F. Bayard Carter Society, Duke Ob/Gyn’s alumni association, gathered Sept. 15-17 for its 72nd annual meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, under the shadow of the city’s famous Gateway Arch.
Approximately 50 Duke Ob/Gyn faculty, residents, alumni and families met for three days of science and fellowship. At least four generations of Duke Ob/Gyn residency alumni were present, with ages spanning from the late 20s to mid 80s. The meeting was hosted by St. Louis locals Ashley Veade, MD, Carter Society vice president (residency class of 2018), and Geoff Turner, MD, Carter Society secretary (residency class of 1998).
Speakers included L. Stewart Massad Jr., MD, professor of Ob/Gyn at Washington University, St. Louis (residency class of 1989). Dr. Massad’s father, L. Stewart Massad Sr., MD, was also a Duke Ob/Gyn alumnus and president of the Carter Society in 1983.
Emily Jungheim, MD, MSCI, professor and chief of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Northwestern University (residency class of 2005), gave the society’s annual Liam Haim Lectureship on “The Good Egg.”
Among the other speakers were this year’s co-winners of Hammond Research Day, chief residents Stephanie Lim, MD, and Mary Katherine Montes De Oca, MD. The scientific program was augmented by a wonderful social program that included Disco Night and box seats at Saturday night’s St. Louis Cardinals game.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Carter Society President Alison Weidner, MD, MMCi, passed the gavel to incoming President Craig Sobolewski, MD, who is already busy planning next year’s annual meeting in Durham — details to come. Brandi Vasquez, MD, PhD, (residency class of 2008), was selected as the incoming vice president of the society and will host the 2024 meeting in Portland, Oregon.
About the Carter Society
The F. Bayard Carter Society was formed in 1951 by 15 former Duke Ob/Gyn residents to honor the department’s first chair, F. Bayard “Nick” Carter, MD. Dr. Carter served as chair from 1931 to 1964. As noted in the society’s constitution, “The purpose of the society shall be the promotion of scientific knowledge by assembly and interchange of ideas and practice related particularly to obstetrics and gynecology.” All Duke Ob/Gyn residents and fellows are invited as members upon graduation, as are all Duke Ob/Gyn faculty. The society has met annually for the last 72 years. Few ob/gyn departments in the country, if any, can boast an alumni association with such longevity and success.
Beyond holding an annual meeting, the society has been central to the success of the department over many years. One of its essential contributions has been the establishment of the Charles B. Hammond Research Fund, which since 2010 has provided over $1 million in research support to residents, fellows and faculty in the department. Additionally, the Carter Society helped establish the department’s seven endowed professorships, named for former chairs and senior faculty: F. Bayard Carter, MD; Roy T. Parker, MD; Walter L. Thomas, MD; E.C. Hamblen, MD; James Ingram, MD; Haywood Brown, MD; and W. Allen Addison, MD.