We depend on our members to volunteer their time and expertise to carry out the mission and work of the organization, and to keep moving the field of urogynecology forward. If you are looking to enrich your IUGA experience and contribute to the field of urogynecology in a new and rewarding way, now is your chance! We are accepting applications for openings on the following committees:

• Education Committee
• Fellows, Trainees & Early Career Professionals Committee
• Membership Committee
• Publications Committee
• Public Relations Committee
• Research & Development Committee
• Terminology & Standardization Committee

Applications will be accepted through Sunday, November 17, 2019 at 11:59pm CST. Descriptions of the committees can be found below.

Eligibility

Membership on IUGA's committees is open to all interested individuals who hold current membership in IUGA. The intent is for committee membership to mirror the geographic diversity of the IUGA membership.

Members may only serve on one committee at any given time, with the exception of Fellows, Trainees & Early Career Professionals Committee members who may also be assigned to another committee in order to have the trainee perspective represented across the organization.

Term

Members added to IUGA committees as a result of this Call for Committee Volunteers will have a term start date of January 1, 2020. The length of the term is specific to each committee and listed below.

Apply

To apply for a committee position, please email the following to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by Sunday, November 17, 2019:

• Your name, area of practice, credentials and affiliation
• Name of the committee to which you are applying
• A brief statement of interest explaining why you are interested in serving on the committee, including any relevant experience you have to the work of the committee
• CV
• Disclosure Form (complete HERE)
• Fellows, Trainees & Early Career Professionals committee applicants should also provide verification of enrollment in a fellowship/physician-in-training program or being within the first five years of post-training practice

The above items must all be received by Sunday, November 17, 2019, 11:59pm CST, for your application to be considered complete. Only complete applications will be forwarded to Committee Chairs for consideration.

Committee Descriptions

Education Committee
Chairperson: Jenny King (beginning January 1, 2020)
Term Length: 3 years
Description: The Education Committee develops, promotes, and maintains the educational offerings of the association, including the IUGA Academy. It oversees the program content for Regional Symposia and eXchange programs, and reviews applications submitted for Endorsed Programs and observership grants. The Education Committee also conducts the workshop selection process for the Annual Meeting and guides other educational activities of the association. Members of the Education Committee are assigned to one of three subcommittees: Workshop Subcommittee, Program Subcommittee, or E-learning Subcommittee. *

*Special Application Instructions: Please indicate which subcommittee you are most interested in.

Fellows, Trainees & Early Career Professionals Committee
Chairperson: Rachel High (beginning January 1, 2020)
Term Length: 2 years
Description: The main duty of the IUGA Fellows, Trainees & Early Career Professionals Committee is to contribute to the academic development of fellows, trainees, and those within their first five years of practice out of training in the field of urogynecology/female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery by fostering international scholarship and making recommendations to the Education and Research & Development Committees regarding activities.  

*Special Application Instructions: Fellows, Trainees & Early Career Professionals committee applicants should also provide verification of enrollment in a fellowship/physician-in-training program or being within the first five years of post-training practice

Membership Committee
Chairperson: Abdul Sultan
Term Length: 2 years
Description: The Membership Committee works in partnership with IUGA staff to develop and execute member recruitment and retention strategies and to provide input on membership-related processes.

Publications Committee
Chairperson: Pending Election Results
Term Length: 3 years
Description: The Publications Committee publishes the official IUGA Newsletter quarterly, and determines if submitted content is best suited for inclusion in the Newsletter, online news posts, or on social media channels. Committee members are involved in writing and reviewing articles, finding authors for articles, and suggesting content.  

Public Relations Committee
Chairperson: Kalaivani Ramalingam (beginning January 1, 2020)
Term Length: 3 years
Description: The Public Relations Committee is responsible for the development and management of media communications on behalf of IUGA to the community, patients, physicians and IUGA members. This includes developing content for patient leaflets and other educational materials for the Online Store and patient website and planning the annual Public Forum. Members of the Public Relations Committee are assigned to one of three subcommittees: Leaflets Subcommittee, Social Media Subcommittee, or Patient Website Subcommittee.

*Special Application Instructions: Please indicate which subcommittee you are most interested in.

Research & Development Committee
Chairperson: Pallavi Latthe
Term Length: 3 years
Description: The Research & Development Committee is responsible for the IUGA Research Grants (in basic science and clinical research) and reviewing surveys and requests to disseminate surveys to the IUGA membership. The committee also develops and promotes research manuscripts and projects through its members and interested individuals. Specific expertise in urogynecology research (basic sciences and/or clinical) is required.

Terminology & Standardization Committee
Chairperson: Renaud de Tayrac
Term Length: 3 years
Description: The Terminology & Standardization Committee is responsible for the development, publication and subsequent management of IUGA documents related to terminology and standardization. At times, there will be joint projects with one or more other societies. Subsequent management includes translation of the published documents.

To encourage interest in our field among the next generation of practitioners around the world, we have built a webpage specifically for medical students with basic information about urogynecology. Share it with medical students that you know to help them learn more about our field! To find this page, look under the 'Resources' tab or click here.

Voting is now open for the positions of IUGA Secretary and Publications Committee Chair. All IUGA members are asked to vote for one candidate for each position.

Voting is open through Friday, November 8 at 11:59pm CDT.

VOTE NOW

There was a single nominee for the positions listed below. Thus, the Board has declared these individuals acclaimed and congratulates them on assuming these positions. These terms become effective January 1, 2020.

International Advisory Board Representative, Africa
Surandhra Rampha, South Africa
COI: Nothing to disclose.

International Advisory Board Representative, Oceania
Malcolm Frazer, Australia
COI: Nothing to disclose.

Chair, Education Committee
Jenny King, Australia 
COI: Disclosures have been reviewed and no conflict found to exist.

Chair, Fellows, Trainees and Early Career Professionals Committee
Rachel High, USA  
COI: Nothing to disclose.

Chair, Membership Committee
Abdul Sultan, United Kingdom  
COI: Nothing to disclose.

Chair, Public Relations Committee
Kalaivani Ramalingam, India  
COI: Nothing to disclose.

Chair, Research & Development Committee
Pallavi Latthe, United Kingdom   
COI: Nothing to disclose.

It is with great sadness that we inform the IUGA community of the passing of Eckhard Petri. Dr. Petri was one of the founding fathers of IUGA and served as Secretary from 1982-1990, and President from 1990-1992. Involved in many facets of IUGA, he chaired the 1983 Annual Meeting in Mainz, Germany, and co-chaired the 1985 Annual Meeting in Budapest, Hungary. He also served for many years on the Editorial Board of the International Urogynecology Journal. In 2011, Dr. Petri was awarded IUGA’s highest honor – the IUGA Lifetime Achievement Award – for his dedication and contributions both to IUGA and the field of urogynecology.

Dr. Petri was a well-known and respected surgeon in Germany, where he also served as President of the national urogynocology society, Arbeitsgemeinschaft Für Urogynäkologie Und Plastische Beckenbodenrekonstruktion E.V. (AGUB), for many years.

He will be missed by all who knew and admired him.

We invite all IUGA members to review the Terminology paper on the treatment of Stress Urinary Incontinence before it is submitted for publication. Please provide any feedback regarding this paper before the 11:59 PM Central Daylight time on October 4, 2019 to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Surgical treatment of stress urinary incontinence, the involuntary loss of urine on effort or physical exertion, or on sneezing or coughing, has seen many changes since its inception. Surgical approach (abdominal versus vaginal), anatomic space (retropubic versus transobturator), and materials utilized (grafts, sutures or native tissue) vary widely between procedures.

A writing group made up of members of AUGS and IUGA has been working on developing a clinically-based terminology document that comprehensively assigns terms to widely practiced surgical procedures employed by obstetrician-gynecologists, urologists, and urogynecologists to treat stress urinary incontinence in women.

For more information, login to your IUGA Member Page.

At present, there are no universally agreed upon, evidence-based terms for the surgical procedures related to cosmetic gynecology.  Working together with AUGS, we will develop a paper to define terms and clearly and specifically describe each procedure including materials and instruments used. Each term must indicate to researchers, clinicians, and learners a specific and reliable set of steps. 

We are seeking 5-6 volunteers (including a Chair) to serve on a Writing Group to help establish standardized terminology for cosmetic gynecological procedures and surgeries and to define good practice in the field.

To find out more and to apply to become a member of the Writing Group, click here.

The September issue of the International Urogynecology Journal is now available! Don't miss out on the latest news and research in the international field of urogynecology!

Click here to find out more about the journal.

If you are a member of IUGA, click here to access the journal.

If you are not a member of IUGA, click here to join!

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

It’s hard to believe that the 2019 joint AUGS/IUGA Scientific Meeting is only a month away! Our annual meeting is always one of the highlights of the year for me, and this year I have the additional honor of welcoming you to the meeting as your president. I am looking forward to catching up with friends and colleagues and making new connections. I hope you are too!

IUGA is all about education. The meeting will include the usual types of high-caliber sessions you’ve come to expect at our meeting, such as didactic and hands-on workshops, state of the art lectures, debates, panel discussions, roundtables and the like. But even better, our collaboration with AUGS has allowed us to bring you the best educational features of each society’s annual meeting, allowing all of our members and attendees to benefit. Basic scientists can take advantage of a one-day track on Translational Medicine: Re-thinking the Science of the Pelvic Floor, while nurses and physiotherapists will appreciate the Allied Health Track focusing on multidisciplinary assessment and treatment of chronic pelvic pain and sexual dysfunction. Fellows and physicians-in-training will find Fellows’ Day to be a unique educational experience geared to their stage of career development. Others might be interested in the 1.5-day CME course, Fundamentals of Urogynecology, in which some of our specialty’s most renowned experts share their insights and help physicians improve the quality of patient care, or you can attend the Surgical Tutorials on Thursday and Friday.

It seems now more than ever we are all faced with trying to do more with less – less money, less staff, less time – especially in this age of digital multitasking. Learn how to reduce distractions in order to improve productivity at this year’s Keynote Lecture by Paul Mohapel. And, be sure to join us as we look ahead to 2040 with this year’s Ulf Ulmsten Lecture, Curing Pelvic Floor Disorders in 2040: Measuring Sex and Other Aspects of Pelvic Floor Function, presented by our IUJ co-editor-in-chief, Rebecca Rogers.

As practitioners and researchers, we hope that when all is said and done, everything we do on a daily basis improves the quality of care our patients receive and improves their lives. While the Annual Meeting allows us to stay abreast of the latest in urogynecological research and techniques, it’s also important to stay attuned to our patients’ stories and make sure we educate them about their pelvic floor and available treatment options. The media has been flooded recently with negative stories about mesh, and while we do have to acknowledge the controversies around mesh use, we also need to make sure our patients have access to sound information and a balanced perspective. To that end, we have added a new feature to our patient website, www.YourPelvicFloor.org, to allow patients to share their stories and to read the stories of women just like themselves. I encourage you to take a look at this new feature and encourage your patients to share their own story.

I look forward to seeing you all in Nashville. If you are unable to join us this year, don’t be dismayed! A good portion of content will be captured during the meeting and made available in the future on the IUGA Academy.

Best wishes,

Ranee Thakar

Now is your chance to get more involved with your association! We are seeking nominations (self-nominations are acceptable) for the following elected positions*:

Board of Directors
Secretary – 2-year term, renewable once

International Advisory Board (IAB)
Africa Representative – 3-year term, non-renewable
Oceania/Australasia Representative – 3-year term, non-renewable

Committee Chairs
Education Committee Chair – 2-year term, renewable once
Fellows, Trainees & Early Career Professionals Committee Chair - 2-year term, renewable once
Membership Committee Chair – 2-year term, renewable once
Public Relations Committee Chair – 2-year term, renewable once
Publications Committee Chair – 2-year term, renewable once
Research & Development Committee Chair – 2-year term, renewable once

*The term for each of these positions begins January 1, 2020.

Nominations may be submitted by any IUGA member in good standing, including the nominee him or herself. A member may be a candidate for only one position. Those making nominations are asked to reflect on the qualifications related to the position for which they are nominating themselves or a candidate. Qualifications can be reviewed online by clicking HERE.

Nominees are asked to provide the following materials:

• CV
• Position Statement/Statement of Interest in the elected position noting experience relevant to the position
• Photo (which will be posted online during the voting period)
• Disclosure Form (complete online HERE)

Nominations may be submitted via email to the IUGA Office at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. until 11:59pm CDT on Sunday, September 1, 2019.

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