We are delighted to announce Dr. Easterling, Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist at the University of Washington, and Director of the Medical Advisory Board for the Preeclampsia Foundation, was named the 2016 winner of this prestigious award named after Leon Chesley, the father of 20^th century understanding of preeclampsia.

The ISSHP’s Chesley Award is given to a member of the Society in recognition of her/his sustained and substantial contribution to research in preeclampsia, not only for her/his work but also for encouraging the work of others. The award winner is presented with $1,000 and the Chesley plaque. Other American luminaries who have received this prestigious international award include Marshall Lindheimer, Norman Gant, Jim Roberts, Baha Sibai, Fred Zuspan, and Ananth Karumanchi – each of whom should have their own Wikipedia pages, most of whom serve on the Preeclampsia Foundation’s Medical Advisory Board.

As ISSHP’s President-Elect Dr. Laura Magee noted, “Tom is dedicated to the cause, to the women, and to dialogue, even when he is on the receiving end of some aggressive feedback. He does things for the right reasons, is not concerned about ‘being in the club’, and the Society could not have a more loyal supporter. We need more people like him.”

Dr. Easterling earned his medical degree from the University of North Carolina and completed his fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the University of Washington, staying in the Pacific Northwest for the remainder of his clinical career. He embarked on a global health mission, working in India and Egypt to develop technology that would enable low-resource settings to overcome barriers to administering life-saving magnesium sulfate. He is leading a clinical trial in India to assess the efficacy of oral anti-hypertensive regimens for severe preeclampsia that would work in low-resource settings.

It was his determination to address the frightening state of global maternal health that motivated the Preeclampsia Foundation’s fundraising drive in 2010, enabling the launch of the global research initiative now called the EMPOWER Program, which includes funding partners ISSHP and Global Pregnancy Collaborative (CoLab).

Easterling’s other service includes holding several officer positions within the North American Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy, chairing ISSHP’s 10^th World Congress in Seattle, and mentoring Dr. Shuchita Mundle, recipient of the Preeclampsia Foundation’s Partners in Progress (now EMPOWER) award for investigators in low- and middle-income countries.

He has authored over 100 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters, including his oft-quoted work in hemodynamics and cardiac output in the management of preeclampsia.