The Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group of North America (DPSG-NA) was founded in 1997 by a small group of Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialists with a distinct interest in diabetes in pregnancy.
Â
Since its inception, the DPSG-NA meetings have become a vehicle for the dissemination of data, gathered through collaboration among basic, translational and clinical researchers and care centers. After a few annual meetings, the group settled on a biennial cadence.Â
Â
Only through a collaborative, multi-faceted approach can we ever hope to overcome the health burden and devastation that pregnancies complicated by diabetes can bring to a family.
Oded Langer
Co-Founder
Oded Langer (1943-2019) was and continues to be internationally recognized for his outstanding contributions to the field of diabetes and pregnancy.
He dedicated his 40-year career to promoting the translation of promising research findings into better clinical care for pregnant women and their children.
His efforts to promote translational medicine include demonstrating that oral anti-hyperglycemic agents are safe and effective for managing diabetes in pregnancy; increasing our understanding the potential complications of diabetes for both mother and fetus; and helping to delineate the associations between levels of maternal hyperglycemia and adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Dr. Langer contributed extensively to the literature in obstetrics, gynecology, and high-risk pregnancy through his extensive number of publications in both journals and textbooks. He was co-editor of four textbooks on diabetes and pregnancy and several journals focused on the topic. He also has served on a variety of journal editorial boards in this field.
Dr. Langer was an invited presenter of the Norbert Freikel Lecture for the American Diabetes Association, named the prestigious Donnell D. Etzwiler Professorship, which is named after the late ADA president and former co-director of World Health Organization Collaborative Centers for Diabetes Education and Translation, recipient of the Andre Boivin Visiting Professorship at the Motherisk Program of the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, received the Award of Research Excellence from the Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine on multiple occasions and was repeatedly recognized as “teacher of the year” for residents’ instruction at both Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, where he previously taught and conducted research.Â
Menachem Miodovnik
Co-Founder
Menachem Miodovnik (1946-2025) was an enthusiastic and larger-than-life presence in maternal-fetal medicine.
For nearly two decades, Miodovnik oversaw research funded by a National Institute of Child Health and Development program project grant at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center (UCMC) and the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) that showed that strict preconception glucose control could reduce reproductive failure, abortion, fetal malformations and maternal and neonatal morbidity, but many resulted in increased maternal hypoglycemia. His work resulted in hundreds of peer-reviewed publications on how to improve maternal and fetal outcomes for pregnancies complicated by diabetes.
In addition to research, Miodovnik was a dedicated educator and mentor, who dedicated hundreds of hours as course director and instructor in local, regional, national and international conferences, also serving on a number of leadership and organizing committees. He was a keen proponent of bringing together professionals across fields, specialties, and disciplines to discuss and promote further research to improve the health and wellbeing of pregnant individuals with diabetes as broadly defined by type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes, and cardiometabolic health risk factors, and their offspring.
He has been recognized by the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Nutrition, the National Perinatal Association, the American Association of Birth Centers, and the organization he helped found, the Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group of North America.
E. Albert Reece
Co-Founder
E. Albert Reece is an ob/gyn physician-basic scientist and former Dean of Medicine and University Executive Vice President at University of Maryland, Baltimore.
He is senior scientist in the University of Maryland School of Medicine Center for Birth Defects Research where he remains involved in exploring the biomolecular mechanisms of birth defects, specifically the teratogenicity of hyperglycemia associated with unmanaged diabetes mellitus.
Over the last 40 years, he and his research colleagues have identified several potential targets around which to design therapies.
He remains intimately involved in DPSG-NA, engaged in conference programming and ensuring the group’s longevity.
Â
Dr. E. Albert ReeceÂ
Co-Founder & Director
Dr. Reece is the Distinguished University Professor and Endowed Professor & Director of the Center for Advanced Research Training and Innovation (CARTI), and Senior Scientist in the Center for Birth Defects Research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He is a professor in the departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology. He and his senior investigator colleague lead an NIH multimillion-dollar research laboratory group studying the biomolecular mechanisms of diabetes-induced birth defects. They have identified and patented key molecular mechanistic intermediates. In addition, signaling pathways, oxidative and ER stress, epigenetics and premature aging are determined to be key contributors to the etiology. He and his colleagues have also developed the technique of embryofetoscopy for early prenatal diagnosis and eventually for curative fetal therapy. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), The Lasker Foundation Board, Research!America Board, Loma Linda University Board, Washington Adventist University Board, and has served on many other academic, governmental, and civic organization boards and committees.
Dr. Sarah Crimmins
Program Chair
Dr. Crimmins is the Program Director of the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship program and Director of Labor and Delivery at University of Rochester Medical Center and an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the School of Medicine and Dentistry at University of Rochester. Dr. Crimmins has received numerous awards for her excellence in clinical care, research, and medical education. These include multiple “Top Doctor” honors from Baltimore Magazine in Maternal-Fetal Medicine and High-Risk Obstetrics and the CREOG National Faculty Award for Excellence in Resident Education.  Her clinical and academic interests include diabetes in pregnancy, prenatal diagnostics, and obstetric care innovation. An active researcher and speaker, she has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, and regularly presents at national conferences.
Dr. Scott Sullivan
Onsite Director and Sponsorship Chair
Dr. Sullivan is the Division Chief of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Inova Health System. Dr. Sullivan is a diplomate of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) and the subspecialty board of maternal-fetal medicine. He is also a fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and currently serves as Secretary and Chair-Elect of District IV. He has been a board examiner for ABOG since 2011. In 2022, Dr. Sullivan was elected as Chair of the Virginia Maternal Health Data and Quality Measures (MHDQ) Task Force for the Commonwealth of Virginia. His clinical interests include prenatal diagnosis, preterm delivery prevention, infectious diseases, thyroid disorders and patient safety.
Dr. Karl Seif
Poster Session Chair
Dr. Seif is an assistant professor in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. His clinical and research interests include diabetes in pregnancy, obesity in pregnancy, infectious diseases in pregnancy, as well as preterm labor. He currently serves as the director of the Diabetes in Pregnancy program at the University of Maryland Medical Center, leading a team that specializes in the antenatal and postpartum care of pregnant patients with gestational diabetes, as well as those with pre-existing type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Dr. Seif has received several honors, including “Fellow of the Year” (University of Maryland, 2023), "Physician Colleague of the Year" (University of Maryland, 2023), first prize at the Inova Fairfax Resident Research Day in 2019, “Top Resident Teacher Award” (Inova Fairfax, 2017-2018-2019), as well as the Society of Maternal Fetal Medicine Residency Program Award for Excellence in Obstetrics (Inova Fairfax, 2018).
Dr. Anna Palatnik
Scientific Forum Chair
Dr. Palatnik is an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She is dual board certified in OBGYN and Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Her areas of expertise include high risk obstetrics with an emphasis on pregnancies complicated by maternal chronic medical conditions, as well as fetal growth restriction, multiple gestations, preterm birth and cervical insufficiency. Her other areas of expertise are prenatal diagnosis and ultrasonography. Dr. Palatnik’s research interests include clinical obstetrics, fetal growth restriction and prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart disease. She has presented her research in several national and international meetings and has published numerous peer-review publications. Dr. Palatnik teaches residents and medical students and has received "The Northwestern University Best Residents’ Teacher award,” as well as the "Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals Medical Students Teaching Award.”
Dr. Shad Deering
Simulation Session Director
Dr. Deering is the Medical Director of the Inova Center for Advanced Medical Simulation, and a specialty care physician board certified in maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) and obstetrics and gynecology. He founded the Central Simulation Committee in the U.S. Army and became a national leader in medical simulation training and patient safety, focusing on practical implementation. The simulation efforts and organizations he has led have trained more than 600,000 medical providers. He retired from the Army after 26 years on active duty and went on to establish a medical simulation center at Baylor College of Medicine and CHRISTUS Health. Dr. Deering has delivered babies in 10 different states and a combat zone, was awarded the Bronze Star, holds two patents for an obstetric birthing simulator system, has authored over 100 publications and two TED talks about obstetric simulation, and has managed over 30 million dollars in grants and external funding. His simulation videos have over 21 million views on YouTube.
Audrey Huang
Digital Media Chair
Dr. Huang is an assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences and Director of Science Communications and Science Editor at the Center for Advanced Research Training and Innovation at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. A molecular geneticist and former healthcare marketing and communications executive, Dr. Huang now helps early-to-mid-career faculty members improve their ability to communicate their research to various audiences. Dr. Huang has written for organizations including NIH, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Ontario Genomics Institute and the Pew-funded Genetics and Public Policy Center. She has led award-winning strategic marketing, communications, public affairs and media relations teams at UT Southwestern Medical Center and Johns Hopkins Medicine. Her research experience spans developmental biology, molecular and cell biology, and genetics.
