple scholarships and awards during
her training.
Interested applicants may contact us at ( 757 )
446 - 7444.
Phone
800-515-6637 or 757-446-7100