IPPS Honorary Board

Sawsan “Susie” As-Sanie, MD, MPH, is the Ferguson Endowed Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Co-Chief of Gynecology, and Director of Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery and the Endometriosis and Chronic Pelvic Pain Program at the University of Michigan. An NIH-funded clinician-scientist, her research examines the neurobiology and mechanism-based treatment of endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain. Dr. As-Sanie is a past president of IPPS and an internationally recognized leader in complex benign gynecology and pelvic pain care.

Erkut Attar, MD, PhD, is Professor and Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Yeditepe University in Istanbul, Türkiye. His clinical and academic work spans pelvic pain, endometriosis, reproductive endocrinology, infertility, and minimally invasive gynecology. He completed postdoctoral training at Yale University and earned a PhD in molecular medicine. Dr. Attar serves on the IPPS Advisory Board and is President of the Pelvic Pain and Endometriosis Society in Türkiye.

Charles W. “Chip” Butrick, MD, FPMRS, FACOG, is a board-certified urogynecologist in Overland Park, Kansas, with more than three decades of experience educating clinicians and patients about chronic pelvic pain. His practice has emphasized interstitial cystitis and bladder pain syndrome, pelvic floor dysfunction, neurourology, and complex pelvic pain. An invited participant in the original pelvic pain “think tank” that developed into IPPS, Dr. Butrick is a past president of the Society and has served on its Advisory Board.

Dr. Lamvu holds both her undergraduate and medical degrees from Duke University. She completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology, along with a fellowship in Advanced Laparoscopy and Pelvic Pain at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She also earned a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from UNC.

She is a Gynecologic Surgeon and Pelvic Pain Specialist at the Orlando VA healthcare system, where she also serves as Director of the Fellowship in Advanced Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery.

Dr. Lamvu contributes to research and education as a Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Central Florida. Her research and publications include work on chronic pelvic pain, postoperative pain, endometriosis, and vulvodynia.

She is a past leader of the International Pelvic Pain Society and has been a strong advocate for improving healthcare for people living with chronic pelvic pain.

Amy Stein, DPT, BCB-PMD, IF, is a pelvic health physical therapist and the founder and owner of Beyond Basics Physical Therapy in New York City. An internationally recognized expert in pelvic floor dysfunction, pelvic pain, women’s health, and functional manual therapy, she is the author of Heal Pelvic Pain and co-author of Beating Endo. Dr. Stein is a past president of IPPS, chairs the Society’s Past Presidents Committee, and has served on the IPPS Advisory Board.

Frank F. Tu, MD, MPH, is a pelvic surgeon and obstetrician-gynecologist at Endeavor Health and a Clinical Professor at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. His clinical practice focuses on complex pelvic pain, endometriosis, dysmenorrhea, and minimally invasive surgery. As an NIH-funded investigator, he studies the development of painful menstruation and its relationship to chronic pelvic pain and bladder pain conditions. Dr. Tu served as President of IPPS in 2014.

Juan Diego Villegas-Echeverri, MD, FACOG, is the founder of ALGIA, the Advanced Laparoscopy and Pelvic Pain Center at Clínica Comfamiliar in Pereira, Colombia. He developed Colombia’s first transdisciplinary pelvic pain clinic and leads fellowship training in minimally invasive gynecologic surgery. Dr. Villegas-Echeverri is a past president of both IPPS and the Colombian Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology and has served IPPS through its Advisory Board, International Liaison Committee, and Past Presidents Committee.

Kathryn “Kathy” Witzeman, MD, FACOG, is a gynecologic surgeon and women’s health physician at Grand River Health and a Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She founded Denver Health’s Integrated Pelvic Health Program in 2008 and directed it through 2023. Her work focuses on pelvic and vulvovaginal pain, menstrual and menopausal disorders, integrative medicine, and biomedical ethics. Dr. Witzeman is a past president of IPPS and has served on its Advisory Board and Past Presidents Committee.