UNE COM alumni receives prestigious lifetime achievement award
A University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNE COM) alumni has recently received a lifetime achievement award from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the first osteopathic medicine doctor to receive the award.
Ernest “Ernie” Lockrow, D.O. ’88, COL, MC, received the 2024 Luella Klein Lifetime Achievement Award, which honors an obstetrician-gynecologist who has dedicated their life in a significant way to women’s health.
Lockrow, a pioneer of military laparoscopic robotic surgery, is currently a professor emeritus in the Department of Gynecologic Surgery & Obstetrics at the Uniformed Services University and served as the department vice chair from 2012 to 2023.
The success of an alumnus like Lockrow is a testament to the quality of a UNE education, said Jane Carreiro, D.O., vice president for health affairs and dean for the College of Osteopathic Medicine.
“Ernie exemplifies UNE COM’s values of compassion, excellence, and innovation in medicine,” Carreiro said. “His achievements highlight our commitment to producing leaders who are equipped to address health challenges and advance the well-being of communities worldwide.”
He has been a leader in minimally invasive gynecological surgery and performed the first total laparoscopic hysterectomy in the military in 1998. He is a Fellow of ACOG and the American College of Osteopathic Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Lockrow previously worked at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center (now Walter Reed National Military Medical Center), where he was the first military surgeon to use 3-D minimally invasive surgical technology.
Throughout his career, Lockrow has held many leadership roles, including chief female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery, chief of gynecology, and chair of the integrated department of obstetrics and gynecology at Walter Reed. He founded the only U.S. Department of Defense fellowship in minimally invasive gynecologic surgery and served as the fellowship director from 2010 to 2012.
Lockrow is an active member of ACOG, American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists, Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics, and the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons. He earned his undergraduate degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, before receiving his medical degree from UNE. He completed his residency at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii.