MIAMI, FL, November 18, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Maria Bustillo, MD, of the South Florida Institute for Reproductive Medicine, has been named Cambridge Who's Who Professional of the Year in Reproductive Medicine. While inclusion in the Cambridge Who's Who Registry is an honor, only two male and two female members in each discipline are named professionals of the year. The Cambridge Who's Who selection committee chooses these special honorees based on their professional accomplishments, academic achievements and leadership abilities.

Maria Bustillo, MD is a true pioneer of reproductive endocrinology and fertility treatments, having played an influential role in the field's early '80s inception. Promptly after she completed her training in 1984, she was directly involved with the first successful egg donation in the United States. While working with a research team at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (where she was for 11 years), she was able to place the fertilized egg of a donor into the body of a recipient.

In her 34 years of experience, Dr. Bustillo has served as the chief of the division of reproductive endocrinology as well as a teacher at Mt. Sinai Medical System in New York. She also held a post at the famous Genetics & IVF Institute, where she worked alongside Dr. Joseph Schulman, the founder. During her eight years of employment at the Genetics & IVF Institute, she helped establish the Fairfax Cryo Bank - the second largest sperm bank in the country. Additionally, she helped to pioneer a technique known as ultrasound guided egg collection.

Currently, Dr. Bustillo serves as director of the Assisted Reproductive Technology program at the South Florida Institute for Reproductive Medicine. Moreover, she teaches for the University of Miami's OB/GYN Department. It is her focus to enable people to achieve goals they would have never warranted possible.

Dr. Bustillo is a respected leader in reproductive medicine, demonstrating an excess of two decades in the field. From 1988 to 1996, she served on the Board of Directors of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) and, in 1994, she was SART president. She is an International Ambassador of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, and a founding member and former vice president of the Society for the Advancement of Women's Health Research. Highly sought after for her expertise, Dr. Bustillo was featured as a guest speaker on World Talk Radio's "Wellness Talk Radio - Balance and Change." She is active in research and publishing on reproduction as an ad hoc reviewer for various journals and is a former member of the Editorial Board of the ASRM journal Fertility and Sterility.

In recognition of accomplishments in her field, Dr. Bustillo was selected for inclusion in Cambridge Publishing's "Top 101 Industry Experts" book. The Top Industry Experts reveal the objectives and triumphs prominent Cambridge members have achieved to gain success. Selected from more than 250,000 executives, professionals and entrepreneurs, these exemplary leaders stay at the top of their fields by possessing unique experience and wisdom, all the while exhibiting innovation in their work. In addition, she was named one of the "401 Best Doctors for Women" by Good Housekeeping and was presented with the "Friends of Resolve Clinical Award" at the New York City Night of Hope Gala in 2007. Dr. Bustillo was named among the "Best Doctors in America" and received the "Teaching Excellence Award" by the graduating class of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

Dr. Bustillo holds an MD from the Medical College of Wisconsin. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology as well as a research fellowship in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the Harbor-University of California at the Los Angeles Medical Center. She is board certified in reproductive endocrinology and is professionally affiliated with the American Society for Reproductive Technology, the Society for Reproductive Endocrinologists, the Society of Reproductive Surgeons, the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, the International Embryo Transfer Society and the American Medical Women's Association.

About Cambridge Who's Who
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