Sherman J. Silber is physician specializing in the field of

infertility In biology, infertility is the inability of a male and female organism to Sexual reproduction, reproduce. It is usually not the natural state of a healthy organism that has reached sexual maturity, so children who have not undergone puberty, whi ...

. He invented many of the infertility treatments in use today in the domain of

IVF In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation in which an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating the ovulatory process, then removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) from t ...

, sperm retrieval, ICSI,

vasectomy reversal Vasectomy reversal is a term used for surgical procedures that reconnect the male reproductive tract after interruption by a vasectomy. Two procedures are possible at the time of vasectomy reversal: vasovasostomy (vas deferens to vas deferens c ...

tubal ligation Tubal ligation (commonly known as having one's "tubes tied") is a surgical procedure for female sterilization in which the fallopian tubes are permanently blocked, clipped or removed. This prevents the fertilization of eggs by sperm and thus the ...

reversal, egg and

embryo An embryo ( ) is the initial stage of development for a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sp ...

freezing,

ovary The ovary () is a gonad in the female reproductive system that produces ova; when released, an ovum travels through the fallopian tube/ oviduct into the uterus. There is an ovary on the left and the right side of the body. The ovaries are end ...

transplantation, and the reproductive biological clock.http://www.infertile.com/closlook/biograph.htm
/ref> He performed the world's first ovary and testicle transplants, created and popularized the microsurgical vasectomy reversal, and popularized ovarian tissue freezing to preserve female fertility.http://www.newhopefertility.com/dr-sherman-silber_dr-silber.shtml
He was the first to research the genetic causes of infertility in men, and developed the TESE-ICSI technique for extracting sperm from men with low or nonexistent sperm counts and direct injection of the sperm into the egg. Additionally, Silber has studied fertility in animals and performed microscopic surgery on

chimpanzee The chimpanzee (; ''Pan troglodytes''), also simply known as the chimp, is a species of Hominidae, great ape native to the forests and savannahs of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed one. When its close rel ...

s, South American bush dogs,

Przewalski's horse Przewalski's horse (''Equus ferus przewalskii'' or ''Equus przewalskii''), also called the takhi, Mongolian wild horse or Dzungarian horse, is a rare and endangered wild horse originally native to the steppes of Central Asia. It is named after t ...

gorilla Gorillas are primarily herbivorous, terrestrial great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five su ...

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

, and other endangered species.http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2007/10/08/focus20.html
/ref>

Education

Silber graduated medical school from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in 1966, and thereafter completed post-graduate training in cardiac surgery at both

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

and University of Michigan.Britt, Sue
"The Miracle Worker."
St. Louis Commerce Magazine. Nov. 2004

Career

Before completing his residency, Silber worked as a gynecologist for the U.S. Public Health Service in

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

.Garrison, Chad
"The Egg Man."
River Front Times. Oct. 3, 2007 He served as a village urologist for two years before returning the University of Michigan to study urology and transplantation. Silber became interested in microsurgical techniques for kidney transplantation. He took academic posts at the university of Melbourne Medical School in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and then the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

Medical School in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. While in Australia in 1975, Silber performed the world's first microsurgical vasectomy reversal and popularized the microscopic vasovasostomy.Bowins, Brad
''The Cruelest Cut of All (the Modern Medical Nightmare of Post-Vasectomy Pain Syndrome)''
Infinity Publishing. 2006. pg. 53Cooperman, Jeannette
“Dr. Sherman Silber Takes His Reproductive Technology to China.”
St. Louis Magazine. Aug. 2012 In 1976, Silber moved to St. Louis, Missouri, his wife's hometown, and joined St. Luke's Hospital. In 1978, he reported the first testicle transplant between two twin brothers.Lambert, Victoria
“Fertility: stop all the clocks.”
The Telegraph. Nov. 26, 2009 In the 1990s, Silber and his colleagues at St. Luke's worked with a team at Brussels University to develop intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in which a single sperm is selected to be microscopically injected into an egg. This procedure is coupled with the sperm retrieval method developed by Silber, which involves a single sperm retrieved by microsurgery directly from a patient's epidycimus.Lambert, Victoria

The Telegraph via The Calgary Herald. Oct. 7, 2013 Beginning in 1996, Silber began experimenting with freezing ovarian tissue to regraft into the ovaries of cancer patients who have compromised fertility after chemotherapy and radiation. In 2004, he successfully transplanted frozen ovarian tissue. In 2007, Silber completed the first successful whole ovary transplant. The surgery was performed at his clinic in St. Louis, Missouri.Smith, Rebecca

The Telegraph. Nov. 14, 2008 As of 2014, Silber had removed, frozen, and replaced ovarian tissue in twelve women and done a series of ovarian tissue transplants in nine sets of identical twins. That year, he also traveled to China to complete China's first ovarian-tissue transplant. In 2013, Silber became the medical director of the Infertility Center of St. Louis at St. Luke's Hospital in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, where he has used his expertise to treat patients from around the world.http://www.aish.com/ci/be/48880577.html
/ref> Over his career, Silber has collaborated with medical research teams from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

, the University of Amsterdam, and the Kato Clinic in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, and has published more than 250 scientific papers and more than 50 teaching videos.

Awards

In 1965, while at University of Michigan, Silber won the Hopwood Literary Award for Short Stories and Essays.Editors Nicholas Delbanco, Andrea Beauchamp, Michael Barrett
''The Hopwood Awards: 75 Years of Prized Writing''
pg. 222 Silber received the 2008 James B. Eads Award for innovation in engineering, technology, or an outstanding project with major impact.Marquis, Cate. ��Science Group to Honor Silber, Israel.”St. Louis Jewish Light. Mar. 26, 2008 In 2009, he won the Tenth Royan International Research Award for his research in female fertility.

Books

Silber has authored four medical textbooks and five best-sellers on infertility and reproduction,http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/authors_Sherman-J-Silber-MD-(1014069).htm
/ref> including the book ''How to Get Pregnant'', which has been reprinted in several different languages. His other books include How Not to Get Pregnant, How to Get Pregnant with the New Technology, and The Male: From Infancy to Old Age.

Media Appearances

He has appeared on the Donahue Show eight times since 1980, ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

'', the

Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...

, ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped i ...

'', Gary Collins,

Peter Jennings Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings (July 29, 1938August 7, 2005) was a Canadian-American television journalist. He was best known for serving as the sole anchor of ''ABC World News Tonight'' from 1983 until his death from lung cancer in 200 ...

’ ABC Nightly News, and

Ted Koppel Edward James Martin Koppel (born February 8, 1940) is an American broadcast Journalism, journalist, best known as the News presenter, anchor for ''Nightline'', from the program's inception in 1980 until 2005. Before ''Nightline'', he spent 20 y ...

’s ''

Nightline ''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News (United States), ABC News' Late night television in the United States, late-night television news program broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in the United States with a franchis ...

''. He has been a consultant numerous times on the Joan Rivers Show and ABC News, and has been a regular contributor many times on KMOX, WOR, and NPR radio. He was one of four physicians picked to be on the U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment study to help infertile couples in the United States. In 2013, he completed the first IVF performed on live television as a Today Show segment.Menkhausen, Jessica
“Why I’m doing IVF on live TV: One woman’s fertility journey.”
Today Moms. Sept. 24, 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silber, Sherman American urologists Physicians from Missouri Year of birth missing (living people) Living people University of Michigan Medical School alumni