Dr. Thomas W. Hilgers is the discoverer of NaProTechnology and the founder of the Pope Paul VI Institute. His first research in the natural means to regulate fertility was conducted in 1968 as a senior medical student. After completing his residency at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine and the Medical College of Ohio at Toledo, Dr. Hilgers became a geographic full-time member of the faculty in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at St. Louis University School of Medicine.
He established the St. Louis University Natural Family Planning Center, a research center funded by research grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Missouri Division of Health. This work was brought to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Creighton University School of Medicine in July 1977 with the establishment of the Creighton University Natural Family Planning Education and Research Center. During this time, Hilgers and his co-workers developed the CREIGHTON MODEL FertilityCare System.
Dr. Hilgers is a clinical professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Creighton University School of Medicine. He is also a diplomat of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (1976) and the American Board of Laser Surgery (1988). He is the only member in the State of Nebraska of the prestigious Society of Reproductive Surgeons.