Dr. Andrea Lukes established the Carolina Women’s Research and Wellness¬ Center in 2008. She received her bachelor’s degree in religion from Duke University, followed by a combined medical degree and master’s degree in biostatistics from Duke University. After completing her residency at University of North Carolina, she worked at Duke University Medical Center (DUMC) for 10 years. While at DUMC, she co-founded and served as the Director of Gynecology for the Women’s Hemostasis and Thrombosis Clinic. She has participated in research programs supported by the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and has conducted multiple industry sponsored US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) trials. Since 2017, she has also served as the Chief Medical Officer at a woman-focused clinical research organization in Durham, North Carolina. She continues to actively consult with industry regarding the development and implementation of research protocols, including communications and presentations to the FDA. To date, she has participated in over 130 FDA-approved clinical studies.

Dr. Ayman Al-Hendy is currently Professor (Tenure) and Vice Chair (Research), Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Advisor to Dean of Medicine, Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago (UC). He also currently practices as a gynecologist and endoscopic surgeon at UC Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Al-Hendy graduated from Banha Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Banha, Egypt in 1986. After 1 year of internship at Banha University Hospital, he earned his PhD in molecular medicine from University of Turku, Turku, Finland. He then gained additional postdoctoral training in gene/cell therapy and clinical molecular genetics at McMaster University and McGill University in Canada, before completing clinical residency training in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Saskatchewan and fellowship training in laparoscopic surgery at Toronto University. Dr. Al-Hendy previously held various faculty positions at University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas; Meharry Medical College/Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee; and Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia. His award-winning research focuses on developing novel therapies, including gene and stem cell therapy, for premature ovarian insufficiency, endometriosis, and uterine fibroids, and has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), US Department of Agriculture, and other national and international organizations. He served as Chair of the NIH Integrative Clinical Endocrinology and Reproduction IRG from 2013 to 2015, and currently serves on numerous other committees within the NIH, American Society for Reproductive Medicine, and the Society for Reproductive Investigation (SRI). He is also the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the SRI journal, Reproductive Sciences, and serves on several editorial boards of high impact reproductive biology journals.

Dr. Rosanne Kho graduated from Tulane Medical School and completed her residency training in obstetrics and gynecology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. She was in private practice in the Twin Cities for 6 years before joining the faculty at Mayo Clinic Arizona. She then pursued a 3-year fellowship training program in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery and urogynecology at the Mayo Clinic Arizona as a Mayo Clinic Foundation Scholar. During her 12-year term at the Mayo Clinic Arizona, she was Associate Professor and Director of the Fellowship Program in Urogynecology and later in Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery (MIGS). Dr. Kho previously served as faculty at Columbia University Medical Center before joining the Cleveland Clinic in 2015, where she currently serves as Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Biology and Head of the section of Medical Gynecology and MIGS. In addition, she serves as the Program Director of the Fellowship Program in MIGS at the Clinic, which she founded in 2019. Dr. Kho’s clinical and academic work has focused on advancing vaginal and minimally invasive surgery and has resulted in numerous peer-reviewed publications and book chapters. She is a strong advocate of the vaginal approach for benign hysterectomy and is recognized for her passion for bringing vaginal surgery back into the armamentarium of the gynecologic surgeon. In addition to her roles at the Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Kho serves as Senior Editor for the Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology and as Director of the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists Practice Guidelines Committee. Dr. Kho is also nationally and internationally recognized for her passion for elevating women’s care through the training of surgeons in the field and her dedication to community service.