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An expert resource for medical professionals
Provided FREE as a service to women’s health

The Alliance for
Global Women’s Medicine
A worldwide fellowship of health professionals working together to
promote, advocate for and enhance the Welfare of Women everywhere

An Educational Platform for FIGO

The Global Library of Women’s Medicine
Clinical guidance and resources

A vast range of expert online resources. A FREE and entirely CHARITABLE site to support women’s healthcare professionals

The Global Academy of Women’s Medicine
Teaching, research and Diplomates Association


Name: John J. Sciarra, MD, PhD

Affiliation: Professor and Chairman Emeritus
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Feinberg School of Medicine of Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA 
Editor-in-Chief, Global Library of Women's Medicine

His key role for The Global Library of Women’s Medicine

Professor John J. Sciarra has played a pivotal role in the creation and development of The Global Library of Women’s Medicine. The key feature of the website is based on the six-volume, encyclopedic textbook Gynecology & Obstetrics that he edited for over 30 years – and which he subsequently made available for use on this site. This feature consists of over 442 specially commissioned expert chapters on most aspects of women’s medicine, which are revised and updated on a regular basis. Thanks to Professor Sciarra these were used to form the basis of The Global Library’s pioneering new approach to medical communication and around them subsequently a wide range of other valuable resources have been steadily added to form the library that exists today.

Professor Sciarra was the first Editor-in-Chief of The Global Library of Women’s Medicine and devoted a great deal of his time and energy to ensuring its value and effectiveness. Since 2006, when the concept was first originated, to the end of 2012, when he stepped down from the role of Editor-in-Chief, his contribution has been inestimable. His insights, experience and extraordinary knowledge of the field have all contributed greatly to the development of The Global Library – and his contact with leading specialists across the world has helped to ensure that the library has attracted new chapters of the highest scientific caliber. His contribution at all levels has certainly been a notable one. 

Although Professor Sciarra has now retired from the role of Editor-in-Chief he remains a distinguished member of the International Editorial Board and continues to contribute to the work of The Global Library of Women’s Medicine in a valuable and greatly appreciated way.

General Biographical Description: John J. Sciarra, MD, PhD, served as the Thomas J. Watkins Professor and Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Northwestern University Medical School and Northwestern Memorial Hospital from 1974–2003. He is presently Professor and Chairman Emeritus of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Northwestern.

From 1991 to 1994, Dr. Sciarra served as president of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), an association representing over 100 member countries. As president, Dr. Sciarra worked on behalf of FIGO's efforts to further maternal and child health worldwide He was chairman of the Scientific Program Committee for the FIGO XVth World Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology that was held in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1997, and was on the Scientific Program Committee for the FIGO XVIth World Congress held in Washington, DC in 2000.

His other international positions have included serving as both a member and chairman of the Scientific and Ethical Review Group of the World Health Organization (WHO) Special Program of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction. He also served as chairman of the External Advisory Board for the Carnegie Corporation Project for post-graduate training in obstetrics and gynecology in Ghana, West Africa. He is a past president of the International Society for Gynecologic Endoscopy (ISGE).

In 1992, Dr. Sciarra was awarded an honorary degree in surgery and medicine from the University of Genoa. Dr. Sciarra has been awarded honorary memberships in the Italian Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Israeli Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Hungarian Society of Gynecologists, the Polish Gynecological Society, the Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Italian Hospitals and the Russian Association of Gynecological Oncology. He was also admitted to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (London) as a Fellow ad eundem in 1992. He was made a guest professor at Peking University in China in 2006. Dr. Sciarra has been a frequent guest speaker at international meetings, often speaking on reproductive health issues.

In recent years, he has served as chairman of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Committee on International Affairs, president of the American Association of Maternal and Neonatal Health, Secretary/Treasurer and President of the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics (APGO), Secretary/Treasurer and President of the APGO Medical Education Foundation, president of the Chicago Gynecological Society, a member of the Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology, and president of the Central Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Recently he has served as treasurer of the Society of Family Planning and as president of the American Gynecological Club.

From 1985–2007, Dr. Sciarra was the editor of the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics (the FIGO Journal). Since 1973, he has served as editor of the six-volume series, Gynecology and Obstetrics that has been transformed to an internet-based publication, entitled, The Global Library of Women’s Medicine, that was launched in November 2008 (www.glowm.com) and now has readers from over 170 countries worldwide.

Dr. Sciarra has written more than 200 scientific papers and has authored or edited 16 books in the areas of obstetrics and gynecology, family planning, and contraceptive development.

Special Interests: Gynecology, gynecologic surgery, family planning, obstetrics and gynecology in developing countries.

Contact Address: 680 N. Lake Shore Drive Suite 1015 Chicago, Illinios, USA 60611 Phone: 312-695-5107
Email: jsciarra@northwestern.edu