October 3, 2017

Katherine Gold appointed Chair of the International Stillbirth Alliance

 

Katherine (Katy) J. Gold, M.D., M.S.W., M.S.
Katherine J. Gold, M.D., M.S.W., M.S.

Katherine J. Gold, M.D., M.S.W., M.S., assistant professor of family medicine and obstetrics and gynecology, was recently appointed chair International Stillbirth Alliance. Gold is the first family medicine physician to be appointed as the chair of the organization and is also the first American appointed in the position in a decade.

The International Stillbirth Alliance is the largest global coalition of organizations and individuals who support research on stillbirth prevention, bereavement care, and global advocacy.  ISA helped write the Lancet’s Series on Ending Preventable Stillbirth in 2011 and 2016 and continues to be actively involved in promoting stillbirth research and dissemination of results as well as evidence-based guidelines for clinical care.

Gold was first nominated to serve on the ISA board in 2011 by Timothy R.B. Johnson, MD, professor and chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Michigan. This September, the ISA held its annual international conference in Cork, Ireland. It was there that Gold was appointed as chair.

“As a physician, researcher, and bereaved parent, this is an incredibly meaningful role for me to have.  16 years ago, having just graduated from medical school, my world was upended by the unexpected death of my full-term healthy baby,” Gold remarks.

“At the ISA conference, they gave me a glass ‘teardrop of grief’ sculpture with a lit candle as part of the transition to the new chair.  This was incredibly emotional but also a powerful gift to be given the chance to help prevent others around the world from having to go through this devastating experience,” she adds.

Infographic from the International Stillbirth Alliance

Find out more information about the mission and work of the International Stillbirth Alliance online and as an infographic:

Discover recent research publications from Katherine Gold on pregnancy outcomes and bereavement after perinatal loss and browse the latest women’s and reproductive health research from the Department of Family Medicine