Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice
Bio

Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice was appointed Dean of the School of Medicine at Meharry Medical College in March 2006. Prior to her appointment, she served as Chair and Professor of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at Meharry Medical College. Prior to her arrival at Meharry, Dr. Montgomery Rice served as Associate Professor of Medicine and Division Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

A medical degree graduate of Harvard Medical School, Dr. Montgomery Rice received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry from Georgia Institute of Technology. She completed her internship and residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Emory University School of Medicine and affiliated hospitals and served a fellowship in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Hutzel Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. 

Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice is one of the newly emerging voices in the expanding field of reproductive endocrinology, and is a noted lecturer in the area of menopause. She has participated in national campaigns in support of low-dose applications, as well as, served as principal investigator on numerous clinical trials of low dose birth control pills and hormonal replacement therapies. She has extensive expertise in female infertility and gynecologic reproductive endocrinology including repetitive pregnancy loss, premenstrual syndrome, endometriosis, and menopause. She is the founder of the newly emerging Center for Women’s Health Research at Meharry Medical College. This Center is the first of its kind devoted solely to addressing diseases that disproportionately effect women of color.

As a leader in women’s health, Dr. Montgomery Rice has served on national grant panels including the National Institute of Health Population Research Study Section, SWAN Review Committee, Cooperative Reproduction Center Study Section, Scientific Committee for NAMS, State of Missouri Life Sciences Committee, ACOG’s, Reproductive PROLOG Task Force on Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, 5^th Edition, Hormone Replacement Therapy Advisory Committee, and the ASRM White Paper Committee on Hormone Replacement Therapy.  She currently serves on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Advisory Committee for Reproductive Health Drugs and is a reviewer for several journals including Fertility Sterility, Obstetrics and Gynecology, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Menopause.

Over the past ten years, Dr. Montgomery Rice has been awarded over 9.0 million in grants for research in different areas of obstetrics and gynecology with her most recent NIH award for the construction of the Center for Women’s Health Research, the first scientific research center devoted solely to women of color.

Since her inception as Chair of OB-GYN at Meharry, Dr. Montgomery Rice re-established the residency training program in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Meharry, serving as the Program Director, spearheaded the newly establishment of a Medical Arts Center for Women’s Health. 

Her most recent awards include the National Institute of Health Supplemental Research Award and the Joy McCann Endowed Professor Award of which she was the first Meharry Medical College recipient. 

Dr. Montgomery Rice has participated in numerous national and internal symposia and post graduate courses. She has been an invited speaker to over 100 presentations, both nationally and internationally and is an examiner for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Dr. Montgomery Rice most recently was the principle investigator on a Double-Blind Randomized Placebo and Active Control Safety and Efficacy study of Baxedoxifene/Conjugated Estrogen Combination and Post Menopausal Women.  She serves as an investigator on a project with the NIH funded Center for Research in Reproduction Grant at Meharry Medical College. Other research endeavors include the Women’s Health, Osteoporosis, Progestin, and Estrogen (HOPE) Study, a multi-center clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of low dose hormone therapies.

Dr. Montgomery Rice has authored chapters on the subjects of infertility and surgery for gynecologic disorders in various textbooks and is a frequent lecturer, presenting to both lay and professional audiences. She has been the principal investigator in clinical trials of low dose birth control pills and hormonal replacement therapies. She has extensive expertise in female infertility and gynecologic reproductive endocrinology including repetitive pregnancy loss, premenstrual syndrome, endometriosis, and menopause. 

Dr. Montgomery Rice is a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, board certified in obstetrics and gynecology and reproductive endocrinology and infertility. She is a member of numerous professional organizations including the American Medical Association, National Medical Association; American Medical Women’s Association and the American Society of Reproductive Medicine and is a member of several state committees including the Scientific Committee for The North American Menopause Society. Dr. Montgomery Rice was recently appointed as a fellow to the Executive Leadership In Academic Medicine Program for Women (ELAM/2004). In July, Dr. Montgomery Rice received the Service to the Section Award 2004 at the National Medical Association Annual Meeting in San Diego, California. Most recently, she was selected as the first Joy McCann Professor at Meharry Medical College. Dr. Rice is a leader in academic medicine having established a national reputation in reproductive medicine.