Dr. Steven Gabbe
Dr. Steven G. Gabbe, dean of the School of Medicine, received the Joseph Bolivar DeLee Humanitarian Award from the Board of Directors of Chicago Lying-in Hospital in recognition of his outstanding work to study and alleviate complications of pregnancy due to diabetes.
The DeLee Award is bestowed on those individuals who have made a significant contribution to the health of mothers and infants and is named after the pioneering obstetrician Joseph Bolivar DeLee. In 1895 when medical care for women in childbirth was largely unavailable, DeLee opened a small dispensary on Maxwell Street to serve Chicago’s needy women who needed hospital care. In 1925 DeLee and his associates affiliated with the University of Chicago and formed the Chicago Lying-in Hospital.
“Dr. DeLee has been one of the major contributors to the way in which obstetricians practice in this country for more than 100 years,” Gabbe said. “He developed one of the first prenatal clinics for needy women. Then, as chairman of the department of obstetrics at Chicago Lying-in Hospital, he was influential in the training of some of the best obstetricians the world has ever known. To receive an honor in his name is significant for me and for any obstetrician,” he said.
Gabbe received the award at the Board of Directors’ Dinner on April 20.
Gabbe has also been elected president of the Society for Gynecologic Investigation. He presented his first paper to the SGI in 1971 and has been an active participant at the society’s meetings for the past 30 years. He became a member of the SGI in 1978 and has contributed 27 papers presented at the society’s annual meetings. He served as a member of the SGI council from 1992 to 1995.