Award of the Maternity Prize of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine on June 13^th 2012 in Paris

It has become a tradition that the founder of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine and in the same person the founder of the Maternity-Prize presents within the awarding ceremony and the new winners. This time we shared the presentation of the laudatios.

Short historic comment:

In 1976 we created the Maternity Prize of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine, which had been founded in 1968 in Berlin. To give the decoration a glamorous artistic background, we searched for a suitable work of art. We have been successful in the form of a bronze statue created by the female French artist, Madame Helene Guastala from Paris. ([Fig. 1])

Fig. 1 Bronze statue of the Maternity Prize by the French artist Madame Helene Guastala.

Laudatio for the winner of the obstetrical prize:

This year the prize-giving committee of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine has chosen for the obstetrical part of the Maternity Prize a highly sophisticated, very successful scientist in Perinatal Medicine who decisively contributes to a high level of distinction of the prize.

It is Prof. Roberto Romero, the chief of the Perinatology Research Branch of the Wayne State University in Detroit. ([Fig. 2]).

Fig. 2 Prof. Roberto Romero.

While we – at the beginning of the 1960 s and during the following few decades – made the very first steps to enter, search and discover intrauterine space, Roberto Romero has continued the explosive development of medicine around the unborn child with his brilliant and sophisticated contributions over the last couple of decades. He is one of the outstanding colleagues still searching to a high degree, if not the very leader.

His extensive Curriculum Vitae appears rather as a book and is a witness of his outstanding scientific activities.

Roberto Romero was born on September 18^th, 1951 in Maracaibo/Venezuela.

After receiving his undergraduate degree, in 1974 he obtained his Doctor of Medicine degree with magna cum laude from the Zulia University in Maracaibo.

Then he moved to the Yale University, where he completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology and fellowship in maternal-fetal medicine.

In 1982 he was already Assistant Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology, and was made Director of Perinatal Research at the Yale University. Only 4 years later, in 1986, he became Associate Professor at Yale University.

1991 he moved to Detroit, Michigan to be appointed vice chairman and Professor of Obstetrics/Gynecology at Wayne State University.

A year later he followed a call by the National Institutes of Health Bethesda, Maryland to be appointed to his present position as Chief of the Perinatal Research Branch. As chief of this institution he leads an international consortium of clinical scientists whose focus is to decrease adverse pregnancy outcomes.

In 2006, he also became Program Director for Obstetrics and Perinatology of the Intramural Program at the same institution. Roberto Romero was also Professor at the Georgetown University in Washington, DC and at the Michigan State University.

Prof. Romero is extraordinarily well known internationally for his work on prenatal diagnosis of congenital anomalies, as well as for his revolutionary work on infection and prematurity. His scientific output is enormous.

He has published several books, including the outstanding and acclaimed ”Prenatal Diagnosis of Congenital Anomalies” . He also contributed chapters to 95 textbooks, and he has published about 850 original articles, the majority having brought our scientific community a long way forward in understanding the mechanisms by which infection leads to premature labor and delivery.

Roberto pioneered the concept of the ”Fetal inflammatory response syndrome”, suggesting that fetal inflammation is linked to the onset of premature labor and that the multisystemic involvement in this condition can lead to fetal injury such as brain damage, which predisposes to the subsequent development of cerebral palsy.

Professor Romero’s academic career was crowned with countless honors and awards from different institutions and societies world wide.

Roberto has got a Doctorate Honoris causa from 7 universities in different countries, and is additionally Honorary Professor of the Universities in Moscow and Buenos Aires.

He also received the Ian Donald Gold Medal.

Between Prof. Romero and our institute there exists a close interest in the field of prevention of premature birth.

Prof. Romero and his co-workers elaborated with their high levelled studies, as already mentioned, a lot of important background knowledge in this field.

We hope that in the near future a combination of these excellent scientific results with our simple, easily applicable program will lead to convincing results on a broad scale as demonstrated in an entire state of Germany and not only in small selected groups as has been achieved up to now elsewhere. This would be particularly important for many countries where the frequency of premature birth is much too high or is even still increasing.

I am particularly pleased to honor this successful and outstanding personality, who is an immense benefit for perinatal research, with the traditional Maternity Prize.

Prof. Dr. Erich Saling