Honorary Chair
Extraordinary Impact on MIGS and Commendable Service
With his extraordinary clinical and academic impact on MIGS and commendable service to the AAGL, Dr. Tommaso Falcone is well deserving of the prestigious recognition as this year’s Honorary Chair.
Early Life and Education
The child of Italian immigrants, Dr. Falcone was the first in his family to attend college. In 1981, he obtained his medical degree from McGill University School of Medicine in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. While at McGill, he went on to complete a residency in obstetrics and gynecology and a fellowship in reproductive endocrinology.
Professional Achievements and Mentoring
For over 30 years, Dr. Falcone has trained and mentored more than 50 clinical and research fellows. His passion for educating the next generation of MIG surgeons is also apparent through his ongoing professorships in Obstetrics and Gynecology which he has held at multiple institutions since 1989. He is currently Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
Leadership and Contributions to the Field
Throughout his professorships, Dr. Falcone also served as a Staff Gynecologist at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, a position he maintains today. In addition, he has made an impact on MIGS by serving as Chair of the Department of Subspecialty in Obstetrics and Gynecology (2001-2018), Chair of the Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health Institute (2008-2018), and Chair of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Devices Panel for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from 2010-2018.
Leading the Way at Cleveland Clinic London
In 2018, Dr. Falcone became the Chief of Staff and Chief Academic Officer at the Cleveland Clinic in London. He designed the hospital’s clinical programs, added 350 new doctors, and implemented all lines of service. He supervised the opening of the first clinic and helped launch the opening of the hospital in April of 2022. Now as Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Cleveland Clinic London, the hospital is thriving and fully operational. Dr. Falcone feels fortunate to be a global physician with certification as a gynecologist in Canada, the USA, and United Kingdom (honorary).
Editor-in-Chief of the Journal on Minimally Invasive Gynecology
A member since 1996, Dr. Falcone has made valuable contributions to AAGL and to the field of MIGS, but he is best known for his role as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal on Minimally Invasive Gynecology from 2013-2022. During his tenure, Dr. Falcone introduced the inclusion of citable video manuscripts into the Journal and advanced communication of breaking developments in MIGS by increasing publication from a bi-monthly hardcopy format to a monthly, ecofriendly, digital publication. He also created a Journal Ethics Committee to manage research integrity and ethical concerns, evolved JMIG to better represent our global membership and established a Social Media Editor and Scholars further advancing JMIG in the social media realm. These contributions significantly increased JMIG’s impact factor from 1.5 in 2013 to now 4.3, and solidified JMIG as the authoritative source of the latest cutting-edge developments in MIGS.
Passion for Evidence-Based Medicine and Patient-Centric Care
Dr. Falcone is passionate about evidence-based medicine, innovation, and placing the patient at the center of all decisions. He feels “fortunate to have been part of the team that performed the first robotic gynecologic surgery in the world and the first uterus transplant in North America.”
Congratulations to this year’s Honorary Chair, Dr. Tommaso Falcone!