Joseph Itskovitz-Eldor, M.D., D.Sc.

About 18 months ago I asked my Editorial Board to submit topics and potential Guest Editors for Seminars in Reproductive Medicine. Dr. Zev Rosenwaks suggested this month's guest editor, Dr. Joseph Itskovitz-Eldor. The topic Dr. Itskovitz-Eldor chose is one that I am sure will be well received by our readers: stem cells in reproductive medicine.

Dr. Itskovitz-Eldor received his medical school training at the Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical School, in Jerusalem in 1972, and his Ph.D. in physiology at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, in Haifa in 1982. Dr. Itskovitz-Eldor completed a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa in 1979, and completed two fellowships in the United States: (1) Fogarty International Research Fellowship at the Cardiovascular Research Institute, Departments of Pediatrics and Obstetrics-Gynecology, University of California (1982 to 1985) and (2) Fellowship, Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine, Obstetrics-Gynecology Department of Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia, in 1985 to 1986. He returned to Israel in 1986 and is presently Professor and Director, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Rambam Medical Center, and Director, Stem Cell Center, Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.

Dr. Itskovitz-Eldor has focused his research and career on fetal physiology, assisted reproductive technologies, and more recently stem cells in reproduction. He has more than 150 peer-reviewed publications in prestigious medical journals.

It is with pleasure that Joseph agreed to serve as Guest Editor for this issue on stem cells in reproduction, and he has recruited several highly qualified fellow co-authors. I am sure this issue will serve as a primer and an up-to-date review for stem cell information.