Eberhard Mueller-Heubach, MD Medical Educator
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Dr. Eberhard Mueller-Heubach is recognized for more than 40 years in the health care field. As an experienced professor and OB/GYN, Dr. Mueller-Heubach honed his abilities as an educator and physician at such esteemed institutions as Wake Forest University, the Magee-Womens Hospital at the University of Pittsburgh, Columbia University and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Since 2007, he has been honored as a professor emeritus at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Dr. Mueller-Heubach was born in Germany and earned an MD from the Universität zu Köln (the University of Cologne) in 1966. After earning an MD, he completed an internship at his alma mater at the Women’s Hospital. The subsequent year, in 1968, he relocated to the United States. Upon his arrival, he interned at the Robert Wood University Hospital located in New Brunswick, NJ. From 1961 to 1971, Dr. Mueller-Heubach served as an NIH research fellow in reproductive physiology in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Columbia University. In this role, Dr. Mueller-Heubach conducted basic research in fetal physiology using the pregnant rhesus monkey model. He spent 10 of these months at the Laboratory of Perinatal Physiology of the NIH in San Juan, Puerto Rico. From 1971 to 1974, he worked as a resident in obstetrics and gynecology at Columbia University’s Presbyterian Medical Center. The following year, he was selected as the Chief Resident in obstetrics and gynecology. In 1975, Dr. Mueller-Heubach joined the faculty at the Magee-Womens Hospital at the University of Pittsburgh as an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology. He remained in this role until 1981, where he was then recognized as an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the institution. While at Magee-Womens Hospital and the University of Pittsburgh, he continued his research in fetal physiology, not only using the pregnant rhesus monkey model, but also the pregnant sheep model. In addition, he conducted clinical research in obstetrics, becoming one of the first obstetricians in 1977 to be certified in maternal-fetal medicine at the beginning of the subspecialty. Furthermore, Dr. Mueller-Heubach established the largest perinatal outreach program in the country, involving 29 community hospitals in the system. After his time at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Mueller-Heubach was presented with the opportunity to join the faculty at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In 1989, he became the Frank R. Lock Professor and Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Within these esteemed roles, he established basic research in the department, which is a rarity among medical school OB/GYN departments. With his leadership, the department rose from 63rd to 15th in the NIH’s research funding among US medical school departments of obstetrics and gynecology. Furthermore, the department was one of five in the nation that were a part of the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Unit Network and the Women’s Reproductive Health Research program. Under his tutelage, the department ranked first in NIH research funding out of 24 medical school OB/GYN departments in the Southeastern United States and fourth in the NIH’s funding per faculty member nationally. One of the many highlights of his time at the institution has been his ability to reorganize the department and maximize the success rate of its residents. Notably, none of the 65 residents he recruited ever failed the oral examination of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. In 2002, Dr. Mueller-Heubach stepped down from his role as chair but remained a Frank R. Lock Professor up until his retirement in 2007. Dr. Mueller-Heubach’s success in the field is also recognized with his service as the President of the Council of University Chairs in Obstetrics and Gynecology (CUCOG) from 1998 to 2000. CUCOG was established for the charitable and educational purposes of promoting excellence in medical education in the fields of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and currently offers support and promotion for future chairs, excellence in medical students, residents and fellows, while advocating the highest standards for clinical practice, research and advocacy in women’s health. Another notable career accomplishment during this time was his membership to the editorial board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (the “Green Journal”), which is the most widely read journal in the specialty in the world. He remained in this role from 1998 to 2001 and was the first foreign medical graduate to serve in this capacity in the history of the journal. Prior to retiring in 2007, he served as the President of the American Gynecological and Obstetrical Society (AGOS) from 2005 to 2006. This society, established in 1876, is the oldest society in obstetrics and gynecology in the world and is known for being one of the most prestigious and selective academic societies in the specialty. Prior to his role as President of the society, Dr. Mueller-Heubach has served as a secretary and assistant secretary. For 23 years in his career, Dr. Mueller-Heubach served as an examiner for the oral examination of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He has also maintained affiliation with the Society of Reproductive Investigation. Dr. Mueller-Heubach finished his professional career in 2008 by giving the opening address at the European Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics in Lisbon, Portugal. In 2017, his many years of dedication to the OB/GYN field were recognized by Marquis Who’s Who with Humanitarian Award. |