SUMMARIZED CURRICULUM VITAE OF DR RICARDO H. ASCH

Ricardo H. Asch, M.D. obtained worldwide recognition and scientific prestige by the development of the GIFT method. GIFT, an acronym that represents Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer, derived from the English word“gift” means “a present.”
The GIFT, is the desired child an infertile couple could not have. GIFT is one of the very few methods or techniques ever developed in the field of Assisted Reproduction together with In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), ICSI (intracytoplasmatic sperm injection) and Embryo cryopreservation. This is still one of the few viable procedures available in assisted reproductive medicine. Dr. Asch has dedicated his professional life to the Research and treatment of infertile couples.

An Argentinean native, Dr. Asch graduated from University of Buenos Aires Medical School with a specialty in Gynecology. Advanced studies and interships in Endocrinology and Human Reproduction from the Medical
College of Georgia and University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, respectively in the USA, under the guidances of Prof Robert B. Greenblatt and Carl J. Pauerstein. expanded his abilities to create solutions for infertile couples.

In 1984 Dr. Asch published for the first time the GIFT method with the announcement about the birth of twins obtained through the GIFT technique.
The couple had suffered over eight years of primary infertility and the anguish of failed treatments. They had travelled the world seeking medical expertise. Dr. Asch had successfully provided them with a family!

The news of Dr. Asch´s development at the University of Texas in San Antonio crossed the world rapidly. The breakthrough was so successful that the procedure obtained immediate acceptance not only by colleagues and
peers, but also by diverse cultural and religious groups internationally, such as the Catholic Church and Judaism. In fact, GIFT is in many religious medical institutions the only method accepted for the treatment of infertile couples.

Dr. Asch also developed other important techniques for the treatment of both male and female infertility such as MESA (microsurgical epidydymal sperm aspiration). This technique aspirated the sperm from infertile men
directly from his testes, something never thought possible before!
Another technique created was ZIFT (zygote intrafallopian transfer), one of many methods he designed to stimulate ovarian function to produce healthy oocytes, particularly with the use of GnRH analogues. Dr. Asch is also the developer of the method by which HIV seropositive men could procreate without risking transmitting the HIV virus to their partners and progeny.

In 1978, Dr. Asch was named Assistant Professor of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas, USA. Three years later he became an Associate Professor in the same department. He was endowed the Jane and Roland Blumberg Professor of the University of Texas in 1980. In 1981 he was named Chief of the Division of Human Reproduction at UTHSC and the University of Tampico in Mexico gave him the position of Extraordinary Professor.
Many of the titles of recognition and honor received by Dr. Asch originated in Latin American Academic Institutions such as Honorary Professor of the Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de la Salud in Barranquilla, Colombia (1984) and Honorary member by the Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Atlantic and Sociedad Colombiana of
Fertility and Sterility (both in 1985).

In 1986 Dr. Asch was recruited to the position of Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of California-Irvine. In 1990 he was named Director of the Center for Reproductive Health as well as Assistant Dean at the University of California-Irvine College of Medicine.

In 1991 Dr. Asch returned to his native Argentina to receive the title of Honorary Professor at the Universidad de Buenos Aires. In 1993 he was named Professor of the Department of Reproductive Medicine at the University of California in San Diego.
In 1994 he was privileged to be named Doctor Honoris Causa in Medicine at the University of Genoa, Italy.

As a Principal Investigator, Dr.Asch, successfully obtained for the Universities were he worked multiple levels of support for research from governmental agencies, private organizations and Pharmaceutical companies, amounting to over 2,550,737 U.S. dollars. The NIH (National Institutes of Health of the USA) awarded special research grants to Dr. Asch to investigate the effects of drug abuse in reproduction and pregnancy.

Dr. Asch actively participated in multiple committees in the public and university sectors as a representative of the Universities of Texas and California. He also occupied administrative positions in national and international forums. He was responsible for the recruitment and entry of minority students to the University of California, Irvine Medical School.
His innovative approaches in connecting minorities with medical school opportunities was very successful and changed historically the participation of minority groups in the Academic life of the University.

During his professional career, Dr. Asch is proud to have educated and trained over 100 fellow from over 20 different countries. This global connection has created a network of internationally recognized fertility specialists. Many occupy major positions in a variety of health organizations.

Dr Asch has been a prolific researcher and a scientific author. He has published six books, 225 scientific articles in peer reviewed prestigious international journals, 349 abstracts and posters in International Scientific Conferences, 25 invited manuscripts and authored 60 chapters in books of Biology of Reproduction.

Among the thirty-seven prizes and awards received by Dr. Asch nationally and internationally, the following stand out: One of the top 37 physicians in Orange County, California in 1993 and 1994. In 1994 the California Association of Chicano Latino Medical Student distinguished Dr. Asch for his extraordinary contributions to the Chicano-Latina community. Also in 1994 he received the Wyeth-Ayerst award and the TAP prize at the Pacific Coast Fertility Society, and the award UCI Lauds and Laurels for professional achievements as well as the Gold Medal of the Association
Ostetricia Ginecologia Ospedalieri Italiani in Naples, Italy. In 2003 he received the A PART (Association of Private Clinics of Assisted Reproductive Techniques) award in Tokyo, Japan. In 2004 he was named as an Extraordinary member of Cecolfes in Bogota, Colombia.

In May 2004 Dr.Asch organized and chaired in Mexico City, Mexico the First International Symposium on Halachic Medicine in Human Reproduction. This symposium was entitled RAM INVITES ISRAEL were medical , scientific and
religious experts reunited to discuss themes related to the Jewish law considerations to the new infertility treatments available today in the field of Human Reproduction.

Dr. Asch has obtained licenses to practice medicine in Argentina, Mexico, Italy and USA.