Jack Lippes, MD '47

Jack Lippes, MD '47, has made fundamental contributions to the field of obstetrics and gynecology. In 1959, as a private practitioner, he invented the Lippes loop, an intrauterine contraception device.

He later promoted the use of quinacrine sterilization as a simple, inexpensive non-surgical method of sterilization.

In this endeavor, Lippes was part of a team, the International Services Assistance Fund. He also conducted extensive research into the physiology of human oviductal fluid, which resulted in improved pregnancy rates through in vitro fertilization.

Lippes taught in the UB Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology from 1952 to 1999. He served as medical director of Planned Parenthood of Buffalo from 1962 to 1978, and clinical chief of the obstetrics/gynecology department at Deaconess Hospital of Buffalo from 1975 to 1981. He helped to open and directed the first in vitro fertilization clinic in Buffalo in 1981.

Internationally, Lippes has received numerous awards and has served as a family planning and population consultant to health care organizations, corporations and governments, including South Korea, Taiwan, Pakistan, Tunisia, Turkey, India, Afghanistan and Iran.

UB bestowed its Distinguished Alumni Award on Lippes in 1982, followed by its Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999.

In 2010, Lippes became the first American to receive the European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Health’s annual medal, awarded to him in a ceremony at the Hague, Netherlands.