Louie’s gift of $100,000 to the Faculty of Medicine initiated fundraising for the Dr. Victor Gomel Professorship in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Gifts totalling $3 million are needed to establish the endowed professorship.

Dr. Gomel’s visionary leadership from 1978 to 1993 underpinned the department’s most notable accomplishments: launching Canada’s only PhD program in reproductive and developmental sciences; establishing the In Vitro Fertilization Program in Vancouver, which resulted in Canada’s first IVF baby in 1983; and initiating the BC Women’s Health Centre, the first tertiary centre dedicated to women, newborns and their families in North America.

“Exceptional training and innovation are critical to high-quality obstetrical and gynaecological care,” Louie says. “I encourage all those who know Victor or care about women’s health to contribute to the professorship, too.”

“The professorship will inspire new directions and new collaborations to take full advantage of our province’s wealth of talent and expertise,” says Geoffrey Cundiff, Professor and Head, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. “Our goal is to continue making truly meaningful contributions to the lives of women and families in B.C. and around the world.”