The IMS Board works tirelessly to support the aims of the Society and to ensure that the best educational resources and updates on research are available to all the membership. However, do you really know who they are? This new occasional profile series gives you the opportunity to learn more about each Board member, providing a personal perspective and insight into the people who represent the leadership of the Society.
Professor Duru Shah is Director, Digital Education for the International Menopause Society.
I’ve been reading
India after Gandhi by Ramachandra Guha.
I’ve been researching
The phenotypes of the Indian PCOS and their correlation with fertility.
My team
We have built an App called Too shy to ask, targeted to teens so that they get the correct information on subjects on which they have no authentic information. With this App we hope to educate the young on their reproductive and sexual health for a healthier future.
An anecdote
I have travelled to many countries to deliver lectures on various aspects of reproductive endocrinology. When I went to Muscat to deliver a lecture, I met a large number of young Indian gynecologists who had trained in India and had now settled there. They were there from all over the Middle East and it was truly a feeling of nostalgia when many of them, who knew me from India, wanted to be photographed with their mentor, feeling very proud to do so! It was truly a humbling event!
An interesting case
Different cases are interesting at various phases in our lives. Today I attend to many second opinions and find every single patient interesting, but there have been some cases which stay in our minds, especially when we were much younger. For example, a pre-eclamptic woman developed complete blindness (due to retinal edema) for 2 days, post her elective Cesarean section. She never mentioned that she could not see for 2 days after her surgery, because she thought it was part of the post-operative sequel of Cesarean section!
I’m worried about
The challenges which women in our country face due to a huge gap in gender equity and equality.
I’ve been thinking
On how I can get infertility management covered by health insurance in India, where the government is currently focusing on reducing maternal mortality, and infertility is still not high on the radar of our health ministry.
In my spare time
I have initiated my own NGO called The Women Empowerment Foundation http://www.wefoundation.org.in/ which works towards empowerment of women in India. This really does not leave me any spare time.
A thorn in my side
The unethical practice of carrying out unnecessary surgery when the same problem could easily be treated through medical or minimally invasive procedures.
What challenges me
Statistics!
