History of REI at UTHSC

The University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center has a long history of training fellows in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. The first REI Fellowship program at UTSHSC was started in 1978 under the Chairmanship of Preston Dilts and Program Director Anne C. Wentz. It is important to note that a formalized training program in Reproductive Endocrinology, approved by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG), was begun at John Hopkins in 1973 and Dr. Anne Wentz was the first individual to receive this fellowship training.

Six REI fellows were trained under ABOG certification from 1988 to 1994 while Joe Leigh Simpson was Chair of Ob Gyn and John E. Buster was REI Division and Fellowship Director. Under GME Certification one REI fellow was trained while Frank W. Ling was Ob Gyn Chair and William H. Kutteh was Director of the REI Division and Fellowship. The REI Fellowship was restarted under certification from ACGME with John O. Schorge as Chair of Ob Gyn and William H. Kutteh as REI Fellowship Director.

Year	Chair	Fellowship Director	Graduate
1975-1985	Preston Dilts, MD	Anne C. Wentz, MD	Robert A. Wild, MD, PhD, MPH   Fellow 1978-1980. Oklahoma City, OK
1988-1994	Joe Leigh Simpson	John E. Buster, MD	William Gentry, Fellow 1988-1990. Indianapolis, Indiana
			Thomas H. Burwinkel, Fellow 1989-1991. Cincinnati, Ohio
			Peter R. Casson, Fellow 1990-1992.  Colchester, Vermont
			Barry A. Ripps, Fellow 1991-1993. Pensacola, Florida
			Raymond W. Ke, Fellow 1992-1994. Memphis, Tennessee
			Sonja Kristiansen, Fellow 1993-1995. Houston, Texas
1995-2003	Frank W. Ling	William H. Kutteh, MD	Ghina Ghazeeri, Fellow 1998-2000. Beirut, Lebanon
2022-	John O. Schorge	William H. Kutteh, MD	Sierra Bishop, Fellow 2025-2028. Memphis, Tennessee