Oral Session: 

Vulvar Fractionated CO2-Laser Therapy with and Without Concomitant Topical Clobetasol Propionate 0.05% Ointment for Treatment of Vulvar Lichen Sclerosus (VULVIE): A Randomized Controlled Trial - Jon Pennycuff, MD, MSPH, as session discussant

Videos:  

Interdisciplinary Approach to Evaluation and Repair of a Complex Post-Cesarean Fistula – Maria Ochoa, MD; Ushma Patel, MD; Sarah McAchran, MD; Frank Lin, MD, MS; Caroline Cox, MD 

Tips and Tricks for Mastering Suturing and Knot-Tying During the EMIG Exam (Part One) – Saule Tamkus, MD; India Anderson-Carter, MD; Caroline Cox 

Tips and Tricks for Mastering Suturing and Knot-Tying during the EMIG Exam (Part Two) - Saule Tamkus, MD; India Anderson-Carter, MD; Caroline Cox 

Leadership: 

Pelvic Anatomy Guide update – Caroline Cox, MD

Posters: 

Preoperative Referral to a Primary Care Provider and Association with Perioperative Medical Complications in Urogynecologic Surgery – Julie Dorland, MD; Saule Tamkus, MD; Obiyageli Oniah; Natalia Gontarczyk Uczkowski, MPH; Amy Godecker, PhD; Caroline Cox, MD 

Decreased Patient Driving Time, Gasoline Cost, and Carbon Emissions with an Institutional Home Foley Removal Quality Initiative – Naomi Roselaar, MD; Julie Dorland, MD; Natalia Gontarczyk Uczkowski, MPH; Amy Godecker, PhD; Caroline Cox, MD 

Young Attending Course: Teaching and Billing and Marketing: Oh My! - The Pros and Pitfalls of Social Media: How to Market and Grow Your Surgical Practice – Jon Pennycuff, MD, MSPH 

Rapid Oral: 

Association Between Area Deprivation Index and Surgical Access in Urogynecology Patients - Saule Tamkus, MD; Julie Dorland, MD; Obiyageli Oniah; Natalia Gontarczyk Uczkowski, MPH; Amy Godecker, PhD; Caroline Cox, MD 

Oral Poster:  

Decreasing surgical site infection rates after benign hysterectomy: Effects of a bundled approach - Hartmann A., Myers E., Davis Rivera LB., Wighton N., Han ES., Hoffman MK., Babak Vakili, MD 

Incredible work, all! 

• Erica Deming – Case Western Reserve University
  
• Emily Fortman – Ohio State University
  
• Michael Kaden-Hoffmann – University of Washington
  
• Lumnie Lika – Drexel University
  
• Johnny Malicoat – University of Iowa
  
• Grace Perry – University of Colorado
  
• Shelby Snyder – University of Washington 
  
• Regan Staudenraus (Rural Track) – University of Vermont
  

We can't wait to welcome them to Madison and our department in June 2026!

The Clinical Educator Physician Excellence Award recognizes an outstanding educator who teaches residents, medical students, interdisciplinary team members, and patients and families. Sharp is a beloved educator in the Department of Ob-Gyn, serving as medical director of the Resident Continuity Clinic. In addition to this award, Sharp received the John M. Anderson, MD Memorial Award for patience, integrity, and compassion in patient care, as selected by UW Department of Ob-Gyn residents.  

Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Dr. Sharp! 

During the conference, Abigail Cutler, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, participated in the panel "Clinicians at the Crossroads: Religion, Equity, and the Future of Medicine." During the panel, Cutler talked about the world view and values systems that shape her approach to healthcare, and how she cares for patients who bring up spiritual beliefs during their care.  

Read more about the conference here.  

While coverage of endometriosis is increasing, the diagnostic process can take many years – 11 to 12 years on average. Bhagavath’s and Patankar’s research is focused on shortening this interval, as well as developing novel drug therapies: 

“The Patankar research team at UW is working to better understand endometriosis and to develop diagnostic tests for detection of endometriosis as well as therapies for treatment of the disease, according to Patankar. By finding and monitoring biomarkers in the blood, the research team aims to find biomarkers that are higher or lower in endometriosis patients in comparison to a control individual with no known endometriosis, according to Patankar. … The goal of this research is to use biomarkers to detect the disease, rather than vague symptoms like pain or infertility, according to Patankar. Because surgeries and hormonal therapies are not curative treatments for endometriosis, Patankar and Bhagavath are also exploring drugs that can kill endometriosis lesions, rather than just curb their growth.”

Read the whole article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In “A comparative analysis of blood pressure categorization using 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in young women with presumed chronic hypertension with and without a history of pregnancy”, the authors aimed to assess the 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring results of women from the MyHEART trial who had a presumed clinical diagnosis of chronic hypertension, and to determine the incidence of masked, white coat, nocturnal, and confirmed hypertension. Secondarily, they also assessed self-reported pregnancy history and the impact of having a prior pregnancy with or without hypertension on their 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring results. The researchers found that:

“The integration of diagnostic tools such as 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring or, alternatively, home blood pressure monitoring for women with elevated blood pressures—particularly those of childbearing age—allows for more precise classification of hypertension. Accurate diagnosis supports optimal medical management and treatment decision-making, including during pregnancy, and helps avoid unnecessary interventions in individuals with white coat hypertension.”

Read the whole article here. 

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In “Ultrasonography-Based Measurements of Endometrial Thickness in Patients With p53 Abnormal Endometrial Carcinomas”, the authors evaluated prediagnostic endometrial thickness measured by transvaginal ultrasonography (TVUS) in a cohort of patients with endometrial cancer stratified by p53 status to assess accuracy of endometrial thickness as a screening tool in this patient population.

Huge congratulations to Dr. Wagar, Dr. Mojdehbakhsh, and their co-authors on this esteemed honor! 

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In the lecture, Bajpai examined how carcinogens affect our bodies on a molecular and cellular level; outlined which cancers are more and less common in healthcare workers; and discussed effective cancer prevention strategies in the healthcare setting.

Watch the whole lecture here. 

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In “Early Insights Into Maternal Antidepressant Use and the Human Infant Gut Microbiome”, Luellwitz and co-authors investigated the developmental impact of perinatal antidepressant use on the infant gut microbiome. The authors enrolled a perinatal population of participants both taking and not taking antidepressant medications into a pilot cohort to preliminarily explore the effects of antidepressant treatment on the infant gut microbiome in early life. The intent of this pilot study is to provide guidance and hypothesis generation for future, larger studies that will generate powered estimates of treatment effects. The researchers found that: 

“... analyses suggest that effects of maternal antidepressant treatment on the human infant gut microbiome may be subtle. Nonetheless, several genera of interest emerged, including Gemella, Lactobacillus, Staphylococcus and Corynebacterium. Of our results, the finding that members of the Lactobacillus and Staphylococcus genera may be differentially abundant in infants with maternal SSRI exposure could be clinically relevant.”

Although the data do not conclusively determine the relationship between maternal antidepressant exposure and the infant gut microbiome, it is an important first step in translation to human populations.

Read the whole article here. 

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

During the event, attendees learned about the legislative process and how to strengthen their advocacy skills; familiarized themselves with ACOG’s legislative priorities; and visited congressional offices to meet with members of Wisconsin’s legislative delegation. This year, attendees talked about insurance coverage for pregnancy care and improving prior authorization processes for Medicare with representatives from legislative offices.  

Faculty:   

• Amy Domeyer-Klenske, MD – Director, Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn  
• Abigail Nelezen, MD – assistant professor, Division of ASOG  
• Ben Pickus, MD – assistant professor, Division of ASOG 
• Carley Zeal, MD - assistant professor, Division of ASOG 
• Doug Laube, MD – emeritus faculty  

Trainees:  

• Maya Adler, MD – PGY-2 resident 
• Hannah Ahrendt, MD – PGY-1 resident 
• Taylor Badger, MD – PGY-2 resident 
• Michelle DeMeo, MD – PGY-2 resident 

Incredible work, all! 

Training residents and fellows is one of the most important functions as a clinical department in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. We are so grateful to have each of the 29 incredible ob-gyn residents and 11 fantastic subspecialty fellows in the UW Department of Ob-Gyn. Every trainee is an integral part of the department's mission of improving reproductive health in Wisconsin!

Every day, residents and fellows provide high-quality, evidence-based clinical care across our community. Their curiosity and drive for discovery keep our department moving forward as we strive to understand today’s most pressing reproductive health issues. They are patient and skilled teachers, helping learners at all levels (including our own faculty!) stay on top of the latest developments in ob-gyn. 

It is a privilege to support residents and fellows through this phase of their career. Thank you, UW Department of Ob-Gyn residents and fellows, for everything you do!

Barroilhet presented “Homologous Recombinant Proficient Ovarian Cancer” at the event, which celebrated 30 years of sharing innovation and discovery in gynecologic oncology this year. Current UW Department of Ob-Gyn gynecologic oncology fellows attended the event; residency and fellowship graduates from the recent past also reconnected with Department of Ob-Gyn attendees.

Incredible work, Dr. Barroilhet!

Berube earned a $1,000 travel award for the poster Evaluation of Atovaquone as a Safe Preventive Strategy for High-Grade Serous Ovarian Carcinoma:

In this project, the Barroilhet lab is exploring new ways to prevent high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma in high-risk populations, such as women carrying BRCA1/2 germline mutations. Our team is evaluating whether atovaquone—an FDA-approved anti-malarial drug—can delay ovarian cancer development in a preclinical mouse model. The ultimate goal is to identify a safe, non-hormonal, and non-surgical preventive option that could improve quality of life for women at elevated risk.

Incredible work, Dr. Berube!

When Roe Fell includes scholarship about how the Dobbs decision impacted who could access abortion care, how physicians navigated a changing legal landscape, and more. Researchers and staff from the Collaborative for Reproductive Equity and the Reproductive Equity Action Lab wrote chapters in the book:

What Dobbs Revealed About the Everyday Morality of Abortion - Whitney Arey; Klaira Lerma, MPH, REAL Associate Director

Toward a Unified Conceptualization of Abortion Access - Jane W. Seymour, PhD, MPH, CORE Research Scientist; Jenny Higgins, PhD, MPH, CORE Director

Shift Work: Abortion Care in an Ever-Changing Landscape - Kelly Marie Ward, PhD, CORE Engagement Hub Advisor; Barbara A. Alvarez, PhD, MLIS, former CORE Lab member

Learn more about the book here!

The week kicked off with a cozy dinner hosted by Associate Residency Program Director Abigail Cutler, MD, MPH. Throughout the week, residents had opportunities to join yoga classes, enjoy catered breakfast during Thursday University, unwind with art projects, and embrace Wisconsin’s winter weather.

Thanks to the UW Department of Ob-Gyn residency program leadership for prioritizing the wellbeing of our dedicated, hard-working residents!

Alpha Omega Alpha is a medical honor society that recognizes individuals for their excellence in scholarship, professionalism, leadership, and teaching. The criteria for induction are based on the AOA’s founding principles of recognizing educational achievement, honoring gifted teaching, encouraging leadership development, supporting the ideals of humanism, and promoting service to others. 

Naik and other nominees will be honored during the annual UWSMPH AOA Banquet and Induction Ceremony on April 7, 2026. Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Dr. Naik!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

SGO’s mission is to accelerate innovative, high-quality, equitable, and comprehensive gynecologic cancer care. Barroilhet and other members of the board will lead the organization toward a world united in eradicating gynecologic cancer, where everyone thrives. 

Congratulations on this achievement, Dr. Barroilhet!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Giles presented the keynote lecture “Work Related Neuromuscular Injuries: How to Successfully Pivot in Your Career.” The meeting, which provided continuing medical education for physicians and advanced practice providers, featured leading experts connected to Mayo Clinic locations nationwide; Giles completed urogynecology fellowship training at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. Topics covered at the meeting included updates on a wide variety of important ob-gyn conditions, from prenatal screening to managing genitourinary syndrome of menopause.

Learn more about the meeting here. 

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In this leadership position, Badger and Ahrendt will have several responsibilities, including working closely with the Junior Fellow Section Chair to prepare Section reports for District Advisory Council meetings and participating in events aimed at educating medical students about the ob-gyn specialty. 

Congratulations on this exciting achievement, Drs. Badger and Ahrendt!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Hosted on February 19, 2026, the panel discussed topics like advocacy and communication strategies within reproductive healthcare, labor and delivery, and beyond. 

Learn more about the panel and AMSA at UW-Madison here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Inter Melis Baskaya

In the lecture, the team defined basic, clinical, translational, and community-based research and identified examples of each within the Ob-Gyn department; determined the key steps in initiating a research project within our academic department; and examined the roles and responsibilities of interdisciplinary teams in navigating a project from concept to completion.

Watch the whole lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In “Trends in Comparative Growth in Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Programs Over the Past 20 Years (2005–2024)”, the authors examined the growth of obstetrics and gynecology residency programs and positions compared with other core medical specialties over the past 20 years. They found that:

“Obstetrics and gynecology residency growth has lagged behind that of other specialties both before and since the single accreditation system transition in 2015, highlighting a persistent gap in capacity to meet increasing demand. These findings highlight the need for focused efforts to match the growth of obstetrics and gynecology residency positions and programs with the expanding health care demands.”

Read the whole article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

General Session – Courageous Leadership in Tumultuous Times – Ellen Hartenbach, MD

Film festival – From Punch To Path: A Dermatopathologist's Guide To Vulvar Biopsy For The OBGYN – Nicolette Codispoti, MD, MS, MPH; Jacquelyn Askins, BA; Molly Hinshaw, MD

Discussion Den Sessions:

Igniting Intentional Leadership – Kharmen Bharucha, MD; Abigail Cutler, MD, MPH; Bridget Kelly, MD

Oases in OB/GYN deserts: Advancing UME, GME, and post-graduate rural OB/GYN training – Elizabeth Harrington, MD; Ryan Spencer, MD, MS; Heidi Weaver, MD

Rooted in Practice: Simulation-Based Quality Improvement Training for OBGYN Residents – Nicolette Codispoti, MD, MS, MPH; Katherine Sampene, MD; Sumer Wallace, MD, MS

Operating Smarter: Improving Education and Surgical Workflow in Resident Clinic – Nicolette Codispoti, MD, MS, MPH; Saule Tamkus, MD; Caroline Cox, MD

Poster – Advancing Resident Competence And Confidence In Gender-affirming Care Via Multimodal Curriculum – Abbey Knickerbocker, MD

Congratulations to the presenters!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In the lecture, Catherino described current surgical interventions for uterine fibroids; discussed current minimally invasive options; and examined novel potential treatment options for uterine fibroids.

Watch the whole lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In “‘It should have been my decision’: A mixed methods investigation of contraceptive coercion among U.S. patients with and without disabilities”, the authors surveyed reproductive-aged people in the U.S. who were assigned female at birth and examined differences in contraceptive coercion by disability status, testing whether self-reported discrimination in contraceptive care mediated this relationship. The results showed that:

“... participants with disabilities were more likely to experience contraceptive coercion than individuals without disabilities. Further, discrimination in contraceptive care explained the relationship between disability status and contraceptive coercion, suggesting that interpersonal and structural discrimination in healthcare settings play a central role in shaping these disparities.”

Read the whole article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In the lecture, Vakili described different characteristics of somatic pain and visceral pain; discussed neural pathways involved in communicating visceral pain; and evaluated potential treatment options for chronic pelvic pain.

Watch the whole lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

The conference is designed for ob-gyn residents who have an interest in subspecialty training in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (REI). The expert faculty, comprised of REI subspecialists, will provide participants with an in-depth look at the field with an emphasis on professional differentiation.

Congratulations, Dr. Olenska!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

The relationship between agentry during antepartum hospitalization and postpartum depression or anxiety symptoms – John Soehl, MD 

Adopting Technology for Glucose Optimization and Lifestyle in Pregnancy (AT GOAL): A randomized control trial – Erin Bailey, MD, MS; Janine Rhoades, MD; April Eddy, DNP; Ken Croes, PhD; Scott Hetzel, MS; Jacquelyn Adams, MD, MSCI 

The PROMMO (Prelabor Rupture of Membranes: Misoprostol vs Oxytocin) Study: A Randomized Control Trial – Jacquelyn Adams, MD, MSCI; Amy Godecker, PhD; Kara Hoppe, DO, PhD 

Fetal Doppler Severity and Outcomes in Pregnancies Complicated by Early Onset Growth Restriction and Preeclampsia – Scott Infusino, MD; Jeannette Larson, MD; Natalia Gontarczyk Uczkowski, MPH; Jacquelyn Adams, MD, MSCI; Amy Godecker, PhD; Igor Iruretagoyena, MD 

Exploring Patient Perspectives in the The PROMMO (Prelabor Rupture of Membranes: Misoprostol vs Oxytocin) Study – Jacquelyn Adams, MD, MSCI; Amy Godecker, PhD; Kara Hoppe, DO, PhD 

Bridging Care Gaps: A Qualitative Study of Postpartum Health Coaching for Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy – Elizabeth Albert, MA; Srishti Gupta, BS; Scott Hetzel, MS; Megan Knutson-Sinaise, MS; Kristine Alaniz, PhD, MPH; Kara Hoppe, DO, PhD 

Experiences of L&D Personnel with Values Clarification Workshops Prior to Implementing Induction Abortion Services – Laura Jacques, MD; Elise Cowley, MD, PhD; Laurie Lapp, MD; Jacquelyn Askins, BA; Anna Altschuler, MD 

Effect of aspirin and early onset fetal growth restriction Doppler severity – Jacqueline Powell, MD; Natalia Gontarczyk Uczkowski, MPH; Scott Infusino, MD; Erin Bailey, MD, MS; Amy Godecker, PhD; Igor Iruretagoyena, MD 

Aspirin Dose and Risk of Postpartum Hemorrhage: A Retrospective Cohort Study – Michelle DeMeo, MD; Natalia Gontarczyk Uczkowski, MPH; Amy Godecker, PhD; Janine Rhoades, MD; Michael Beninati, MD; Erin Bailey, MD, MS 

Trends in Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy Highlight Persistent Racial and Rural-Urban Disparities: A Statewide Analysis – Alyssa Solberg; Kara Hoppe, DO, PhD; Ronald Gagnon, PhD; Jacqueline Powell, MD 

Examining barriers to in-office prenatal vaccination for non-birthing partners – John Soehl, MD 

Incredible work, all! 

In “Own Your Birth Experience”, Hanks and fellow guest Victoria Dean, CPM, LM, walk through what birth actually looks like, from early labor through delivery, breaking down the stages of labor, what’s normal, what’s unpredictable, and what to prepare for.

Learn more about the episode and listen to the podcast here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Administrative Chiefs:

Raiven Owusu, MD, and Nicolette Codispoti, MD, MS, MPH, will serve as Administrative Chiefs. As the Administrative Chiefs, they will provide oversight and guidance to junior residents, enhance the residency program educational experience, and help facilitate communication among residents, faculty, and department administration. They will serve as resident advocates and provide administrative leadership in conjunction with the residency program director team on several important items including policy, scheduling, and evaluation. Please welcome Drs. Owusu and Codispoti and thank outgoing administrative chiefs Rusha Bajpai and Nettie Larson for their time and commitment to the leadership of the residency program.  

Education and Wellness Chiefs:

Camila Ochoa, MD, and Alma Farooque, MD, will collaboratively serve as Education and Wellness Chiefs. As the Education and Wellness Chiefs, they will help oversee the residents' educational experience, identify curricular and simulation opportunities specific to trainees, and optimize team-based learning. Additionally, they will serve on the department’s education committee. New this year, their focus will also include resident wellness. Please welcome Drs. Ochoa and Farooque and thank Christina Dudley for their time and commitment to improving education across our department.

Quality Improvement Chiefs:

Michelle DeMeo, MD,  and Emily Dorian, MD, MPH, will serve as Quality Improvement Chiefs. As the Quality Co-Chiefs, they will actively participate in all aspects of the department's Quality Program, including Quality Improvement Review Committee and the Quality Committee. They will also serve as liaisons to residents for quality and patient safety work and help to create and develop quality curricula for the future. Please welcome Drs. DeMeo and Dorian and thank Dr. Codispoti for their time and commitment to quality and patient safety.

Jeanne and John Flesch established this professorship to provide financial support for an outstanding faculty member in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology who conducts research in the area of gynecologic cancer. The professorship offers protected time for faculty to focus on advancing research and leadership within the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Dr. Kushner! 

Serving as a peer reviewer requires a high level of subject matter knowledge, familiarity with the scientific method and statistical analysis, and strong communication skills. The top 10 percent of the 1,151 peer reviewers involved with the journal submitted, on average, four or more reviews, often within 10 days of receipt. 

Amazing work, Dr. Spencer!

The $66,000 award will support the project Immune-endothelial interactions in preeclampsia-associated vascular dysfunction. The award period is July 1, 2026-June 30, 2027.  

Incredible work, Dr. Virumbrales-Muñoz! 

In “How U.S. healthcare institutions’ actions, or inactions, shaped physician experiences after Dobbs: A qualitative study,” the authors’ objective was to document how Wisconsin healthcare institutions’ (in)action under a near-total abortion ban post-Dobbs influenced physician experience and patient care. Twenty-one obstetrician-gynecologists from academic, community, and religiously affiliated healthcare systems across Wisconsin were recruited and interviewed about the impact of Dobbs on Wisconsin reproductive healthcare delivery. The researchers’ findings:

“... provide firsthand evidence that healthcare institutions are not passive conduits of state law, but active agents whose decisions shape how reproductive healthcare is delivered, or denied, in a post-Dobbs landscape. Institutional inaction, inconsistent guidance, and failure to support physicians have added another layer of harm to an already strained reproductive healthcare system.”

Read the whole article here. 

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Healthy Women Community Talks provide an opportunity for the public to hear from clinicians, scientists, and other women’s health experts about the latest research, trends, and treatment options. Questions and discussion are highly encouraged.

Watch the talk and learn more about other community talks here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In “Reasons for contraceptive and LARC non-use: How preferences and access barriers shape decisions,”  the authors used baseline data from population-based, household surveys conducted in 2019-2020 and examined reasons for contraception non-use among a four-state random sample (Arizona, Iowa, New Jersey, Wisconsin) and reasons why Iowans had never used long-acting reversible contraception (LARC). The researchers found that:

“... personal needs and preferences—not access barriers or clinical gaps—are the primary reasons reported for not using contraception, including LARC. These results align with research emphasizing the importance of method acceptability and perceptions of control and autonomy in patients’ decisions about LARC use. They also support growing calls for patient-centered care that prioritizes individual preferences over metrics focused on contraceptive uptake or method effectiveness.”

Read the whole article here. 

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Adams joined the UW Department of Ob-Gyn as faculty in 2020, following MFM fellowship training at our department. Since then, she has received the 2025 UW Health Physician Excellence Rising Star Leadership Award and has served as the co-chair of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services Maternal Mortality Review Team. 

Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Dr. Adams!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Their impressive presentations include:

Workshop – Mitigating Cohort Effects: Group Advising for More Equitable Residency Signaling – Sarah Hutto, MD; Laura Jacques, MD; Keenan Yanit, MD

Round Table – Proctor-Partner-Coach: Supporting a Successful Transition from Residency to Academic Ob-Gyn Surgeon – Amy Domeyer-Klenske, MD

Innovation Fest – Equity TankRx: A “Shark Tank” Interprofessional Workshop Enhancing Innovation and Communication in Women’s Health – Kristina Kaljo, PhD

Congratulations to the presenters!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Beninati joined the UW Department of Ob-Gyn in 2019 and has served as the interim director of the UW Health Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment Center since 2024, after serving as co-director, continuing to provide outstanding care to people with high-risk pregnancies.

Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Dr. Beninati!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In the lecture, Wilkes described the impact of genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) on sexual, urinary, and overall quality of life; how to identify and diagnose GS< based on clinical presentation and examination findings; and evaluated evidence-based treatment options for GSM.

Watch the whole lecture from Dr. Wilkes here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Kelly joined the UW Department of Ob-Gyn in 2019 and since then has become the UW Ob-Gyn Residency Program Director, enhancing the teaching and learning environment for UW Ob-Gyn residents and department faculty.

Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Dr. Kelly!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In "Cervical cancer is up in one group. This doctor wants to talk about why.", Zhang discussed the complex circumstances that might contribute to the rise, including one particular reason: 

“‘There's a lot of taboo about it,’ Zhang said. ‘There's a lot of disinformation about cervical cancer, about HPV, about the vaccine, and so it's important for us to try to combat that with good evidence-based data.’”

Read more about cervical cancer, the HPV vaccine, and Zhang’s comments here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Cox joined the UW Department of Ob-Gyn in 2023 following completion of ob-gyn residency with our department in 2017 and an FPMRS fellowship at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor. Since then, she became an Associate Program Director of the UW Ob-Gyn Residency Program.

Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Dr. Cox!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In the lecture, Mojdehbakhsh discussed how endometrial cancer is affecting people today; examined reasons why endometrial cancer is a rising issue; and reviewed areas in which ob-gyns are making advances.

Watch the whole lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

When asked whether these changes would impact UW Health’s cervical cancer screening strategy, Sampene emphasized that self-collection of primary HPV screening, in addition to the availability of clinician-collected primary HPV screening, will be an important strategy to reach unscreened or under-screened populations:

“Both clinic-located self-collection and home self-collection are now FDA-approved, a revolutionary change that expands options for individuals to engage in cervical cancer screening in ways that align with their needs and preferences. The additional clarity on guidance regarding existing cervical cancer screening will help clinicians and patients understand when it is safe to discontinue screening, and equally as importantly, which individuals over age 65 will continue to warrant screening.”

Read the full article from Beckers Oncology here. 

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In Weight and Wellness, Part 1, Kate Sample, MD, associate professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, joined the Women's Healthcast to talk about how different life stages can affect body composition. In the second half of the conversation, Sample discusses additional options for improving health with age, the potential impacts of GLP-1 medications, and how to tell whether so-called “simple” solutions on social media are actually effective. 

Listen to Health and Aging: Weight and Wellness, Part 2 now.

Did you know the Women’s Healthcast is available on all your favorite podcast platforms? Whether you like to listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, or anywhere else, you can find us! (Just search Women’s Healthcast, and while you’re at it, may as well subscribe!)

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

The project Functional and Structural Impacts of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) on Brain Health, which is in collaboration with Co-PI Bill Schrage, PhD, of the UW-Madison Department of Kinesiology, will study how PCOS, a hormonal disorder that can contribute to increased rates of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cognitive decline in women, may negatively affect brain health. The results of this interdisciplinary pilot study will help inform strategies to prevent long-term cognitive decline and improve care. 

Learn more about the study and other interdisciplinary teams who received ICTR pilot awards! 

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

The project, Accelerating Birth Equity in Wisconsin Through a Community-based Doula Workforce, seeks to improve maternal and child health outcomes for Black mothers and babies through a strategy that expands and sustains a community-based doula workforce. By providing culturally aligned perinatal care and collaborating with health system teams and community health workers, the initiative seeks to improve birth outcomes, reduce complications and promote equitable access to trusted, high-quality care.

Congratulations to the researchers!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

The project, GATA2 Regulated Piezo1 Controls Uterine Serous Carcinoma Invasion, investigates how the interaction between the proteins GATA2 and Piezo1 drives invasion in uterine serous carcinoma, a rare but extremely aggressive form of uterine cancer that contributes to cancer deaths among postmenopausal women. Building on findings that GATA2 may help predict which tumors are likely to recur, the study uses patient-derived cancer cells and mouse models to understand how these factors work together to promote tumor spread. 

By clarifying these mechanisms, the project aims to improve risk stratification, allowing clinicians to spare low-risk patients from unnecessary chemotherapy while directing more intensive treatment to those at highest risk. 

Congratulations to the researchers!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

The Chancellor’s Inclusive Excellence Teaching Award celebrates exemplary achievements in teaching that honor the university’s value of diversity and inclusion as the path to excellence. This award recognizes two outstanding faculty members whose creative and inclusive environments and practices in the spirit of the Wisconsin Idea.

Green’s nomination included ringing endorsements from colleagues, current and former students, and peers. She was celebrated for developing impactful additions to the UW School of Medicine and Public Health curriculum: in 2022, Green introduced the course Race in American Obstetrics and Gynecology, the first of its kind for medical students which explores how race and theories of racial differences informed the development of American obstetrics and gynecology. Since its introduction, this has been a highly sought-after elective course in the medical school.

In 2024, she brought Abortion in Wisconsin and Beyond: Exploring Medical, Public Health, and Social Science Perspectives to the curriculum; the course has since been approved as a permanent addition to the medical school’s catalog.

Green is known as a thoughtful, insightful educator who weaves her expertise in economics and health policy together to bring a deeper understanding of health disparities and economics to the classroom. Students and colleagues alike noted her incredible ability to support students’ learning through heavy and challenging topics. This honor is so incredibly well-deserved.

Congratulations, Dr. Green! Learn more about Dr. Green's teaching accomplishments and other Distinguished Teaching Award recipients in this news story from UW-Madison!

The HEAL Fellowship is a two-year program supporting early-career LGBTQ+ and BIPOC health professionals to lead systemic change in healthcare policy and practice. Pickus joins a group of 21 other health professionals for education and training on health policy, advocacy skills, justice, and inequity.  

“I am excited to be part of the inaugural GLMA Health, Equity, and Advocacy Leadership Fellowship,” Pickus says. “Advocacy and equity have been central tenants of my practice, and I wanted to seek formal training to continue to grow my skill sets. I intend to gain skills and connections that will help me support and serve my patients better both at the bedside and through policy change.”

Incredible work, Dr. Pickus!

Melissa Neal, PhD, MPH, is a postdoctoral trainee in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, mentored by Kara Hoppe, DO, PhD, professor in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Neal received the award for the project Healthcare Experience Assessing Resilience, Toxic Stress and Prenatal Quality of Care (HEARTS-PQC). 

Neal’s project seeks to better understand how to measure resilience, toxic stress and prenatal quality of care. Through clinical and community engagement, this African American/Black health initiative gathers perspectives of birthing people on what supportive, respectful and responsive prenatal care should look like, as well as the barriers and facilitators to assessing these factors in real-world settings.

Congratulations, Dr. Neal!

Taehyun Kim, PhD, postdoctoral fellow in the Division of Reproductive and Population Health and the UW Collaborative for Reproductive Equity, received a grant for the project Examining Health Policy Effects on Maternal Health Outcomes in Wisconsin and Nationally. Kim is mentored by Division of Reproductive and Population Health Director Jenny Higgins, PhD,  MPH.

Kim’s project examines how recent changes in reproductive health policy affect maternal health outcomes in Wisconsin and across the United States. Using a large national electronic medical records dataset, the study will compare trends across states with differing policy environments to generate new evidence on how these changes influence maternal health risks, care experiences and pregnancy-related outcomes.

Incredible work, Dr. Kim!

Data Link for Healthy Families will work to establish a robust, seamless, compliant maternal-child health data linkage between UnityPoint Health-Meriter Hospital and the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. The work undertaken in this project will support advanced analytical capabilities and facilitate rigorous investigations into the long-term (across the lifespan) effects of adverse outcomes on maternal health and the developmental trajectories of children. 

The $459,000 grant, funded by UW SMPH Healthy Wisconsin Families American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) State & Local Recovery Funds from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, runs from December 1, 2025 to August 31, 2026.

Incredible work, Dr. Hoppe!

Taking time out of busy and intense fellowship to complete the boards is always extra impressive. Incredible work, Dr. Gelissen!

“Trans & Gender Diverse Health 101: An Overview of Gender Affirming Care”, created by REAL members Ellen Schenk, Brooke Whitfield, and Klaira Lerma – with significant input from community and lived experience experts – provides a glossary of common terminology, outlines common barriers to equitable health care for trans and gender diverse individuals, and discusses of myths around trans health. 

The team at REAL is working closely with colleagues at Power to Decide to tailor this resource for Bedsider Providers+. Bedsider Providers+ equips clinicians with the up-to-date information, tools, and resources they need to provide high-quality sexual and reproductive health care in today’s complex climate. Learn more here. 

Check out the handout from REAL! Congratulations to this amazing team on their impactful work!

The article “Madison doctor says abortion control proposals are meant to scare” shares overviews of a few different items of legislation that aim to regulate, restrict, and define reproductive healthcare. Cutler discussed the impacts these laws can have on patients and providers:

“We know from evidence across the country that creating abortion ban exceptions does not make pregnancy or health care safer. Generally speaking, these, like medical emergency clauses don't offer adequate protection for the many different kinds of pregnancy complications that people experience,” Cutler said. “They end up being confusing for providers, they cause kind of like an uncertain chilling effect, particularly when they are linked to threats of criminalization and loss of licensure and other things.”

Read the whole article here. 

Video Session – Endometriosis:  Hatching from the Myometrium: Unusual Excision of an Endometrioma – UW Department of Ob-Gyn resident Maria Camila Ochoa, MD; Olga Fajardo, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn 

Video Session – Basic Science: No Tube, Still Ectopic: Laparoscopic Resection of Interstitial Pregnancy – Gynecologic Oncology fellow Beth Farabee, MD (co-authors R. Barbaresso, W. Nolan, R. Paya Pasic, S. Parikh) 

Oral Session - Hysteroscopy: Menstrual Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Hysteroscopic Adhesiolysis – Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Director Bala Bhagavath, MD (co-authors C. Salazar, M. Emanuel, A. Hooker, H. Huddleston, R. Gamburg, J. Kumar, C. Martin, M. Munro) 

Incredible work, all! 

The BIRCWH award will support Virumbrales-Muñoz’s project “Development of a human engineered model of ovarian cancer for translational studies.” 

BIRCWH is a faculty early career development award for scholars focused on women’s health and/or sex differences research, supported by funding from the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health.  

Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Dr. Virumbrales-Muñoz! 

In “IVF cost $15k for her first pregnancy. A new bill could make it free.”, Bhagavath described his experience practicing medicine in three other states before moving to Wisconsin and how IVF is not broadly accessible due to the high cost:

“‘Absolutely without doubt, most of our patients are at least middle class to well-to-do patients,’ he said. ‘Because how many people can just come up with $30,000, right?’”

Read more about the proposed bill here. 

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In the lecture, Anderholm discussed ob-gyns as advocates for patients and for public health as a whole; the implementation of public health within the ob-gyn sphere; and examples of successes.

Watch the whole lecture here. 

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Kate Sample, MD, associate professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, joined the Women’s Healthcast to share her insight into changes in body composition that come with age. In part one of this interview, she talked about natural changes in weight, muscle mass, and bone density that come with age, the effects of life stages such as pregnancy and menopause on metabolism, as well as how hormonal changes affect our bodies. 

Listen to Health and Aging: Weight and Wellness, Part 1 now.  

Did you know the Women’s Healthcast is available on all your favorite podcast platforms? Whether you like to listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, or anywhere else, you can find us! (Just search Women’s Healthcast, and while you’re at it, may as well subscribe!)  

The APGO Humanism in Teaching Award honors ob-gyn educators from APGO member departments who are outstanding role models in the teaching of ob-gyn. Awardees are recognized as not only skilled clinicians but also as outstanding educators who intentionally foster compassionate, respectful, and collaborative relationships with learners, healthcare teams, patients, and their families with the ultimate goal of engendering shared and preference-based medical decisions, greater patient satisfaction with care, and improved outcomes. 

Incredible work, Dr. Jacques! 

In “Wisconsin lawmakers discuss competing bills to reduce IVF costs”, Bhagavath discussed coverage for infertility services and stated that the cost of service is steep: 

“[Bhagavath] told ‘Wisconsin Today’ that some patients have gone as far as taking jobs at companies that offer IVF coverage as a benefit in an effort to reduce costs. But Bhagavath said a vast majority of patients don’t have coverage for infertility services and the toll of paying for treatment can be steep.

‘As a physician who has worked in other states — I worked in Rhode Island (and) New York State where such a problem was not even present — it makes it acutely palpable for me, having practiced medicine the way it should be, Bhagavath said.”

Read the whole article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

The GWIMS/BIRCWH Women’s Health Research Mentorship Award recognizes the impactful mentorship of scientists fostering successful careers in women’s health and sex differences research. It is co-sponsored by the UW–Madison BIRWCH Program. 

Wendland was nominated for this award in honor of a long career as a dedicated teacher and mentor. She dedicates untold hours to mentoring learners at many levels, including undergraduates who take her courses to PhD candidates in the Department of Anthropology, to postdoctoral scholars in the Health Disparities Research Scholars program. She supports countless learners while also keeping her own research thriving.  

Congratulations on this incredibly well-deserved honor, Dr. Wendland! 

This complex basket of muscles and connective tissue sits under the pelvis, supporting our organs and helping manage important bodily functions like going to the bathroom, having sex, giving birth, even standing and sitting. Repeated stress, pregnancy and birth, hormone changes, and more can all affect how well our pelvic floor functions.  

Maureen Sheetz, MS, APNP, is a nurse practitioner in the Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery. Maureen joined this episode of the Women’s Healthcast to talk about how to tell if you’re experiencing common pelvic floor issues like incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse, the range of treatment options available for these conditions, and how to protect our pelvic floor health as we age.  

Listen to Health and Aging: Protect Your Pelvic Floor now. 

Did you know the Women’s Healthcast is available on all your favorite podcast platforms? Whether you like to listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, or anywhere else, you can find us! (Just search Women’s Healthcast, and while you’re at it, may as well subscribe!)  

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Pro-choice advocates are warning about the rise of a new pseudo-medical treatment called restorative reproductive medicine. They see it as a back door way to push an anti-abortion agenda by rejecting IVF because it creates embryos that may ultimately be discarded. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists doesn’t recognize restorative reproductive medicine (RRM), saying it is unproven and an example of harmful interference in the practice of medicine.

In “Restorative Reproductive Medicine Is Not What It Sounds Like”, Cooney discusses what RRM is, who the proponents of it are, and why it is not a medical treatment:

“RRM is really founded in a religious belief rather than a medical practice. Things like IUI, intrauterine insemination, things like IVF, where embryos are created out of the body, are not morally acceptable, and so they are sort of taking a religious belief and putting it into a medical practice, and I don’t think that all patients necessarily understand that … By tying fertility care to the personhood effort, it’s taking away coverage and access for patients who need things like IVF … and it’s tying a lot of the fertility care back to the discussions around abortion and timing of abortion and legality or morality of abortion.”

Listen to the whole interview here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Alyssa Solberg, mentored by Kara Hoppe, DO, PhD: Trends in Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy Highlight Persistent Racial and Rural-Urban Disparities: A Statewide Analysis

Bronwynn Ziemann, mentored by Bala Bhagavath, MD: Prevalence and Risk Factors for Cesarean Scar Defects

Brenen Skalitzky, mentored by Laura Cooney, MD: The Impact of Cesarean Scar Defects and Surgical Repair on Complications of Subsequent Pregnancies

Rachel Bayer, mentored by Manish Patankar, PhD: Exploring Oxidative Phosphorylation Inhibition and Mitochondrial Dynamics in Endometriosis Cell Lines

Anna Heintz, mentored by Bala Bhagavath, MD: Optimizing β-hCG Cutoffs to Predict Non-Viable Pregnancies in ART and Spontaneous Conceptions

Morgan Homme, mentored by Katie O’Brien, MD: Incidence of New Eating Disorders in Adolescents and Young Adults Using Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) Agonists

Elizabeth Tressler, mentored by Aleks Stanic-Kostic, MD, PhD: Longitudinal serum biomarkers through 10-days postpartum in patients with and without hypertensive disorders of pregnancy

Congratulations to everyone on their presentations and for completing the program!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Dr. Stanic will join the departmental research leadership team and work alongside Vice Chair of Clinical Research Kara  Hoppe, DO, PhD, and Associate Director of Research Jaison Hampson, MBBS, MPH.

Dr. Stanic joined the UW Department of Ob-Gyn in 2014 as a member of the faculty in both the Divisions of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and Reproductive Sciences. He has been the Department of Ob-Gyn's Director of Research in Reproductive Personalized Medicine since 2017. Throughout his time in the UW Department of Ob-Gyn, Dr. Stanic has built a career as a prolific physician scientist, receiving multiple grants from federal, industry, internal, and private foundations. He is a frequent research collaborator with investigators across the UW-Madison campus. Dr. Stanic is a sought-after mentor, with researchers, postdoctoral trainees, and graduate students in his lab earning grants and receiving awards for their work.

Dr. Stanic’s wealth of experience and expertise in both research and clinical care will be tremendous as he leads the Division of Reproductive Sciences and helps the department achieve our research goals as Vice Chair of Basic and Translational Research. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Stanic!

As the program director, Pennycuff will chair the planning committee for our department’s Grand Rounds offerings, which will include serving as a subject matter expert, selecting and inviting presenters, evaluating conflicts of interest, and more. Pennycuff will collaborate closely with the Ob-Gyn Grand Rounds planning committee, as well as continuing medical education leaders in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, to ensure our lectures are informative, high-quality, and compliant with CME guidelines.

Dr. Pennycuff, as a leader in the Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery fellowship, has demonstrated a commitment to high-quality medical education. We are grateful he will extend his skills to supporting Grand Rounds lectures that enhance learning across the department!

Ong received a one-year grant for $99,997 to support a project aimed at predicting high-risk term and postpartum preeclampsia using UW Health and UnityPoint Health-Meriter Hospital electronic health records. 

Ong will lead the project in collaboration with Kara Hoppe, DO, PhD, professor in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Department of Ob-Gyn Vice Chair for Clinical Research, and Frederic Sala, assistant professor in the UW–Madison Department of Computer Science. 

Congratulations, all! 

The grant will fund the project “Targeting metabolic vulnerabilities: a non-hormonal approach for the treatment of the chronic reproductive disorder, endometriosis.” Patankar and the research team will investigate whether a common anti-malarial medication decrease viability of endometrial cells, which will be derived from surgical samples obtained from patients with endometriosis. 

The research team will include Soma Banerjee, PhD, postdoctoral trainee in the Department of Ob-Gyn; Michael Berube, PhD, postdoctoral researcher in the Virumbrales-Muñoz Lab; and AJ Fagan, PhD candidate in the UW–Madison Department of Statistics. The grant will support their work for 12 months. 

Congratulations, all! 

PRESENTATIONS: 

Brakes and accelerators to abortion access post-Dobbs: Where can we best intervene? – Jenny Higgins, PhD, MPH, director of the Division of Reproductive and Population Health 

What is measured, matters: Advancing the measurement of reproductive health equity – Klaira Lerma, MPH, associate director of the Reproductive Equity Action Lab (panelist) 

Do no harm: Balancing risk and rigor to generate evidence in the post-Dobbs landscape (pre-conference workshop) – Jane Seymour, PhD, MPH, CORE research scientist 

Navigating abortion in the Midwest: Research, clinician, and abortion fund insights – Jane Seymour 

POSTERS:

Centering Black voices: A qualitative exploration on the ideal abortion experience – Laura Swan, PhD 

The impact of Dobbs on facilitating abortion care in a restricted state – Abigail Cutler, MD, MPH

Effects of Medicaid abortion coverage on mentally unhealthy days in Illinois – Taehyun Kim, PhD 

Identifying fraud in a study of abortion access: Approach and recommendations – Jenny Higgins; Jane Seymour  

Barriers and facilitators to abortion by policy context in the Midwest post-Dobbs – Jenny Higgins; Jane Seymour 

LEADERSHIP: 

Research Implementation Special Interest Group meeting co-host – Klaira Lerma, MPH 

Read more about the presentations and leadership from department members and affiliates on the UW Collaborative for Reproductive Equity website. Incredible work, all! 

The summit brings together trainees, junior and senior faculty, and other research staff and scientists from institutions across the upper Midwest region to foster the exchange of knowledge in reproductive sciences and facilitate career development for trainees in the field. 

Emily Grimes, a University of Wisconsin–Madison senior majoring in biochemistry and undergraduate researcher in the Stanic Lab, presented her work on how obesity and PCOS interact to create a unique inflammatory environment in the ovary. This was funded by her Hilldale award for studying the role of granulosa cells in the immune environment in PCOS. Andrea Wegrzynowicz, PhD, postdoctoral fellow in the Stanic Lab, mentored Grimes’s project. 

Wegrzynowicz also presented a poster during the event featuring work on the role of the immune system in PCOS.   

Congratulations, Emily and Dr. Wegryznowicz! 

Incredible work, Dr. Bennett! 

What was your professional background before joining the UW Department of Ob-Gyn? 

Before joining the gynecologic oncology team as a physician assistant (PA), I worked in emergency medicine (EM). My time in EM began with a dedicated fellowship in 2019, after which I practiced in several emergency departments.   

Why were you interested in joining the UW Department of Ob-Gyn? 

I transitioned specialties to be more directly involved in women’s health.  

What is your life like outside of work? 

In my personal time, I enjoy time spent with my wife and my dog, and activities/hobbies such as ice hockey, LEGO building, and watching any Wisconsin sports team. 

Welcome, Bailey! 

In “A Case of CDKN2C/CIC Null Epithelioid Leiomyosarcoma With a Low-grade Component Indistinguishable From Leiomyoma”, the authors report their experience with a challenging case of the recently described CDKN2C/CIC null subtype of uterine leiomyosarcoma (LMS) – a LMS subtype that is frequently epithelioid in appearance, is wild-type for both TP53 and RB1, and may exhibit low-grade histology that falls short of LMS. The results of this case highlight the striking intratumoral heterogeneity that is possible in CDKN2C/CIC null LMS, including areas morphologically indistinguishable from LM. After performing next-generation molecular analysis on the patient’s tumors, the authors found that:

“Despite having areas indistinguishable from conventional leiomyoma, CDKN2C/CIC null LMS has the potential to recur and metastasize. The correct identification of this tumor type at the time of initial diagnosis can facilitate appropriate adjuvant and/or maintenance therapy that may decrease the morbidity associated with extensive debulking surgery.” 

Read the whole article here. 

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In the lecture, Zeal defined later abortion care; described procedure processes and barriers to abortion care; and discussed strategies for person-centered care.

Watch the whole lecture here. 

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Anupama Joseph, MD, assistant professor of cardiovascular medicine at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health Department of Medicine, joined this episode of the Women’s Healthcast to talk about heart health and aging. She talked about how to recognize common signs and symptoms of cardiovascular disease and what we need to know about improving our heart health. 

Listen to Health and Aging: Heart Health now.

Did you know the Women’s Healthcast is available on all your favorite podcast platforms? Whether you like to listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, or anywhere else, you can find us! (Just search Women’s Healthcast, and while you’re at it, may as well subscribe!)  

In “Rationale and design of the A-STAC study: A multi-stage, hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial to prevent and reduce racial disparities in postpartum hypertension”, the authors outline a study that adapts STAC to expand program reach for Black birthing people via implementation in community-based organizations. The study is aimed to be implemented as follows:

“The study team is partnering with community-based organizations led by and/or serving Black birthing people and Black individuals with lived experiences of hypertension during pregnancy to inform care model adaptation. Guided by the Replicating Effective Programs Framework, the study will be conducted over three stages. The pre-implementation stage will consist of identifying adaptations to STAC to align with community values and priorities. We will apply these adaptations in rapid Plan-Do-Study-Act implementation cycles to create a finalized adapted STAC (A-STAC) program. The implementation stage will consist of delivering A-STAC through community-based organizations and evaluating A-STAC effectiveness, reach, and adoption. The maintenance and evolution stage will consist of identifying strategies for sustainment of A-STAC.”

This adapted intervention has the potential to decrease disparities in postpartum morbidity and mortality for Black birthing people and enhance generational health equity. 

Learn more and read the whole article here! 

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

During the session “Bridging the Pathway to Practice: Financing Clinical Training in Rural and Underserved Areas”, the panelists shared their insights regarding the unique opportunities available for rural and underserved training sites, including funding and accreditation considerations.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In “Pelvic Organ Prolapse: State of the Art”, Pennycuff, fellow guest Frank Lin, MD, MS, and host Kyle Richards, MD, explored current approaches to diagnosis and treatment, emerging innovations in the field, and a thoughtful examination of the ongoing mesh controversy.   

Listen to the episode on Spotify.

Listen to the episode on Apple.

Listen to the episode on PodBean.

Check out other episodes of WInnovations here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Wright’s project “Understanding the Sexual and Reproductive Health of Adults Living with Sickle Cell Disease”, funded by the ICTR Collaborative Health Equity Research (CHER) Track 1, will lay the foundation for a comprehensive understanding of how sickle cell disease affects a person’s sexual well-being, a critical aspect of their overall health. The goal is to create the first sexuality-specific curriculum that addresses sexual well-being among adult people living with sickle cell disease. Wright will conduct the project in collaboration with a community partner, the Sickle Cell Reproductive Health Education Directive.

The ICTR Community Engaged Research Pilot Awards Program, made possible by Wisconsin Partnership Program support to ICTR, helps researchers generate collaborations and pilot data that can inform larger projects.

Learn more about the ICTR Community Engaged Research Pilot Awards Program and Ob-Gyn faculty research projects here!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In “Leaks, Pain and Pelvic Health”, Sarah McAchran, MD, professor in the Department of Urology, and Madelyn Esposito, LPC, program manager at UW Health Eastpark Medical Center’s Sexual Health Clinic, shared their knowledge on different treatment options for pelvic health issues, ranging from surgery to sex therapy. Both providers work with ISCW to deliver treatment. 

“‘It’s really very patient-specific with different treatment paths depending on what we’re treating,’ [McAchran] says. ‘Just know you don’t have to ‘tough it out.’ With the right treatment, you can participate in everyday life again with confidence.’”

The article also shares testimony from real patients regarding their pelvic health journeys.

Read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

The UW Department of Ob-Gyn created the first rural ob-gyn residency training track in the country to help address shortages in the ob-gyn workforce. According to the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health, 40 percent of hospitals in rural Wisconsin do not offer obstetrics services.   

Residents who match into the rural ob-gyn residency track rotate at rural hospitals across the region. While on these rotations, the rural track residents get hands-on experience providing ob-gyn care – including prenatal and obstetric care, gynecologic cancer screenings and management of complicated gynecological problems – to people in small communities. 

Partnerships with these health care organizations are invaluable in providing the training experience necessary to prepare rural ob-gyn residents for their future practice: 

• SSM Health Monroe Clinic Medical Group 
• Western Wisconsin Health - Baldwin 
• Marshfield-Marshfield Medical Center 
• Reedsburg Area Medical Center 

Though the UW-Madison rural ob-gyn residency was the first in the nation, residency programs around the country are starting to offer opportunities for ob-gyn residents to train in rural settings. UW rural ob-gyn residency graduates have moved on to practices in Minnesota, Arizona, California, and Wisconsin. The UW Department of Ob-Gyn plans to expand the rural training program with a grant from the United States Department of Health and Human Services through the Health Resources and Services Administration.  

Current rural ob-gyn residents include  Dr. Kaitlyn Anderholm, Dr. Olivia Johnson, Dr. Jessica Gillespie, and Dr. Michelle Breuer. 

Meet the Rural Ob-Gyn Residency Partners: Christy Trautman, MD

Christy Trautman, MD, is an obstetrician-gynecologist at Reedsburg Area Medical Center and trains the UW Department of Ob-Gyn residents when they rotate in Reedsburg. She shared insights into what makes rural practice so special and how these rotations help prepare residents for the realities of working in small communities: 

What drew you to a career in rural healthcare? 

Christy Trautman (CT): I grew up in the rural space, I'm married to an agronomist, and I am very passionate about agriculture, and certainly the work my family's done raising horses. That's where we want to live and engage with our community. When your out-of-work passion can align with your work passion, there's greatness in that. Living and raising our family in a rural community is very important to us. 

Healthcare in that rural space becomes very important. I moved to Reedsburg when we were recognizing the challenges coming in staffing in the rural space, in particular with maternal care. Because I'm passionate about women's health, and maternal health, and rural communities, this was a natural role for me. 

What does an average rotation look like when a rural resident is training with you? 

CT: I'm able to give them a different kind of rotation experience in this rural space that I hope mimics their life moving forward as a rural practitioner, so I consider that certainly a privilege. They come with me to clinic a few days a week, and then we work on getting them some OR cases as well. I do ask them to take one day of call a week or so, and so they help to manage the labor and delivery unit and see and feel what that's like to be a provider on call at a rural hospital, because it is a bit different.  

It's important that they also learn the limits of a rural system, because they're used to being at the tertiary center. Instead of receiving a maternal transport, which they’re used to from working in Madison, they have to understand how to package someone up to be transferred.  

How do you show residents what it’s like to live in and be part of a small community as a healthcare provider? 

CT: I ask the residents to participate in a community service-type project while they’re here. It helps them get to know the community, and the community get to know them. The residents who want to be in the rural space want to be in that rural space for a variety of reasons, but often cited is the ability to connect with the community in a more intimate way. A community project gives them the time and opportunity to really do that. 

One resident helped us fundraise and install a Safe Haven Baby Box in our EMS. Other residents have volunteered at food pantries or schools. There are a lot of opportunities locally in Reedsburg to really sink into the community when you're here. 

What are residents learning on rural rotation that’s unique to the setting? 

CT: I really want this rotation to be an opportunity for the residents to think about parts of learning that they don't learn in the same way at their academic center. That’s things like being community-minded, setting boundaries and maintaining professionalism in the rural space. It's how do we take care of people in a resource-limited setting?

And the other big part of this is leadership. In a small hospital, you will be asked to be a physician leader, because it’s necessary. When residents are here, I bring them to every meeting that I go to, so medical executive committee, and peer review committee, and things like that, so they get a taste of what that ask will be like, how to provide that leadership and get excited about it. It's really important for us to be leaders. We have to be a voice for maternal services, be able to engage with leadership and help people understand why this service is so important to the community. 

How do rural residents benefit your practice and hospital? 

CT: The rural ob-gyn residents are all extremely knowledgeable, energetic and motivated doctors. They’re learning things that all of us as a group need to stay up-to-date on, and so having that level of knowledge brought here to this rural space helps elevate our awareness and inspire us to keep up to date with information. 

We love having the residents. The nurses love having residents because they're a very positive source of great information and teaching. The residents are great teachers and can teach back to us. The energy and the brightness that they bring to the physical space and the emotional space is really important as well. 

What are the most important skills you hope residents will learn on rural rotations? 

CT: Without a doubt, provision of maternal care in a resource-limited setting, how to provide that care to a community where you are highly engaged and also setting professional boundaries, and learning how to interact at a leadership level so that we can have providers in the rural space really advocating for maintenance of maternal services, and perhaps even growing maternal services, as is so needed out in rural Wisconsin. 

Meet the Rural Ob-Gyn Residents: Kaitlyn Anderholm, MD

Kaitlyn Anderholm, MD, is the UW Department of Ob-Gyn residency class of 2026 rural track resident. She shared thoughts on how the rural ob-gyn residency track is preparing her for her future career:  

Why were you interested in training at the University of Wisconsin? 

Kaitlyn Anderholm (KA): I’ve always been really interested in women’s health. My medical school included a focus on rural training. The UW rural ob-gyn residency combined those two priorities. That’s really what drew me here.  

What makes your rural ob-gyn rotations different from training in Madison? 

KA: The primary difference on rural rotations is that we're not focused on one discipline. When we're on our rural rotation, we're doing a little bit of everything which is really representative of what a generalist life is actually like. We might spend a morning in clinic and also be managing a laboring patient at the same time. We may have some afternoon gynecology, we may be on call overnight.  

What do applicants need to know about the rural ob-gyn residency program? 

KA: We’re getting all the same experiences and training as our residency classmates, with the addition of the extra skills and experience of our rural rotations. The bread-and-butter ob-gyn care doesn't change regardless of where you practice. The acuity might be a little bit less just because of different resources in those areas, but we're still really busy and get to see the full scope of what we do in care in rural Wisconsin. 

**Interview support provided by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Roundtable – Disordered Eating and PCOS: Best Practices for an Overlooked Complication – Laura Cooney, MD, MS 

Oral Abstract Session – Benign Gynecological Disease – moderated by Bala Bhagavath, MD 

Symposium – Paternal Age: Implications for Parents, Offspring and Society – Julianne Zweifel, PhD 

Oral Abstract Session – Pre-Clinical & Basic Research – moderated by Aleks Stanic-Kostic, MD, PhD 

Posters:  

Predictors Of Disordered Eating In Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (Pcos) – Mattie Boehler-Tatman; Jacob P Christ; Laura Cooney; Heather Gibson Huddleston 

Pelvic Infection After Egg Retrieval In Patients With Endometriosis – Christina M Dudley; Alexandra R Sabgir; Natalia Gontarczyk Uczkowski; Amy L Godecker; and Bala Bhagavath, MD 

Congratulations to the presenters!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

The event opened with Brief and Brilliant presentations, short talks about health equity research methods and outcomes:

“Between Two Worlds: Birth, Belonging, and the Rohingya Mothers of Milwaukee” – Amulya Suresh, BS, M3; Elizabeth Corey, MD, MPH

“Environmental Exposures and Ovarian Cancer Risk” – Rachel Pomazal, MS 

“Community Based Organizations’ Perspectives on Structural Racism and Systemic Failures’ Impact on Black Birthing People: ‘This System is Cracked’” – Tiwaladeoluwa Adekunle, PhD

Karen Sheffield-Abdullah, PhD, RN, CNM, FACNM, founder and CEO of Dr. Karen, LLC and assistant professor in the University of North Carolina School of Nursing presented the keynote “Exploring Black Birthing People’s Perspectives on Racial Concordance with Obstetric Care Providers” – Karen Sheffield-Abdullah, PhD, RN, CNM, FACNM

Tatiana Maida, Equity and Community Partnerships Director at healthTIDE, and Amy Meinen, MPH, RDN, Statewide Partnerships Director at healthTIDE and Research and Outreach Program Manager in the UW-Madison School of Human Ecology, led the Researcher and Community Partner Joint Presentation “Raising Latino Children in Wisconsin: Understanding Community  Needs from an Intergenerational, Bilingual, Multicultural, and Community-Led Approach” – Janean Dilworth-Bart, PhD; Tatiana Maida; Amy Meinen, MPH, RDN

Following the Symposium, Maida and Meinen shared links to the Raising Latino Children in Wisconsin resources included in their presentations:

Raising Latino Children in Wisconsin full report (PDF)  

Raising Latino Children in Wisconsin executive summary (PDF) 

The symposium grew out of the pioneering vision of Dr. Gloria Sarto and Dr. Gloria Johnson-Powell.

Watch the symposium recording here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

This invited review synthesizes the evidence linking PCOS to adverse maternal outcomes and maps plausible biological pathways across immunity, endocrinology, and placental biology.

In “Maternal complications of pregnancy in polycystic ovary syndrome”, the authors discuss the leading theories for this connection, including placental dysregulation, insulin resistance, excess androgens, and a preexisting pro-inflammatory state in PCOS. Clinical takeaways include:

“... emphasis on preconception optimization, early pregnancy screening for hypertensive and glycemic disorders, and postpartum cardiometabolic follow-up. We also call for prospective, mechanistic studies to disentangle inflammation-, androgen-, and insulin-driven pathways.”

Read the whole article here. 

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In “7 Symptoms Gynecologists Don’t Want You To Stress About”, Jacques and fellow physicians from across the United States answered questions about symptoms such as vaginal discharge, fluctuations in the menstrual cycle, and the occasional lump or bump. Jacques discussed the common symptoms of vaginal itching and irritation:

“However tempting it may be to scratch, to prevent further irritation or inflammation, you should avoid doing so, says Dr. Jacques. You’ll also want to steer clear of irritating soaps, douches, or products that go in or near the vagina, ‘because they can disrupt [the vulva’s] delicate ecosystem, particularly the lactobacilli that are needed to maintain a healthy environment,’ she says. Wearing breathable, cotton underwear, and keeping the area around the vulva dry can also help prevent irritation.”

Read the whole article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Coping with Complications in Early- to Mid-surgical Career – Caroline Cox, MD, roundtable moderator  

Short Oral – Non-Surgical Clinical App-based Interventions for Fecal Incontinence: Usability and Improvement – Ushma J. Patel, MD; Laura Keyser, DPT, MPH; Heidi W. Brown, MD, MAS; Natalia Gontarczyk Uczkowski; Dobie L. Giles, MD, MS, MBA  

Rapid Fire: Digital Therapeutics for Fecal Incontinence: A Randomized Trial – Ushma J. Patel, MD; Laura Keyser, DPT, MPH; Natalia Gontarczyk Uczkowski; Dobie L. Giles, MD, MS, MBA; Heidi W. Brown, MD, MAS  

Rapid Fire: Ultrasound to Identify Intraoperative Ureter Injury: A Simulation-based Study – Robert Z. Fender, MD, MSCI; Babak Vakili, MD; Matthew K. Hoffman, MD/MPH  

Rapid Fire: Does Workup for Asymptomatic Microscopic Hematuria Decrease Mortality Risk? – Ushma J. Patel, MD; Natalia Gontarczyk Uczkowski; Yulissa Rodriguez-Hernandez, MPH; Julie Dorland, MD; Amy L. Godecker, PhD, MS; Caroline Cox, MD  

Additionally, Margaret Wilkes, MD, joined the AUGS Membership Committee.

Congratulations to the presenters!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In “It’s about time we talk about menopause”, menopause experts from around Madison shared their knowledge on this stage of life, as well as the use of menopause hormone therapy (MHT) to address symptoms. Bozzuto and Grzebielski, who are co-directors of the UW Health Menopause Clinic, were highlighted in the article for their expertise in menopause. Bozzuto additionally addressed concerns about the link between MHT and breast cancer: 

“‘While there does seem to be an increased risk [of breast cancer] for people on estrogen and progesterone replacement, the magnitude of the risk is small,’ Bozzuto says. ‘Kind of on the same order of magnitude as drinking alcohol, actually, which also increases the risk of breast cancer.’” 

Read the whole article here!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

The project "Investigating fusokine IL-6/1 as a novel immunotherapeutic agent against ovarian cancer” will be a collaboration with Jacques Galipeau, MD, professor of hematology, medical oncology and palliative care in the Department of Medicine. Sejal Sharma, PhD candidate in the Patankar Lab, developed compelling data that supported the grant application. The one-year grant provides $50,000 in research support with an option to apply for an additional year of funding.  

Incredible work, all! 

The Rising Star Coordinator Award was established by the UW SMPH CAC to recognize the work of a dedicated residency or fellowship coordinator with less than five years in their position. Fellowship directors and fellows from across the UW Department of Ob-Gyn submitted letters of support for Dylan’s nomination. 

Incredible work, Dylan! 

Dr. Vazquez' grant is titled "Sterile Inflammation at the Maternal-Fetal Interface and Fetal Immune Programming in a Non-Human Primate Model." Dr. de Faria Oliviera's grant is titled "The Impact of GNRH Agonist Treatment on Adolescent Development in a Marmoset Model."  

Dr. Vazquez is a former trainee and Dr. de Faria Oliveira is a current trainee of the Interdisciplinary Program in Endocrinology (iPEnd) NIH-funded T32 postdoctoral training program, which is led by Ian Bird, PhD, professor in the Division of Reproductive Sciences, and co-led by Neuroscience and Wisconsin National Primate Research Center faculty member Jon Levine, PhD. The iPEnd program receives administrative support through the Department of Ob-Gyn. 

Congratulations, Dr. Vazquez and Dr. de Faria Oliveira! 

Dudley will join the fellowship in the summer of 2026, following graduation from ob-gyn residency. 

Amazing work, Dr. Dudley! 

Bajpai will join the fellowship in the summer of 2026, following graduation from ob-gyn residency. 

Incredible work, Dr. Bajpai! 

“Single-cell analysis of uterine artery endothelial cells reveals cytokine-induced emergence of specific immunomodulatory subtypes: implications for preeclampsia” shows for the first time that uterine artery endothelial cells can exist in multiple subtypes with distinct function, and that cytokines secreted by the placenta and decidua in preeclamptic subjects can drive them to loose vasodilatory ability and gain immunomodulatory properties. The significance of this study is it suggests endothelium is not so much the innocent victim of a disordered immune system in preeclampsia, but is in fact the root cause of the immune dysfunction seen at the time of presentation of clinical symptoms. 

Trainee authors Dahn, Lett, and Clemente were funded by T32 awards. Incredible work, all! See the whole article here.  

• Hannah Copp, CNM – Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn 
• Megan Lyght, PA – Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility 
• JoAnne Martin Koob, PA – Gynecologic Oncology 
• Sheba McCants, PA – Maternal-Fetal Medicine 
• Kelly Pappas, NP – Maternal-Fetal Medicine 
• Leslie Smith, CNM – Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn 

Congratulations to all who were celebrated in September! 

WPP postdoctoral grants support the professional development of postdoctoral trainees, postdoctoral fellows, clinical fellows and research associates as they conduct a research or education project or pursue a professional development opportunity to advance their career with a focus on improving health, health care or advancing health equity in Wisconsin and beyond. Grant awards are up to $20,000 for up to one year. The funding request should be limited to a single project or skill, learning or training activity.   

Incredible work, Dr. Neal! 

In the lecture, Hanks discussed the medical rationale and benefits of inducing amenorrhea in transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) individuals; the different methods of inducing amenorrhea, including hormonal and non-hormonal approaches; and how to develop personalized care plans for TGD individuals seeking amenorrhea, remembering individual preferences and health status. 

Watch the whole lecture here. 

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

A lot about our lives can change as we get older, and that includes our sex lives. The previous episode of the Women's Healthcast covered some of the physical changes that can impact sex as we age. For this episode, Madelyn Esposito, LPC, joins the Women’s Healthcast to talk about the mental and emotional aspects of sex and aging. 

Esposito is a licensed sex therapist and program manager of UW Health’s Sexual Health Clinic. She answered questions about what sex therapy is, common changes to mental and emotional health that impact sex, and what she wishes more people knew about sex and aging. 

Listen to Health and Aging: Let’s Talk About Sex, Part 2 now!

Did you know the Women’s Healthcast is available on all your favorite podcast platforms? Whether you like to listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, or anywhere else, you can find us! (Just search Women’s Healthcast, and while you’re at it, may as well subscribe!)  

In the lecture, Roselaar shared exercise-related intraoperative interventions for surgeons; the effects of exercising outside of the operating room; and discussed the utility of exercise for ob-gyns. 

Watch the whole lecture here. 

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

What was your professional background before joining the UW Department of Ob-Gyn?

Prior to becoming a midwife, I worked for 6 years on the inpatient General Surgery unit at UW Hospital. I also worked as a birth doula. I aspire to be a lifelong learner, and care deeply about providing equitable patient care, especially to LGBTQ+ patients. I am proud to be part of the UW Ob-Gyn Department because I know I am supported in these goals and values.

What will be your key responsibilities in this position?

I will be working with the CNM team and caring for patients in both the ambulatory and inpatient settings. 

Where are you from?/Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Evansville, WI, but I have lived in Madison for 10 years now. I live on the near East side with my wife, Jazzmine, and our two cats. 

What are some fun facts about you?

In my free time, I enjoy crochet, reading science fiction, and going to thrift stores. 

Please help us welcome Anna to the department!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

This collaboration aims to curate an inclusive event, the Pregnancy Trust and Safety Summit, where healthcare providers can learn from community experts, clinicians, and scholars to advance equitable, person-centered obstetric care from pregnancy through postpartum. Topics will center on maternal health equity and leading causes of maternal mortality, including substance use, mental health, and systemic bias. 

The goals of the Pregnancy Trust and Safety Summit are to amplify community, research, and medical expertise to support provider education and inform meaningful improvements in obstetric practice for communities disproportionately impacted by maternal mortality and morbidity, in Wisconsin and across ACOG District VI. 

Congratulations to our faculty, and more information to come!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Breakout Session: Case studies in maternal morbidity and mortality – Jacquelyn Adams, MD, MSCI

Breakout Session: Perinatal Cannabis Use: Trends, Evidence, and Insights from Birthing People in Wisconsin – Krissy Alaniz, MPH, PhD 

Incredible work!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Poster: Trends Between ACOG Referral Criteria, Age and Surgical Histopathology – Rusha Bajpai, MD; Stephen Rose, MD; Natalia Gontarczyk Uczkowski, MPH; Amy Godecker, PhD, MS

Abstract Presentation: Hemostatic Agents and Early Postoperative Outcomes Following Minimally Invasive Hysterectomy in Gynecologic Oncology – Nicolette Codispoti, MD, MS, MPH; Stephen Rose, MD

Congratulations to the residents!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Diribe received her medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston Campus. She is currently completing residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, DC.  

Diribe comes highly recommended by REI colleagues, and we look forward to welcoming her to Madison! 

Amy Domeyer-Klenske, MD, associate professor and director of the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn (ASOG) serves as the District VI Legislative Chair.  

Laura Hanks, MD, assistant professor in the Division of ASOG, serves as the ACOG Wisconsin Section Vice Chair and Legislative Chair. Hanks also presented the poster The Uterus Unveiled: Comparing Pathology and Histology in Transgender and Cisgender Individuals.  

Ryan McDonald, MD, professor in the Division of ASOG, finished his term as the District VI Continuing Medical Education (CME) Representative and began his term as the national ACOG CME Chair-Elect. He also presented on pregnancy and cannabis during the Joint District Maternal Mortality Summit. 

Ob-Gyn residents had a successful conference, with award-winning research and several leadership roles. Jeannette Larson, MD, PGY-4, received the District VI Donald F. Richardson Paper prize for the presentation Tubes and Turns: How Politics Tied the Knot on Reproductive Choices. 

Taylor Badger, MD, PGY-2, served as the ACOG District VI Junior Fellow Vice Chair. Hannah Ahrendt, MD, PGY-1, served as the ACOG District VI Junior Fellow Secretary/Treasurer. Maya Adler, MD, PGY-2, attended as the University of Wisconsin program representative. Michelle DeMeo, MD, PGY-2, served as the Wisconsin Section Junior Fellow Vice Chair.  

Incredible work, all! 

In “Ultrasonography-Based Measurements of Endometrial Thickness in Patients With p53 Abnormal Endometrial Carcinomas”, the authors aimed to evaluate prediagnostic endometrial thickness measured by transvaginal ultrasonography (TVUS) in a cohort of patients with endometrial cancer stratified by p53 status to assess the accuracy of endometrial thickness as a screening tool in this patient population. The authors completed a retrospective cohort review and found that:

“Endometrial thickness assessed by TVUS does not appear to be a reliable screening method in patients diagnosed with p53abn endometrial cancers. The use of endometrial thickness as a screening test for endometrial cancer may miss a significant portion of p53abn cases because of false-negative results. In the presence of postmenopausal bleeding, endometrial tissue sampling should be strongly considered.”

Read the whole study here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Jeannette Larson, MD, and Emily O’Brien, MD, will join the MFM fellowship in July 2026. Larson earned her medical degree from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and is in her fourth year of ob-gyn residency in the UW Department of Ob-Gyn. O’Brien completed medical school at Penn State College of Medicine and is currently finishing ob-gyn residency at Penn State Health/Penn State College of Medicine. 

Please help us welcome both of these wonderful physicians to the Maternal-Fetal Medicine fellowship! 

A lot about our lives can change as we get older, and that includes our sex lives. Two guest experts joined this episode of the Women’s Healthcast to talk about some of the physical changes related to age that can impact sexual function – and to tear down the myth that sex and aging aren’t compatible.  

Jon Pennycuff, MD, MSPH, is an assistant professor in the Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery. Javier Santiago, MD, is an assistant professor in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health Department of Urology. They talked about common changes in sexual function for female and male bodies, as well as their recommendations for improving sexual health. 

Listen to Health and Aging: Let’s Talk About Sex, Part 1 now!

Did you know the Women’s Healthcast is available on all your favorite podcast platforms? Whether you like to listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, or anywhere else, you can find us! (Just search Women’s Healthcast, and while you’re at it, may as well subscribe!)  

Stewart completed medical school at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, followed by obstetrics and gynecology residency at the Mass General Brigham Combined OB/GYN Residency, where she is scheduled to graduate in June 2026. While at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Stewart has served as administrative chief resident and received the Harvard Medical School Resident Teaching Award and the Resident Teaching Award in Obstetrics & Gynecology. 

We look forward to welcoming Dr. Stewart back to Wisconsin next summer! 

Lisa Barroilhet, MD, MS, associate professor and director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, served as a Translational Science Mentor for the SGO/GOG-F BRIDGES 2.0 Program. This research initiative is a longitudinal clinical trials program for early career investigators with the aim of developing the next generation of trialists who will lead investigator-initiated and cooperative group gynecologic cancer clinical studies. It is a collaboration between the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) and the GOG Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting excellence in clinical and basic scientific research in gynecologic malignancies.

Learn more about the BRIDGES Program here or read this article about the program.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

India Anderson-Carter, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, along with the Department of Ob-Gyn Social Impact and Belonging Committee, participated in the event and staffed a table with resources on the menstrual cycle, sanitary products, HPV vaccinations, and more! 

Learn more about the initiative here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Badger was selected to serve as the ACOG District VI Junior Fellow Vice Chair. Ahrendt will serve as the District VI Junior Fellow Secretary/Treasurer.  

In these roles, they represent the needs and concerns of junior fellows from across District VI, which covers Wisconsin, several Midwestern states, Saskatchewan, and Peru. 

Incredible work, Dr. Badger and Dr. Ahrendt! 

Domeyer-Klenske attended in her capacity as the ACOG Wisconsin Section chair, while Hanks joined as part of her role as the ACOG District VI Legislative Chair. During the event, they learned about health policy issues that affect ob-gyn patients and providers.  

Join us for an evening of conversation with experts from UW Health Integrated Specialty Care for Women. You'll have the opportunity to meet with physicians, advanced practice providers and physical therapists from around Madison to learn how you can prevent or manage symptoms. 

Take Control of Your Pelvic Health
November 5, 2025 - 6:00-7:30pm
UW Health Eastpark Medical Center 
4621 Eastpark Blvd, Madison, WI 53718 

This event will include information and breakout sessions on: 

• pelvic organ prolapse 
• urinary incontinence 
• overactive bladder 
• pelvic floor physical therapy 
• sexual health 
• and more 

Experts include:

• Margaret Wilkes, MD - Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery
• Sarah McAchran, MD - Department of Urology
• Frank Lin, MD - Department of Urology
• Madelyn Esposito, LPC - UW Health Sexual Health Clinic
• Carrie Schwoerer, PT - UW Health Physical Therapy

Sign up today for this free event and invite your friends! Register for the talk here. 

They presented the poster “STAC-MyHEARTp: A randomized controlled trial of health coaching and self-measured blood pressure to increase healthcare engagement and blood pressure control in the first year postpartum” during the Pregnancy, Preeclampsia and Developmental Programming poster session. Knutson-Sinaise, who was the health coach for all participants in the trial, led the poster presentation and answered questions from the engaged crowd. The research team also reconnected with Heather Johnson, MD, former PI on the MyHEART project.  

Incredible work, Megan and Dr. Hoppe! 

Domeyer-Klenske joined the presentation “Working the Workforce”, where she spoke alongside Jackie Peebles, MD, associate professor in the Medical College of Wisconsin Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Kavita Anora, MD, professor in the University of North Carolina School of Medicine Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.  

Incredible work, Dr. Domeyer-Klenske! 

The Clean Birth Kit (CBK) Program allows Global Health Charities to provide training and supplies to childbirth staff in order to improve the safety of both mother and child during the birthing process.   

Thanks to all who participated in the assembly activity and facilitated sharing the kits with colleagues overseas!  

Gupta presented the work she completed with Kara Hoppe, DO, PhD, professor in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, for her summer research project. The poster “A Comparative Analysis of Hypertension Classification Using 24-Hour Blood Pressure Monitoring in Young Women With and Without a History of Pregnancy” assessed the 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (AMBP) results of women from the MyHEART trial who had a presumed clinical diagnosis of chronic hypertension and determine the incidence of masked, white coat, nocturnal or confirmed hypertension. 

Congratulations, Srishti and Dr. Hoppe! 

The clinic also provides care for individuals who are pregnant after a prior pregnancy loss and those who wish to be pregnant after experiencing loss.

“What we really just try to do is provide individualized, supportive care, because each family that’s experienced a loss may have a very similar loss situation as someone else, but their needs are totally different,” said Kristen Sharp, MD, professor in the UW Department of Ob-Gyn and co-founder of the Hope After Loss Clinic alongside health psychologist Julianne Zweifel, PhD. “We see a wide range of folks who have been touched by loss. It can be people who have had early miscarriage, it can be people who have had upwards of full-term stillbirths, or even people who have lost babies after birth.” 

In addition to Drs. Sharp and Zweifel, the clinic recently welcomed Hannah Copp, CNM, a certified nurse midwife, to the team. Her experience and approach have been exceedingly valuable to patient care in the clinic. 

Residents in the UW Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology also have the opportunity to train in the Hope After Loss Clinic. Training at the clinic provides a different perspective on the medical aspect of pregnancy loss. 

“I can speak to my training, I got really no training in the grief and bereavement aspects of the loss, so I think having that exposure, seeing people at different parts of their journey, and also knowing ‘How can we best support people while they’re on that journey?’ is a really valuable piece of education that I hope [the residents] carry forward in their careers,” said Sharp. 

In addition to their services, the Hope After Loss Clinic hosts a memorial service for patients who wish to honor their loss. This year will be the clinic’s fifth year hosting the memorial service. 

The memorial service was created to honor the losses of families who have had an early pregnancy loss – a loss under 20 weeks of gestation – at UW Health or Meriter. “For folks who experience early pregnancy loss, there’s not a whole lot of options to memorialize that pregnancy, to bury that pregnancy, if that’s what they desire, or even know that that’s an option,” Sharp said. “You have certainly folks who have a much later loss who get presented with those options, but there just wasn’t really anything available for early losses, and I think there’s just something so powerful in recognizing that loss, honoring that loss, which also helps give support and validation to that family who lost that baby.” 

The memorial is completely free of charge for the families, and a service occurs along with the burial, which includes the presence of a chaplain from UW Health American Family Children’s Hospital, as well as music. 

The Hope After Loss memorial service is hosted annually on the first Wednesday of October, in honor of Pregnancy, and Infant Loss Awareness Month. Learn more about the Hope After Loss Clinic and its services here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Beginning this fall, the MFM fellowship can now match two fellows per class, eventually bringing the total complement of MFM fellows up to six.  

This successful complement increase comes after months of hard work from the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and the Department of Ob-Gyn education team. Congratulations to division director Janine Rhoades, MD, fellowships program manager Dylan Kittell, and all who contributed to this important growth milestone for the MFM fellowship! 

The CES Conference is an annual event designed to give participants an informal setting to share ideas and to interact with invited speakers and other clinical embryologists. The conference brought attendees from 20 states together for lively interaction around assisted reproductive technology topics.

During the conference, attendees enjoyed a keynote by Dr. Nikica Zaninovic, associate professor of Embryology in Clinical Reproductive Medicine and Director of the Embryology Lab at Weill Cornell Medicine, as well as presentations focused on computerized analysis systems in ART labs, psychological wellbeing of laboratory professionals in IVF practices, and more. 

Huge congratulations to Generations Fertility Care Laboratory Director Zeki Beyhan, PhD, UW Ob-Gyn Event Coordinator Autumn Hayes, and the entire CES Conference planning committee for planning and executing an incredible event!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In “High-dimensional immune profiling of follicular fluid and systemic circulation reveals distinct immune signatures in women with polycystic ovary syndrome”, the authors aimed to better understand the ovary’s local immune landscape as a result of chronic low-grade inflammation due to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The authors addressed this question by prospectively profiling paired blood and follicular fluid from IVF patients using multiplex cytokine/angiogenic assays, as well as high-dimensional flow cytometry with unbiased clustering. Across the cohort, blood at oocyte retrieval contained higher pro-inflammatory cytokines than follicular fluid, whereas follicular fluid was enriched for angiogenic factors.

Before treatment, PCOS patients had elevated circulating inflammatory cytokines that were partially corrected by the time of oocyte retrieval. Despite this systemic shift, the PCOS follicular compartment retained immune differences, including more classical monocytes and a trend toward increased CTLA-4–positive regulatory T cells (Tregs). 

“These results underscore the utility of comprehensive multiparametric analyses—including high-dimensional flow cytometry—to uncover immune dysregulation and identify potential therapeutic targets in PCOS.”

Read the whole article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In “Incidence of Lymph Node Metastasis in Patients With a Preoperative Diagnosis of Endometrial Intraepithelial Neoplasia”, the authors sought to determine the incidence of lymph node involvement in patients undergoing hysterectomy with sentinel lymph node dissection for a preoperative diagnosis of endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia (EIN) to allow for risk stratification and management by general gynecology and gynecologic oncology. The authors completed a retrospective chart review and found that:

“The incidence of lymph node involvement in patients with a preoperative diagnosis of EIN is low. Sentinel lymph node dissection is unlikely to affect adjuvant treatment recommendations following surgical staging. Standardized risk assessment methods are warranted for patients with a preoperative diagnosis of EIN to delineate the utility of lymph node assessment in this population.”

Read the whole study here!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Since September is Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month, Catherine Zhang, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, joined the Women’s Healthcast to help us learn about how our gynecologic cancer risk changes with age. She talked about common types of gynecologic cancer, signs and symptoms to look out for, the most up-to-date screening recommendations, and ways to reduce your risk of gynecologic cancer. 

Listen to Health and Aging: Gynecologic Cancer now.  

Did you know the Women’s Healthcast is available on all your favorite podcast platforms? Whether you like to listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, or anywhere else, you can find us! (Just search Women’s Healthcast, and while you’re at it, may as well subscribe!)  

In the lecture, Berry-Smith discussed the maternal and child health crisis in Wisconsin; the FFBWW’s approach to maternal health; and shared information on doulas and the importance of doulas in medical settings. 

Watch the whole lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In “Inside the PAG Digital Library”, Cox, fellow guest Annetta Madsen, MD, and host Jocelyn Fitzgerald, MD, discussed the monumental task of standardizing and categorizing the terms and images that are used every day in the field of gynecologic surgery. 

You can find the episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Check out other episodes here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Designed for pregnant people and the people who support them, this series will empower individuals to make informed decisions about their health. The series is supported by Unite WI and Healthy Start and led by experts from UW School of Medicine and Public Health Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. People interested in attending can register for any or all of the sessions using this survey. 

All webinars will be held via Zoom:

• September 15 - Pregnancy foundations: Changes and connections – Kara Hoppe, DO, PhD 
• September 22 - Perinatal mood disorders and substance use - Jacquelyn Adams, MD, MS 
• September 29 - Common pregnancy conditions – India Anderson-Carter, MD 
• October 6 - Hypertension during pregnancy – Kara Hoppe, DO, PhD 
• October 13 - What shapes our health? Lifestyle and social influences on health – Megan Knutson-Sinaise, MS; Melissa Neal, MD 

In “Madison OB-GYN encourages CrossFit for expecting mothers”, Hanks stated that it is safe to hit the gym during pregnancy, but with some slight variations. 

“‘You might see us doing some burpees today,’ Dr. Hanks said. ‘As you’re getting more pregnant, I obviously don’t want my patients going down on the floor belly down.’”

Hanks has delivered three babies for her friends from the gym they frequent, CrossFit Sanctify.

Read and watch the full news segment here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In “Everyday Hero: Delivering babies is a ‘full-circle moment’ for this Madison doctor”, Bojang shared how friends' and family's experiences in the Gambia during her childhood motivated her to pursue medicine.. After moving to the United States at age 12, she participated in the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County’s Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID)/Teens of Promise (TOPS) program, which provided her with opportunities to explore colleges and promoted academic achievement. Her participation in this program also led her to an internship at UW Health.

“‘It’s a very invaluable experience,’ Bojang said. ‘And now it’s a full-circle moment. I’m back working for UW Health.’"

As the global health resident in her class, Bojang plans to return to Gambia to complete a medical rotation and deliver babies in her home country.

Read the whole story here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

• Anna Heintz – “Rethinking the 2500: Optimizing ꞵ-hCG Cutoffs for Early Pregnancy Viability” – starts at 2:31
• Morgan Homme – “Incidence of New Eating Disorders in Young Patients Using Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) Agonists” – starts at 8:12
• Bronwynn Ziemann – “Prevalence and Risk Factors for Cesarean Scar Defects” – starts at 18:08
• Brenen Skalitzky – “Impact of Isthmocele Presence and Surgical Repair on Complications of Subsequent Pregnancies in Patients with Prior Cesarean Delivery” – starts at 23:04
• Elizabeth Tressler – “Longitudinal Serum Biomarker Through 10 Days Postpartum in Patients With and Without Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy” – starts at 35:47
• Alyssa Solberg – “Trends in Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy Highlight Persistent Racial and Rural-Urban Disparities: A Statewide Analysis” – starts at 44:57

Watch the whole lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In “Elevation of corticosterone and 17OH progesterone in extremely preterm infants and clinical implications”, Kessel and Bird evaluated changes in corticosterone and 17OH progesterone profiles using newborn screening dried blood spots in preterm infants born as early as 22 weeks to determine the impact of extreme prematurity on fetal adrenal function. This research provides new insight into understanding gestational age-adjusted alteration of steroid profiles at birth in extremely preterm neonates, which is necessary to inform diagnosis, optimal timing, dosage, and duration of postnatal steroid therapy in the critical first few days of life. The authors found that:

“Elevations in 17OHP4 and corticosterone, rather than cortisol alone, reflect prematurity's effect on adrenal sufficiency. Preterm infants with high cortisol and elevated corticosterone and 17OHP4 levels may struggle to meet their physiological cortisol needs through the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, increasing the risk of adrenal crises. These findings provide important insights to guide the management of adrenal insufficiency in preterm neonates.”

Read the whole study here!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

And what better topic to kick off this series than perimenopause? Laura Bozzuto, MD, MS, assistant professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, joined this episode of the Women’s Healthcast to talk about the common signs and symptoms of perimenopause, treatment options, why the supplements you see online might not be the solution, and exciting updates in the future of perimenopause and menopause care. 

Listen to Health and Aging: Perimenopause now. 

Did you know the Women’s Healthcast is available on all your favorite podcast platforms? Whether you like to listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, or anywhere else, you can find us! (Just search Women’s Healthcast, and while you’re at it, may as well subscribe!)  

During the event, which was covered in an article by the Wisconsin Examiner, panelists discussed topics like the US Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that revived previously unenforceable abortion bans in many states, Wisconsin’s laws that restrict abortion care, and how restrictions on abortion care impact OB-GYNs:

“Cutler said the restrictions in Wisconsin are also at the top of mind for medical students

‘What are the restrictions in Wisconsin? Am I going to be able to get abortion training in Wisconsin?’ Cutler said she’s asked. ‘It’s difficult to reassure people of the stability of the landscape when so much feels uncertain and again tied to political whims and election outcomes that are not completely within our control.

Cutler noted that there has been a decrease in residency applications at the UW OB/GYN residency program since the Dobbs decision in 2022. According to a CORE brief on the OB-GYN workforce, Wisconsin witnessed an 8% drop in applications for OB/GYN residency training programs in 2023 and a 10% drop in 2024.”

Read more about the panel here. 

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In the lecture, Luellwitz discussed the different types and causes of shock as well as how to manage the initial resuscitation for various shock states. 

Watch the whole lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In “Relationship Between Third-Trimester Low Maternal Blood Pressure and Small-for-Pressure and Small-for-Gestational-Age Birth weight in Pregnant Individuals With Mild Chronic Hypertension”, Hoppe and co-authors aimed to estimate the association between third-trimester maternal low blood pressure and delivery of a neonate with small-for-gestational age (SGA) birth weight in patients treated for mild chronic hypertension. The authors found that:

“... maternal hypotension (defined as systolic BP below 110 mm Hg and diastolic BP below 70 mm Hg or mean arterial pressure below 80 mm Hg) occurs infrequently in parturient patients treated for mild chronic hypertension and that among those with low BP in the early third trimester, there does not appear to be an increased risk for SGA birth weight. These data can be used to reassure patients and clinicians that treatment of mild chronic hypertension to a goal BP of below 140/90 prevents perinatal complications and appears to be safe for the fetus.”

Read the whole study here!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In the lecture, Hamm highlighted the significance of labor induction; outlined the Cesarean Risk Calculator; and shared evidence for standardizing labor induction.  

Watch the whole lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

This project will examine whether and how clinician bias contributes to Black-White inequities in postpartum pain evaluation and management in Wisconsin using novel data-collection approaches. The study aims to develop interventions that reduce the prevalence of unmanaged postpartum pain among Black patients.

Congratulations to all!

Cutler joined the panel “Reproductive Rights Update: In Wisconsin and Nationwide” to talk about the evolving status of reproductive rights in Wisconsin and across the nation, and the impact of current policies on individual rights, patient care, and medical practice. 

Incredible work, Dr Cutler!

The research fellowship will support Xu’s work on the project "Leveraging Pre-trained AI Models for Early Ovarian Cancer Detection in Medical Images." 

Incredible work, Iris!

In “The Minnesota Shooting Wasn’t Random—It Was a Predictable Resurgence of Violence”, Green and co-author Jamie Morgan draw connections between the shootings and ongoing stigmatization of abortion care. They argue that hostility towards abortion and isolating abortion care from other routine medical care creates vulnerability for patients, providers, and even policymakers:

“Abortion hostility shapes how people access care. Most abortions are not performed in hospitals or primary care offices, but in standalone clinics that face constant threats and burdensome regulations. Abortion clinics face staggering rates of disruption, which we have also normalized: Clinics that provide reproductive and gendered healthcare reported over 128,000 separate incidents of picketing from 2023 to 2024 alone.”

Read the whole article here. 

The AAMC-CFAS identifies critical issues facing medical school faculty and academic societies and serves as a voice for both constituencies within AAMC’s leadership and governance structures. As a council member, Hartenbach will bring issues of concern to University of Wisconsin faculty to the AAMC’s attention. She will also meet frequently with leadership in the Dean’s Office to share updates from the CFAS meetings.

Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Dr. Hartenbach! 

The ASL is a 15-month program that provides faculty with the opportunity to grow and acquire the skills critical to advancing as teachers, education program administrators, and leaders. The curriculum uses an evidence-based approach to support learning objectives in instruction, assessment and feedback, curriculum development and evaluation, leadership and professional development, and educational scholarship. The program focuses on fostering educational leadership and scholarship among participants.

Kelly’s experience in the program will be invaluable as a leader of the department’s residency program. Congratulations, Dr. Kelly!

Registration is free and you can join as an individual, join an existing walk team, or create a team of your own to include your friends and family. Learn more and register here. 

2025 Madison Promise Walk for Preeclampsia
Saturday, September 13, 2025
McGaw Park, Fitchburg
10:30am-1:30pm

Providing high-quality, comprehensive education to medical students, graduate students, residents, and fellows is a central part of the Department of Ob-Gyn mission. Our graduates go on to be lifelong learners and leaders in reproductive health, equipped with the skills, knowledge, curiosity, and humility needed to provide high-quality care and advance our field. None of this would be possible without the amazing individuals on our education team.

The entire education team works together to foster an environment that supports every trainee throughout their time in our department and appreciates each individual for their unique experience and perspective. They keep our residency and fellowships running smoothly, recruit stellar learners every year, support medical students through their clerkships and residency applications, execute innovative training opportunities in our simulation lab, and so much more.

We are incredibly lucky to work alongside such talented, dedicated people in support of our department’s educational goals. Please help us thank the wonderful team for everything they do for the learners and teachers in our department!

Department of Ob-Gyn Education Team: 

• Kristina Kaljo, PhD, Associate Professor
  
• Dylan Kittell, Fellowship Program Manager
  
• Alison Klein, Rural, Global Health and Simulation Coordinator
  
• Gwen Niksic, Education Program Manager
  
• Ariel Sorenson, Residency Program Manager
  
• Megan Tickner-Young, Academic Program Specialist
  
• Amanda Wildenberg, Medical Student Education Coordinator
  

The grant will support Sobecki’s ongoing research into bone loss and gynecologic cancer treatment. She will collaborate with Neil Binkley, MD, professor in the UW SMPH Department of Medicine Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology, who has a clinical and research focus on osteoporosis and sarcopenia.

Incredible work, Dr. Sobecki!

In “Trump sees budget bill promoting a baby boom. Others say more is needed.”, Senderowicz stated that any strategy aimed at fertility will ultimately sideline reproductive options:

“We just have decades and decades and decades of evidence that this is the case.”

Dr. Senderowicz also recently joined the Women’s Healthcast to talk about policies that can have an impact on reproductive choice and birth rates. In “Reproductive Autonomy in 2025”, Senderowicz shared her insights on the reproductive autonomy landscape in 2025. 

Listen to the podcast here.

Read the whole article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In the lecture, Shirey spoke about current practices and knowledge surrounding exercise in pregnancy; current guidelines for prenatal exercise; and evidence-based benefits of prenatal exercise.

Watch the whole lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Huffman joined the UW Department Ob-Gyn for gynecologic oncology fellowship in 2014 and, after several years on the faculty at the University of Arkansas, returned to the department as an assistant professor in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology in 2022.

Since returning to Wisconsin, Huffman has had an extraordinary impact on clinical education. As Director of Medical Student Education for Obstetrics and Gynecology, she has infused medical student inpatient and outpatient rotations with structure and energy that has increased engagement.

Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Dr. Huffman!

Roselaar will join the fellowship program in the summer of 2026 following graduation from ob-gyn residency.

Incredible work, Dr. Roselaar!

UW Health Fertility Care physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, and clinic staff reconnected with families who received services from the clinic. Families and children enjoyed the activities at the Madison Children’s Museum, including a face painter. Bala Bhagavath, MD, director of the Division of REI, thanked attendees for joining the event and reflected on the clinic’s growth over the last several years:

“In the past five and half years that I have been part of this team, we have grown a lot and have expanded the services we offer to our community.

We help more families undergo IVF every month; we increased the number of cancer patients we can help preserve their fertility; We have made it easy for people to access the full spectrum care they need under one roof.

We are grateful that we were able to work with all of you, but many more have not had the opportunity to access our care because of affordability.  We have the responsibility to advocate for those people – after all, our vision is that everyone deserves to have the family they desire.”

Bhagavath shared information with participants about the Building Families Alliance Wisconsin to learn more about supporting broader coverage for fertility care in Wisconsin. 

Watch a short video about the UW Health Fertility Care team here. Congratulations to all who were involved on such an incredible event! 

In the lecture, Sampene and Wallace outline the basics of quality improvement and tools; highlight the UW Department of Ob-Gyn Quality Program; and share the department’s 2025 Quality Data.  

Watch the whole lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In “Origins and Implications: Gestational anti-Müllerian hormone and testosterone excess combined with maternal adiposity program for polycystic ovary syndrome”, Abbott and co-authors propose a unifying hypothesis on the origins of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), combining high anti-Müllerian hormone, testosterone and obesity in the developmental origins and amplification of genetic variants predisposing to PCOS. The authors suggest: 

“Evidence is accumulating for fetal extra-ovarian production and action of AMH in various tissues: the brain, for survival of GnRH neurons migrating from the embryonic nose to the hypothalamus; the pituitary, for gonadotrope development; and the placenta, for optimal fetal support. In addition, PCOS risk genes, including those regulating androgen biosynthesis, are being identified in many families with PCOS, bestowing the potential for intrinsic androgen excess in the fetal ovary, adrenal, brain, abdominal adipose and pilosebaceous glands. A ‘two hit’ developmental origin may therefore promote PCOS pathogenesis during gestation when epigenetic mechanisms amplify genetically heritable traits, while accompanying metabolic perturbations, including gestational hyperglycemia, hypertension and maternal obesity, may exaggerate the phenotypic expression of PCOS.”

Read the whole study here!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

On this episode of the Women’s Healthcast, Leigh Senderowicz, ScD, MPH, and Amy Williamson, MPP, talked about the landscape of reproductive autonomy in June of 2025. Senderowicz is an assistant professor in the Division of Reproductive and Population Health and the UW-Madison Department of Gender and Women's Studies. Williamson is the associate director of the UW Collaborative for Reproductive Equity.  

Listen to Reproductive Autonomy in 2025 now. 

Did you know the Women’s Healthcast is available on all your favorite podcast platforms? Whether you like to listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, or anywhere else, you can find us! (Just search Women’s Healthcast, and while you’re at it, may as well subscribe!)  

In the lecture, Hirshberg outlined the evaluation and diagnosis of postpartum hypertension; discussed treatment of varying severity of postpartum hypertension; and identified novel approaches to surveillance and management of postpartum hypertension. 

Watch the whole lecture here. 

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Tamkus earned her medical degree from Rush Medical College, followed by ob-gyn residency at the University of Wisconsin. She graduated from residency in 2025 and will spend one year as an assistant professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn before starting URPS fellowship.  

We’re thrilled Dr. Tamkus will stay in the Department of Ob-Gyn for a few more years!

"We know that they're getting their medical information mostly from interactions with their peers and from social media. So I usually start off my conversation whenever we're talking about a procedure or something that people are worried about, and I ask them what they've seen on TikTok so that we have a jumping off point.”

Read more about O’Brien’s work in stories from outlets across the state:

UW Health pediatric gynecologist connects with patients through social media - Channel 3000

UW Health doctor helps young patients address concerns by using a popular social media app - WKOW 27

UW Health gynecologist uses social media to help patients feel more comfortable - WIFR News

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

The project “Microphysiological systems to recapitulate and interrogate Sjögren’s disease salivary gland pathogenesis” will use an in vitro bioengineered system – a specialty of Virumbrales-Muñoz’s – to model Sjögren’s disease (SjD), a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by severe oral and ocular dryness due to exocrine gland inflammation. SjD affects approximately four million people in the United States, with women being disproportionately impacted.  

Researchers will recapitulate fibrosis (scarring tissue often occurring due to inflammation) to study its effects on tissue resident cells and immune cell migration. They will also evaluate the effects of Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor therapy in normalizing the highly inflammatory tissue environment characteristic of SjD. 

Incredible work, Dr. Virumbrales-Muñoz! 

In “Monocyte chemoattractant Protein-1 (MCP-1) decreases mineralization of the villous stroma in the macaque placenta”, Keding and co-authors studied the role of a signaling protein called Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1 (MCP-1), known to attract immune cells and typically linked with inflammation. Using a rhesus macaque model, the team injected MCP-1 into the placenta during pregnancy to model "sterile inflammation", and found that:

“Although MCP-1 is typically associated with inflammation and tissue pathology, our study demonstrates that supraphysiological MCP-1 levels led to increased leukocyte clustering and reduced mineralization in the villous stroma, without impairing maternal blood perfusion or fetal growth. These findings suggest a beneficial role for MCP-1 in the context of placental function.”

These insights provide a very early, but exciting, new direction for research in this area of immune system interaction with placental function.

Read the whole study here! 

Keding successfully defended his thesis on August 15, 2025. Congratulations, Dr. Keding!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

What are your primary responsibilities in this role?

In my postdoctoral role, my key responsibilities are to gain more training and skills that will advance my career in research. Dr. Hoppe will be my primary research mentor. I will work with Dr. Hoppe and her team to support her research initiatives to improve pregnancy outcomes and enhance skills in health systems and community engaged research and implementation science methods. 

Professional background and experience: 

In May 2025 I earned my PhD in Public and Community Health from the Medical College of Wisconsin and Master of Public Health (MPH) from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Using mixed-methods approaches, my dissertation focused on the impact of racism, stress, and resilience on adverse pregnancy outcomes among African American women in Milwaukee, WI. My dissertation received national and local recognition, including the American Heart Association’s Research Supplement to Promote Diversity and MCW’s Outstanding Contribution to Public Health Dissertation Award.

Why you were interested in joining Dr. Hoppe’s research group? 

I am excited to join Dr. Hoppe's research group to collaborate with others who share a passion for improving pregnancy outcomes, gain hands on experience and contribute to meaningful work that will drive equitable healthcare and health outcomes. 

Hobbies:

I enjoy exercising and nature. 

Welcome Dr. Neal!

In “State Supreme Court rules against 1849 abortion ban”, Cutler talked about the significance, for patients and providers, of the Supreme Court’s decision, which affirms that abortions are legal following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022:

“My hope is that the repeal of this law will help providers, physicians, hospital, and health systems offer more consistent care that is aligned with our evidence-base and is patient-centered, and that is, really, in accordance with medical standards. But, it’s hard to know exactly how it will all play out again just given the multitude of state restrictions that already make it difficult for patients to access abortion care, but also providers to provide it.”

Listen to the whole interview here! 

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Queer+ Patients’ Preferences for Contraceptive Counseling and Experiences of Coercion in Contraceptive Care”, the authors seek to understand the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer+ (LGBQ+) patients with provider-based contraceptive coercion as well as their preferences for contraceptive counseling. Using the answers of a large and diverse national sample to a quantitative and qualitative survey, the research team found: 

“... LGBQ+ participants reported upward contraceptive coercion significantly more frequently than their heterosexual counterparts. LGBQ+ participants also reported different preferences for contraceptive care than heterosexual participants, both in how frequently they would like to discuss contraception with their provider and in how frequently they felt their providers had discussed contraception with them. As demonstrated in the open-ended responses, LGBQ+ participants often attributed these misalignments to heteronormative assumptions or cultural incompetence.”

Read the whole study here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In a recent article from UW Health, Laura Cooney, MD, associate professor in the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, talked about when to discuss fertility, the fertility services provided by UW Health Fertility Care for cancer patients, and the importance of mental health care for patients as they navigate options: 

“‘What’s hard about cancer is the lack of control. A lot of patients feel like cancer is taking something from them,’ said Dr. Laura Cooney, a reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist with UW Health Fertility Care. ‘Our ability to do fertility preservation is hopefully preventing cancer from taking another thing from them and increasing the chances they can have a family in the future.’”

Read the whole article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In “Madison doctor warns extreme heat can affect pregnancies”, Hanks spoke about the impacts of extreme heat on pregnant individuals, as well as how people can protect themselves from extreme heat:

“‘I graduated med school 10 years ago now, kind of the time that we were just starting to talk about climate change and how that may impact not only pregnant patients, but all of us,’ Hanks said. ‘It definitely wasn't a huge part of our medical education, unfortunately, and I still think that it's not as big a part of our education as it should be.’”

Read the whole article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

“‘I recall caring for a patient with a life-threatening complication who needed abortion care in this time. I looked around the operating room at the nurses, the anesthesia team, and feared for the patient’s safety but also my own,’ said Dr. Amy Domeyer, an OB-GYN. ‘Was this life-threatening condition life-threatening enough?’"

Read Domeyer-Klenske’s remarks in stories from outlets across the state: 

Wisconsin abortion ban, court strikes down 1849 law - Fox 6

Wisconsin Supreme Court strikes down 1849 abortion ban - Channel 3000

Is abortion now permanently legal in Wisconsin? What the Supreme Court ruling means. - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

“Under the proposed policy, patients could no longer use Medicaid to cover the reproductive healthcare they receive at Planned Parenthood. These patients would either need to find another place to obtain reproductive healthcare or go without care. Planned Parenthood clinics would have fewer resources to serve patients living with low incomes, and some clinics would likely be forced to close, leaving many people in the state, regardless of insurance status, without access to necessary care.”

Read the whole brief here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In “Chlamydia and Gonorrhea Infection Rates in Wisconsin, 2010-2022”, Jacques and co-authors aimed to analyze the incidence rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea, sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) that pose public health challenges due to their commonly asymptomatic presentation. The authors analyzed Wisconsin Electronic Disease Surveillance System data (2010-2022) to assess incidence rates of these infections by sex, age, and race, and found that: 

“Chlamydia and gonorrhea incidence rates have risen across most populations in Wisconsin but disproportionately affect Black individuals, with the largest racial disparities seen in the nation. While chlamydia rates remained stable among young females, they increased among males and older adults. Gonorrhea rates surged across nearly all groups. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to expand screening, address structural barriers to health care, and reduce disparities.”

Read the whole study here!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Jess Dalby, MD, associate professor in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health Department of Family Medicine and Community Health and medical consultant on sexually transmitted infections for the City of Milwaukee Health Department, joined the Women’s Healthcast to discuss the signs and symptoms of chlamydia and gonorrhea, the risks of untreated disease, and how to get tested and treated for common STIs.

Listen to Know Your STIs: Chlamydia and Gonorrhea now. 

Did you know the Women’s Healthcast is available on all your favorite podcast platforms? Whether you like to listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, or anywhere else, you can find us! (Just search Women’s Healthcast, and while you’re at it, may as well subscribe!)  

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Tiffany Green, PhD, associate professor in the Division of Reproductive and Population Health, became the Gloria E. Sarto MD, PHD, Chair in Women’s Health and Health Equity Research on July 1, 2024. This endowed chair supports research, education, and programs that further reproductive health equity research. Green is a nationally recognized economist, population health scientist, and science communicator who is passionate about studying, reducing, and eliminating racial and ethics disparities that exist in reproductive health.  

Janelle Sobecki, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, was honored as the inaugural Ginny Wolfe Faculty Fellow in Ovarian Cancer Research, a faculty fellowship initiated by Virginia Wolfe to support ovarian cancer research at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center. Sobecki has distinguished herself in a career devoted to women’s cancer research and care, focusing on treatment advances and survivorship issues for gynecologic cancer patients.   

Congratulations, Dr. Green and Dr. Sobecki!

Dr. Buchler grew up in Casper, Wyoming. She graduated from the Medical College of Pennsylvania, followed by obstetrics and gynecology residency and fellowship in general surgery and radiation oncology. Dr. Buchler joined the Department of Ob-Gyn faculty in 1969, where she was a sought-after physician, leading-edge researcher, and valued teacher until her retirement in 1995 from both the Department of Ob-Gyn and the Department of Human Oncology. 

She was double-board certified in ob-gyn and radiation oncology, and her gyn onc patients greatly benefited from her expertise. Dr. Buchler was dedicated to improving gynecologic cancer care, pushing the field forward throughout her career. She revolutionized radiation treatments for cervical cancer. Her research on high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy, later called the “Madison system”, made it possible for cervical cancer patients to receive their treatment in outpatient settings, rather than requiring admission into the hospital. 

Dr. Buchler was a fierce advocate for her patients and a frank, honest teacher and mentor. After retirement, Dr. Buchler endowed the Dolores A. Buchler, MD Professor of Gynecologic Oncology to support a young surgeon with a passion for research and educating a new generation of doctors. Lisa Barroilhet, MD, MS, director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, is the first professor to hold that chair. She shared a reflection of Dr. Buchler: 

“I am fortunate to have an Endowed Professorship that was supported by such a "giant" in our field.

I was lucky enough to get to know Dee over the last 8 years, since she began supporting my research. We would meet for lunch at Monty's Blue Plate Diner and share many, many laughs about training as gyn oncs and defying expectations of those around us. She was a true pioneer and although she was always humble, she was aware of her impact and the number of trainees she had influenced. 

Dee believed in my research more than I did. She KNEW I would get independent funding and was unbelievably encouraging, even during rough patches. She gave me great mentoring advice and helped me right-size my laboratory. Even though she had not been practicing for some time when we met, her guidance was timeless. I will genuinely miss spending time with her.

Thank you, Dee, for all you have done for me, the department, and women's cancer care. Your legacy will live on in the many advances for which you were responsible.” 

All are invited to a memorial service for Dr. Buchler on Thursday, June 26, 11am at Oakwood Village-Prairie Ridge, Tree of Life Chapel, 5565 Tancho Drive, Madison. You can read more about Dr. Buchler’s life and legacy here. 

You can support the Dolores A. Buchler, MD Professor of Gynecologic Oncology fund at the University of Wisconsin Foundation in Dr. Buchler’s honor. 

In “Abortion bans harm care for pregnancy problems, UW-Madison study says”, Cutler and Higgins talk about the disparities in care for pregnancy complications across different parts of Wisconsin:

““Those of us leading the study, who also practice in Wisconsin, had been seeing on the ground ourselves that pregnant Wisconsinites facing the same unfortunate pregnancy complications could be receiving really different care with potentially really different outcomes, all because they found themselves at different hospitals in our state,” Cutler said. 

A patient with pregnancy complications might receive timely and adequate care at one hospital, while down the road another patient with the exact same condition may be given no care at all, said Jenny Higgins, director of the UW’s Collaborative for Reproductive Equity.”

Read the whole article here. 

Bozzuto will use the RoWHS funding for the project “Patient and provider decision making about ovarian function suppression methods for young breast cancer survivors.” For the year of the program, Bozzuto will have 75% protected time for research and career development activities.  

The RoWHS program is funded by the School of Medicine and Public Health. It provides interdisciplinary career development opportunities for a unique cohort of early career faculty to foster their successful transition to independent funding in women’s health research and sex differences research. 

Incredible work, Dr. Bozzuto!

In “State health officials urge kids, pregnant women to get COVID-19 vaccine despite federal pullback”, Domeyer talked about COVID-19 vaccination recommendations for pregnant individuals amidst the new change in federal guidance regarding the vaccine:

“‘We know the COVID vaccine is safe in pregnancy — that research and data has not changed. We know pregnant individuals are at higher risk due to COVID,’ Domeyer said. ‘I convey to my patients, 'My goal is for you to have the safest, healthiest pregnancy possible. For that reason, I, as your doctor, recommend the COVID vaccine.’"

Read the whole article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In “Optimizing region of interest size and placement for clinical opportunistic CT trabecular bone Hounsfield unit measurements”, Sobecki and co-authors aimed to evaluate the optimal size/placement of computed tomography (CT) region of interests (ROIs) to obtain Hounsfield unit (HU) data. After the analysis of 60 CT scans, the researchers found that:

“...non-radiologists can reliably identify the vertebral body centroid on axial and sagittal CT views, which measure HU on axial and sagittal CT imaging. As use of opportunistic CT increases clinically, it may be beneficial for non-radiologists to be comfortable measuring HU on CT scans obtained for other purposes. This would allow non-radiologists to estimate bone loss and fracture risk for patients in their practice. This could be beneficial in a variety of clinical contexts including orthopedics, oncology, and other clinical scenarios where patients are at high risk for bone loss or fracture and undergo routine CT imaging for other purposes.” 

Read the whole study here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

In “New bill would require menopause education from health care providers”, Bozzuto discussed the basics of menopause and its outcomes, the variety of treatment options, and the importance of menopause education:

“‘It’s important to remember and realize that half of the population is going to experience this at some point and this is a natural process that happens just like puberty. But there’s no fourth grade health class for menopause, other than coming to your doctor with questions. Hopefully having more educational materials available will help.’”

Read the whole article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Bharucha presented the poster “Progression free survival as a surrogate end point of overall survival in randomized controlled trials of ovarian cancer maintenance therapies.” 

Incredible work, Dr. Bharucha! 

Hutcherson shared some reflections of her academic journey:  

Why were you interested in your research topic? 

When I was an undergrad, I was doing research through the Ronald E. Mcnair Scholars program. Through that, I did a summer program at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities with the chair of neuroscience there, Dr. William Engeland. And then I kind of got hooked on research. From there, I did some research with animal models, including lampreys and rats.  

When I came to UW-Madison for graduate school, I had this animal model experience and I planned to work in a lab doing research with rats. Circumstances changed, and I ended up working on a PCOS project that included a monkey model.  

When I started on that project, this protein [antimullerian hormone] wasn’t well known, it was thought to be only in males. Over the 21 years, though, this has become a really prominent conversation and clinically relevant protein. So I've been able to grow with this this work throughout this time. 

This has been a 21-year journey – I started graduate school in 2003, then I had my son, then I ended up getting sick. All this life happened between starting grad school and finishing my master's this year. My thesis topic was a culmination of like this journey of looking at a protein that wasn't well known, and then over time, being a part of the cutting edge of a discovery of a protein that was not only found in women, but is probably one of the most important hormones above some of the hormones we've been studying in women's fertility. 

What lessons will you carry forward from your research? 

I persevered through this degree because I was actually dealing with the issues I was studying. The master's degree has been less about the actual degree and more about understanding what it means to be a patient in the healthcare system, and not from a theoretical perspective. It influenced my research and then also will fuel my PhD. 

I continue to use these experiences of being chronically ill disabled in my research, in how I'm approaching administration, how I'm teaching the med students. In fact, before lectures I usually start with a story. But what they don't know is that happened to me, the story I’m sharing is my own. And I found that it humanizes the data. It humanizes the process. And so I think I've been able to use what would be seen as an adverse experience, and I've been able to apply it in a way that helps shape the minds of the next generation of scientists and physicians and that helps reshape our system and how it operates. 

What is next on your academic or professional horizons? 

I’ll be working on a clinical investigation PhD from the UW-Madison Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, with Dr. Tiffany Green as my professor. We’re looking at Black maternal health, preeclampsia, morbidity, and ways to improve early detection for preeclampsia. I’ll be looking at this from the perspective of a reproductive biologist, but also as a patient and as an administrator, bringing the biology and the patient experience and the administrative logistics all together to help us better care for preeclampsia. 

My goal after that is to go to medical school and pursue a career in pathology.  

Any special shout-outs or thanks to faculty, staff, other members of the department who shaped your experience here? 

I wouldn’t be alive without Dr. Dave Abbott and Dr. Dan Dumesic – they coached me and supported me through all my health issues. 

Dave Abbott has got to be the best scientific mentor on the planet. Not only is he a brilliant, internationally renowned scientist, he is the absolute best teacher. He’s also an incredibly compassionate person, he and his family are so genuinely kind. He made sure I could continue my program through all this time. When I wasn’t sure why I was sticking with this, he reminded me that I was finishing this program while working full time, while raising a child, and while sick. 

I'll also shout out Ian Bird, I remember getting an email from him when I had to take a break. He told me, “When your life allows, you're going to be really successful in this space.” I held on to that in these gaps – it's not that I wasn't smart enough to be a scientist, but that life circumstances didn’t give me the time or the mental space.   

Dr. William Engeland at the University of Minnesota gave me some advice that shaped my parenting. He told me, “If you choose this path and you're successful, you're going to be tempted to put your career first. I'm going to encourage you to put your family first.” When I had to decide my priorities when I had my son, I didn't have to ask that question to myself because I'd already gotten this wisdom of someone who had already lived this life. And now, my son’s in college, I’m able to focus on my training without guilt.  

Congratulations, Beverly! 

Aleks Stanic-Kostic, MD, PhD, served on the Program Committee and the poster award judging panel.  

Oral Presentation (Immune (Dys)regulation of the Endometrial Environment session): 

NK cell trafficking to the decidua is associated with T-bet transcription factor modulation - Mona Mohamed, Jessica Vazquez, Sophia Beaulieu, Aleksandar Stanic-Kostic 

Abstracts: 

Connecting Placental Pathology and Perfusion in the Rhesus Macaque - Logan T Keding, Ruo-Yu Lui, Crystal Bockoven, Oliver Wieben, Aleksandar K Stanic – Keding received the 3rd Place Poster Award for this abstract! 

Neutrophils Drive the Formation of Bronchus-Associated Lymphoid Tissue (BALT) and Progressive Obstetric Lung Injury in Mice with Thrombophilia - Michelle M Castillo, Emmanuella Dwomo Agyei, Sarika Gunjan, Katelyn M Storage, Aleksandar Stanic-Kostic, Rashmi Sood 

Maternal MPXV Infection Disrupts the Decidual Immunome - Jessica Vazquez, Ann Mitzey, Aleksandar K Stanic, Emma Mohr 

Single Cell Analysis of the Inflammatory Programming of Ovarian Follicles in PCOS - Andrea K Wegrzynowicz, Soma Banerjee, Emily Grimes, Riley Huddleston, Fernanda Leyva Jaimes, Laura Cooney, Aleksandar Stanic-Kostic 

MCP-1 Treatment Induces Clustered Pattern of Immune Cells in the Trophoblastic Shell of the Cynomolgus Macaque Placenta - Jessica Dorobek, Emily Bove, Logan Keding, Jessica Vazquez, Aleksandar Stanic-Kostic  

Investigating Immunological Changes at the Feto-Maternal Interface in a Murine Model of Placental Abruption - Sarika Gunjan, Mona A Mohamed, Emmanuella Dwomo Agyei, Michelle M Castillo, Katelyn M Storage, Fernanda B Leyva Jaimes, Jessica Vazquez, Aleksandar Stanic-Kostic, Rashmi Sood 

Designed for pregnant people and the people who support them, this series will empower individuals to make informed decisions about their health. The series is supported by Unite WI and Healthy Start and led by experts from UW School of Medicine and Public Health Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. People interested in attending can register for any or all of the sessions using this survey. 

All webinars will be held via Zoom from 5:30-7:30pm:

• June 30 - Pregnancy foundations: Changes and connections – Kara Hoppe, DO, PhD 
• July 7 - Perinatal mood disorders and substance use - Jacquelyn Adams, MD, MS 
• July 14 - Common pregnancy conditions – India Anderson-Carter, MD 
• July 21 - Hypertension during pregnancy – Kara Hoppe, DO, PhD 
• July 28 - What shapes our health? Lifestyle and social influences on health – Krissy Alaniz, PhD; Megan Knutson-Sinaise, MS; Melissa Neal, MD 

Podium presentations: 

Partnering with Community and Applying Evidence to Advance Reproductive Health - Tiffany Green, PhD, associate professor in the Division of Reproductive and Population Health, chaired a podium session focused on how the Dobbs decision and subsequent health care and policy decisions have affected person-centered reproductive health care.  

Contraceptive Method Switching Among Texans in Response to SB8 – Taehyun Kim, PhD, postdoctoral scholar in the UW Collaborative for Reproductive Equity (co-author) 

Lower Obstetrician and Gynecologist (OBGYN) Supply in Abortion-Ban States, Despite Minimal State-Level Changes in the 2 Years Post-Dobbs – Ellen Schenk, MPP, data analyst in the Reproductive Equity Action Lab (co-author) 

Posters:  

Health Services Utilization in Older Adults with Dual Sensory Impairment – Erin Nelson-Bakkum, AuD, Clinical Research Billing Compliance Specialist 

Evaluation of Federal Investments in Rural Residency Development As a Solution to the National Health Workforce Shortage – Ryan Spencer, MD, MS, associate professor in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology (co-author) 

Effect of Medicaid Coverage for Abortion on Economic Outcomes in Illinois – Taehyun Kim, PhD (co-author) 

Identifying Geographic Gaps in the Clinical Workforce Providing Contraception to Medicaid Beneficiaries, 2019 & 2020 - Ellen Schenk, MPP (co-author) 

Post-Event Session:  

Phase 2 and 3 Meeting – led by Kathy Stewart, MD, Phase 2/3 Director 

Posters: 

Mobile Health Mindfulness-Based Intervention Decreases Stress and Burnout in Residents - Bridget Kelly, MD, Sydney Tan, MD & Amy Godecker, PhD 

Let’s Knock Down Some Walls! Remodeling Clinical Training Assessments to Reveal Expectations & Equity - Ashley Kuhl, MS CGC, Laura Birkeland, MS CGC, Kirstin AM Nackers, MD 

Implementation of Peer-led Preparatory Sessions to Supplement Transition to Clerkships - Jinan Sous, BS; Elizabeth Fasbender, BS & Katharina Stewart, MD 

Incredible work, all!

John Gravelle, MD

Where will you be going and what will you be doing after residency? 

I will be rejoining my partner and two children in Appleton after we have spent the last year apart. We will be taking a 3-week road trip to California this summer. Once the summer festivities are over, I will be joining Women's Health Specialists in the Appleton/Neenah area.

What was your proudest accomplishment during residency? 

My proudest accomplishment during residency was facilitating the success of the medical students and junior residents with whom I worked. Seeing their joy of achievement and discovery sustained me through the hardest parts of residency.

How do you feel UW Ob-Gyn prepared you for success after residency? 

This department prioritizes excellence in patient care. It also centers the residency program. The residents are empowered to own and carry out this excellence from day one, and it is this responsibility that prepares us to be effective clinical care leaders after graduation.

What will you miss most about UW Ob-Gyn, Madison, and/or your time in residency? 

I will miss the community I was a part of during my residency. While I know the deep connections I forged will continue beyond residency, the entire community I will be leaving is worth mourning. It's everyone. Co-residents, attending physicians, nurses, scrub techs, environmental services staff, the cashier at the cafeteria. I will miss them all. 

Any special shout-outs or thanks to faculty, staff, other residents who really shaped your time here?

A special shout out to Jenny Karnowski, who pushed me to achieve things beyond what I thought I was capable of. Shout out to Abby Cutler, whose paradigm of empathetic patient care I will model and try to emulate for the rest of my life. And shout out to Laura Hanks, who is illustrious and inimitable. Shout out to Bridget Kelly for her tireless support and consideration of me and my co-residents. We are incredibly fortunate to have such a caring program director.

Jackie Luthardt, MD

Where will you be going and what will you be doing after residency? 

General ob-gyn practice in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Ankitha Madde, MD 

Where will you be going and what will you be doing after residency? 

General ob-gyn practice in Connecticut.

Ben Pickus, MD

Where will you be going and what will you be doing after residency? 

I will be staying at Madison as a generalist with the University of Wisconsin. 

What was your proudest accomplishment during residency? 

The relationships I've made with my co residents. 

How do you feel UW Ob-Gyn prepared you for success after residency? 

I feel very lucky to have the training I've received. 

What will you miss most about UW Ob-Gyn, Madison, and/or your time in residency? 

My co residents and friends I have made among the way. 

Any special shout-outs or thanks to faculty, staff, other residents who really shaped your time here? 

Thanks to everyone who has helped me get to this point!

Carrie Sibbald, MD

Where will you be going and what will you be doing after residency? 

I will be moving to Columbus, Ohio to start a fellowship in MFM at The Ohio State after I graduate.

What was your proudest accomplishment during residency? 

My proudest moment in residency was matching to my #1 MFM fellowship! 

How do you feel UW Ob-Gyn prepared you for success after residency? 

UW Ob-Gyn does a fabulous job preparing residents for the intensity and complexity of practice after residency and I think is one of the best programs to prepare residents surgically. 

What will you miss most about UW Ob-Gyn, Madison, and/or your time in residency? 

I will miss all the people at UW the most after I leave! Special shout outs to my amazing mentors throughout the journey: Dr. Kelly and Dr. Spencer as amazing PDs, Dr. Rhoades as my MFM mentor, Dr. Adams as my research mentor, Dr. Karnowski as my surgical and global health mentor, and Dr. Gaston for his unwavering and unconditional support of us all.

Saule Tamkus, MD

Where will you be going and what will you be doing after residency? 

I will be working as a Generalist at University of Wisconsin ASOG and then hopefully starting urogynecology fellowship as I am applying now. 

What was your proudest accomplishment during residency?

Being able to walk one of our amazing interns through their first laparoscopic hysterectomy. It was a full circle moment that allowed me to reflect on how much I have learned in residency. 

How do you feel UW Ob-Gyn prepared you for success after residency?

I am incredibly grateful for our robust surgical experience and feel confident to step up to independent practice. 

What will you miss most about UW Ob-Gyn, Madison, and/or your time in residency?

I will miss the family feel of the residency, but am happy to have the opportunity to continue working with UW Ob-Gyn and residents as faculty. 

Margaret Williams, MD 

Where will you be going and what will you be doing after residency? 

I will be headed to the University of Chicago for fellowship next year. 

How do you feel UW Ob-Gyn prepared you for success after residency?

I am so grateful for my training at UW and feel incredibly well prepared for the next chapter of my career. Thank you to everyone for your mentorship, kindness, and friendship over the past 4 years. 

The ceremony started by celebrating service milestones, including both service in the Department of Ob-Gyn and at the University of Wisconsin or UW Health overall. Service years at UW/UW Health in parentheses:

Five Years:

• Bala Bhagavath, Professor (5)
• Deborah Chasman, Scientist II (15)
• Chelsea Gatica, Medical Program Assistant (5)
• Tiffany Green, Associate Professor (5)
• Bridget Kelly, Assistant Professor (5)
• Bailey Schuldt, Medical Program Assistant (5)
• Amanda Wildenberg, Health Professions Education Coordinator (5)

10 Years:

• Aleksandar Stanic-Kostic, Associate Professor (10)
• Robin Wasielewski, Senior Clinical Research Coordinator II (10)
• Amy Williamson, CORE Associate Director (20)

15 Years:

• Jay Lick, Clinical Professor (15)

30 Years:

• Ian Bird, Professor (30)

Length of Service at UW Health:

Five Years:

• Emelle Holmes-Drammeh, PA
• Joanne Martin-Koob, PA

10 Years:

• Kristina Krueger, NP

15 Years:

• Denise Fryzelka, CNM

MEDICAL STUDENT AWARDS

DR. SAMUEL G. PERLSON SCHOLARSHIP – Louisa Keenan, MD; Kaitlyn Landry, MD

This award goes out to one or more fourth year medical students planning to pursue a career in Ob-Gyn who have demonstrated outstanding abilities as a scholar and outstanding humanistic qualities.

T.A. LEONARD AWARD – Dylan Kernan

The T.A. Leonard Award is given to one or more medical students in recognition of exemplary performance on their third year Ob-Gyn rotation. 

MEDICAL STUDENT EDUCATOR AWARD FOR RESIDENT TEACHING – Margaret Williams,  MD

This award is given to an Obstetrics and Gynecology resident, selected by 3rd and 4th year medical students, who exhibits a high interest in teaching, actively involves students in patient care, teaches at an appropriate level, is respectful, approachable, honest, and is a great role model. 

WMAA 2024 OUTSTANDING RESIDENT TEACHING AWARD – Rusha Bajpai, MD

Voted on by all UW SMPH fourth-year medical students for the most exceptional resident teacher in any area from across the entire statewide campus.

RESIDENCY AWARDS

CHIEF RESIDENT RECOGNITION – John Gravelle, MD (Administrative Chief Resident), Carrie Sibbald, MD (Administrative Chief Resident), Margaret Williams, MD (Education Chief Resident)

For service as chief residents, academic year 2024-25.

UW HEALTH INTERDISCIPLINARY GLOBAL HEALTH TRACK RECOGNITION – Carrie Sibbald, MD

Given to a graduating resident upon the completion of the Global Health Track.

UW HEALTH RURAL TRAINING TRACK RECOGNITION – Jackie Luthardt, MD

Given to a graduating resident upon the completion of the Rural Training Track. 

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT CHIEF RESIDENT RECOGNITION – Kharmen Bharucha, MD

For service as quality improvement chief resident, academic year 2024-25.

RESIDENT CREOG AWARD – Jeannette Larson, MD

Awarded for the highest exam score on the annual CREOG In-Training Examination.

NUMAN AL-NIAIMI RESIDENT AWARD IN SURGICAL EXCELLENCE – Rusha Bajpai, MD

Awarded to a PGY-3 or 4 resident for the most outstanding surgical article.

BEN M. PECKHAM AWARD – John Gravelle, MD

Awarded to a senior resident for excellence in the teaching and clinical practice of Ob-Gyn, as voted by the residents.

SOCIETY OF GYNECOLOGIC ONCOLOGY (SGO) AWARD – Rusha Bajpai, MD

Awarded to a PGY-3 who best exemplifies the qualities of the mission and vision of SGO.

SOCIETY FOR ACADEMIC SPECIALISTS IN GENERAL OBSTETRICS & GYNECOLOGY (SASGOG) AWARD – Margaret Williams, MD

Awarded to a PGY-4 who has distinguished themselves academically and demonstrates an interest in a career as an Academic Specialist.

AMERICAN UROGYNECOLOGIC SOCIETY (AUGS) AWARD – Naomi Roselaar, MD

Awarded to a PGY3 resident who demonstrates a commitment to the care of women with pelvic floor disorders and to incorporating quality of life improvement into clinical care of patients.

SOCIETY FOR MATERNAL-FETAL MEDICINE (SMFM) AWARD – Alma Farooque, MD

Awarded to the PGY-2 resident who best exemplifies the qualities of the vision of the SMFM to improve pregnancy and perinatal outcomes.

SOCIETY FOR REPRODUCTIVE ENDOCRINOLOGY AND INFERTILITY (SREI) RESIDENT AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN REPRODUCTIVE ENDOCRINOLOGY AND INFERTILITY – Christina Dudley, MD

Awarded to a PGY-3 resident who demonstrates commitment and excellence caring for women in the field of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, and shows a special interest, dedication, and commitment to learning in the field of human reproduction.

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF GYNECOLOGIC LAPAROSCOPISTS (AAGL) AWARD – Naomi Roselaar, MD

Given to a PGY-3 resident with special excellence in endoscopic procedures.

BEST CONSULTING RESIDENT PHYSICIAN AWARD – Margaret Williams, MD

Awarded to a PGY 2, 3 or 4 who exemplifies significant consulting physician skills.

RYAN PROGRAM RESIDENT AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FAMILY PLANNING – Margaret Williams, MD

Awarded to the resident who best exemplifies the dedication to service, training, and education in contraception and abortion that characterizes the Ryan Program.

RESEARCH AWARDS

DOUGLAS W. LAUBE BEST TRAINEE PAPER AWARD – Sejal Sharma; Siyan Zhang

For the best peer reviewed paper by a graduate student dissertator or medical fellow.

ROLAND K. MEYER, PhD GRADUATE TRAINEE AWARD – Marcela Ambrogi, DMV, PhD

Awarded to the graduate student dissertator showing the most scientific productivity and scholarly activity.

CHESTER B. MARTIN, MD, GRADUATE TRAINING PROGRAM MENTORSHIP AWARD – Maria Virumbrales-Munoz

Awarded to faculty or staff that has had the most impact on graduate student degree-related training. 

PHILLIP R. HAMILTON III, MD RESIDENT RESEARCH AWARD – Carrie Sibbald, MD

Awarded to the senior residents demonstrating the best effort in research.               

DEPARTMENT ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF AWARDS

OB-GYN SUPPORT STAFF RISING STAR AWARD – Rani Achhireddy

In recognition of a staff member who has been with the department 3 years or less who is emerging as a leader and whose record reflects ongoing and exceptional growth in contribution to the department mission.

JENNIFER STEVENS AWARD IN SUPPORT STAFF LEADERSHIP AWARD – Carly Johnson

In recognition of staff who display exemplary leadership skills, positive influence on colleagues, and an ability to affect change in support of the department’s mission and vision.

OB-GYN SUPPORT STAFF EXCELLENCE AWARD – Natalie Duerst; Amanda Wildenberg

In recognition of outstanding staff who routinely and regularly exemplify the mission of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology through excellent performance and customer service.

ADVANCED PRACTICE PROVIDER AWARDS

APP/CNM EXCELLENCE AWARD – Melanie Hall, NP

This award recognizes outstanding PA, NP, or CNM who routinely and regularly exemplifies the mission of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

APP/CNM UNSUNG HERO AWARD – Hannah Copp, CNM

This award recognizes an outstanding PA, NP, or CNM whose contributions often go unrecognized within the organization. Their remarkable acts of compassion, perseverance, and selflessness have a significant impact on patients, team members, and others with whom they work.

RESIDENT FACULTY RECOGNITION AWARDS

JOHN M. ANDERSON, MD MEMORIAL AWARD – Kim Bannon, MD

For demonstrating the traits of Dr. Anderson: patience, integrity and compassion in the care of women.

KIMBERLEY J. MILLER-THORESON COMPASSIONATE COLLEAGUE AWARD – Molly Lepic, DO

For demonstrating the traits of Dr. Miller-Thoreson showing respect, compassion, dedication and unending support towards their colleagues and trainees.

DOLORES A. BUCHLER AWARD – Patrice Grzebielski, MD 

For excellence in instruction at the senior resident level.

KARL A. RUDAT AWARD – Camille Ladanyi, MD

For excellence in surgical teaching at the senior resident level. 

FACULTY & FELLOW RECOGNITION AWARDS

LAUREL W. RICE OUTSTANDING FELLOW EDUCATOR AWARD – Scott Infusino, MD

Given to one fellow for excellence in resident education.

ST. MARY’S ADJUNCT FACULTY EDUCATOR AWARD – Talya Spivak, MD (SSM Health)

Selected by the residents for excellence in resident education.

MERITER ADJUNCT FACULTY EDUCATOR AWARD – Isabel Nellen, DO (Madison Women's Health)

Selected by the residents for excellence in resident education.

SOCIETY FOR ACADEMIC SPECIALISTS IN GENERAL OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY (SASGOG) AWARD – Molly Lepic, DO

National faculty award for excellence in clinical care of women, mentorship and career development of academic specialists, and research/scholarship in general obstetrics and gynecology.

SABINE DROSTE AWARD – Molly Lepic, DO

The Sabine Droste Award is selected by the junior residents for a faculty member who demonstrates excellence in instruction at the junior resident level.

ELLEN HARTENBACH AWARD – Caroline Cox, MD

Selected by the residents and given annually to the faculty member who has made the greatest contribution in simulation education.

CREOG FACULTY AWARD – Molly Lepic, DO

National faculty award for excellence in resident education.

APGO EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING AWARD – Laura Cooney, MD

Awarded to a faculty member who demonstrates excellence in teaching, with an emphasis on undergraduate medical education.

LUIS “BEN” CURET AWARD IN OB-GYN EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE – Neha Bhardwaj, MD, MS (University of Chicago)

This award honors one individual who demonstrates a true passion for education. This awardee is selected by colleagues and recognizes one who exhibits compassion, patience, and respect for all learners and goes above and beyond expectations to create a positive educational experience within the discipline of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Where will you be going and what will you be doing after UW Ob-Gyn?

I will be starting a second fellowship in Fetal Therapy at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

What are the most important things you learned during your fellowship?

Who you surround yourself with is really important. That was one of the main reasons I wanted to match for fellowship at the University of Wisconsin. I always enjoyed working in the department, and having such a great environment was really motivating.

How do you feel UW Ob-Gyn prepared you for success after fellowship?

The department really focuses on fellow education and the faculty always give us the opportunity to be involved and have a meaningful role in interesting cases - whether in the operating room or in ultrasound.

What will you miss most about UW Ob-Gyn and/or Madison?

I'm going to miss the people the most. Madison was also such a great place to live, and I've enjoyed my time here for the last 3 years. The bike trails are second to none!

Any special shout-outs or thanks to faculty, staff, other trainees who really shaped your time here?

Thank you so much Dr. Rhoades for giving me the opportunity to train at such a great place. Thank you Dr. Igor for your mentorship during my time here. Thank you to my other MFM attendings for your support and guidance over these past 3 years. Thank you to my co-fellows for your support and friendship.

Where will you be going and what will you be doing after UW Ob-Gyn?

I'm heading to Milwaukee to join Froedtert-Medical College of Wisconsin where I'll primarily be doing Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery!

What are the most important things you learned during your fellowship?

Honestly, so much! The top few are: listening to patients and learning how to take care of even the most complex patients; feeling more confident surgically - especially for more complicated cases; learning how to be a good consultant and supporting colleagues; thinking critically and delivering evidence-based care; and building resilience!

How do you feel UW Ob-Gyn prepared you for success after fellowship?

In addition to the things I mentioned above, I got a ton of hands-on experience paired with increasing independence, which is key for success after fellowship. Plus, after my training here, I feel more confident about continuing research and teaching in my own academic career. 

What will you miss most about UW Ob-Gyn and/or Madison?

I will miss the people!

Any special shout-outs or thanks to faculty, staff, other trainees who really shaped your time here?

One big shout out to my co-fellows, the residents, all of the staff who make up the UW Ob-Gyn department, and of course, the Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery! The support I've gotten over the last seven years will stick with me forever!

Where will you be going and what will you be doing after UW Ob-Gyn?

I will be joining the faculty at the University of Virginia. 

What are the most important things you learned during your fellowship?

I've learned how important it is to work as a team, especially when you're taking care of others. And when given the opportunity you should always try to eat your lunch. 

How do you feel UW Ob-Gyn prepared you for success after fellowship?

My training at UW has given me a depth of experience in gyn cancer, and being a member of a larger community of practitioners dedicated to enhancing care for women in Wisconsin has made me really grateful for the culture and collaboration available in our department. I'm excited to get to work. 

What will you miss most about UW Ob-Gyn and/or Madison?

I will miss all my friends and mentors; everyone who makes this place special. I'll miss the lakes and the food and the summer time here, but the people most of all. 

Any special shout-outs or thanks to faculty, staff, other trainees who really shaped your time here?

The entire Division of Gynecologic Oncology, my co-fellows past and present, and my co-residents, some who have stayed and some who have gone elsewhere, who have supported me through my fellowship. Special shout out to Dr. Huffman's dog Riley too obviously, she is my emotional support dog (that is not really my dog).

Katie O’Brien, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, helps kids and families in her pediatric and adolescent gynecology clinic feel more prepared for periods. She joined this episode of the Women’s Healthcast to talk about what periods are, how to choose the right period products for you, when to get help for heavy or painful periods, and more. 

Listen to Preparing for Your First Period now! 

Did you know the Women’s Healthcast is available on all your favorite podcast platforms? Whether you like to listen on  Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, or anywhere else, you can find us! (Just search Women’s Healthcast, and while you’re at it, may as well subscribe!) 

Cutler was invited to give the Elliot Silbar Endowed Lecture during the event. She presented “Dobbs Downstream: Unpacking the Impact on Medical Education.” 

Incredible work, Dr. Cutler! 

In the lecture, Gravelle identified key historical and contemporary events driving medical mistrust in ob-gyn; described how systemic inequities and biases in reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare continue to perpetuate mistrust; assessed the role of social media and misinformation in amplifying mistrust toward medical institutions; and shared trust-building strategies at the bedside and within broader clinical and policy system. 

Watch the whole lecture here.  

The Physician Leadership Development Program (PLDP)is a UW Health initiative designed to equip physicians with the leadership skills necessary to navigate the challenges of academic medicine. The program empowers participants with vital tools for building trust, sustaining teams, influence, conflict resolution, and leading strategic change. 

As part of the program, Wallace will participate in live courses on leadership development, building effective teams, conflict resolution, strategic change, and more. All participants complete a group project during the program. 

Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Dr. Wallace! 

The article “Integrated Specialty Care for Women: Combining Clinical Care, Research, and Training to Best Meet Patient Needs” outlines the beginnings of the ISCW program, the benefits to patients and providers of working in a multidisciplinary setting, how ISCW contributes to the research and teaching missions of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, and more:  

“We are preparing the next generation of pelvic floor doctors, and ISCW is providing an incredibly robust educational experience,” says Pennycuff. “Because gynecology, urology, and colorectal surgery are all integrated within this fellowship, our trainees receive a holistic, patient-centered view of urogynecologic care. Our fellows take that model of care with them to patients in our state and region after they graduate.” 

Read the whole article here!  

At the conference, Patankar presented as part of the seminar session Benefits and Bugbears of Modeling Endometriosis Outside of the Human Body: 

Mediobasal Hypothalamic Knockdown of ESR1 in Female Rhesus Macaques Increases Incidence of Endometriosis and Endometriosis-Associated Ovarian Neoplasms - M Patankar, S Rush, M Willging, S McGregor, H Simmons, R Harris, N Boonpattrawong, R Muthuswamy, A Fagan, P Weisman, A Kapur, R Welch, I Ong, M Newton, S Banerjee, J Kemnitz, J Levine, J Rogers, D Abbott 

He also brought a poster:  

Developing Novel Therapies Against Endometriosis Through Inhibition of Oxidative Phosphorylation - M Patankar, A Kapur, N Boonpattrawong, S Sharma, S Banerjee, S Ericksen, M Virumbrales Munoz, L Barroilhet, B Bhagavath 

Incredible work, Dr. Patankar and co-authors! 

In the lecture, Wagar described new advances in treatment, evaluation, and surgical management of gynecologic malignancies; discussed how advances in cancer treatments often exacerbate and create new care inequities; identified specific examples of care disparities that exist and are at risk of exacerbation due to advances in gynecologic cancer management; and summarized risk mitigation strategies at the individual, institutional, and systemic level to prevent growth in care gaps in gynecologic cancers. 

Watch the whole lecture here.  

Poster: Loss of GATA2 promotes invasion and predicts cancer recurrence and survival in FIGO stage I uterine serous carcinoma - Usha S. Polaki, Trey E. Gilpin, Apoorva T. Patil, Emily Chiu, Paula M. Manan Mejias, Pei Hui, Maria Virumbrales-Muñoz, Lisa Barroilhet, Stephanie M. McGregor, Emery H. Bresnick, Daniel R. Matson 

Poster:  Atovaquone upregulates PD-L1 expression via activation of the ATM/ATR DNA damage response pathway - Sejal Tarun Sharma, Maria Virumbrales-Munoz, Mayra Betancourt Ponce, Lisa Barroilhet, Manish Patankar 

Poster: Modelling the heterogeneity of high grade serous ovarian tumors in 3D to study its metabolic response to atovaquone - Paula M. Manan-Mejias, Nicha Boonpattrawong, Manish Patankar, Maria Virumbrales-Muñoz 

Poster: IL6/1 fusion cytokine as a novel adjuvant for manufacturing of T cells for the treatment of ovarian cancer - Sejal Tarun Sharma, Rahul Das, Lisa Barroilhet, Manish Patankar, Jacques Galipeau 

Poster: Inhibition of oxidative phosphorylation leads to immunogenic cell death in ovarian cancer - Mayra A. Betancourt Ponce; Nicha Boonpattrawong; Alex J. Fagan; Manish Patankar; Lisa Barroilhet 

Incredible work, all!  

Wegrzynowicz received the award for the presentation Unique Immune Dysregulation in the Polycystic Ovary, mentored by Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility faculty Aleksandar Stanic-Kostic, MD, PhD, and Laura Cooney, MD.

Wegrzynowicz shared a description of her research:

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder among reproductive-age females and a leading cause of infertility. While PCOS is known to impact ovarian function, it remains unclear how inflammation in the PCOS ovary differs from chronic systemic inflammation. Dr. Wegrzynowicz hypothesizes that the PCOS ovary is uniquely dysregulated—distinct from both systemic circulation and non-PCOS ovaries—and that hyperandrogenism and obesity drive this dysregulation. Using single-cell RNA sequencing with surface proteome analysis (CITE-Seq), she compared immune cells in peripheral blood and follicular fluid from PCOS and control patients undergoing IVF. Her findings reveal that the ovulating ovary is naturally inflammatory and that this inflammation is uniquely dysregulated in PCOS, suggesting a tissue-specific immune environment that may impair ovulation beyond hormonal changes.

Incredible work, Dr. Wegrzynowicz!

The article "Support services help April through breast cancer treatment" includes details about her successful egg retrieval and the options for future parenthood that are open to her because of it:

“Premo remains grateful she was consulted about fertility options right after diagnosis, even though it felt a bit overwhelming at the time.

“I think bringing that up immediately is very, very important,” she said.”

Read the whole story from UW Health here. 

Betancourt Ponce shared some reflections on her time in the Barroilhet Lab and the Department of Ob-Gyn:

Why were you interested in the research happening in the Barroilhet Lab?

I was really interested in the research projects in the lab, which explore the intersection between cancer biology, immunology, and metabolism. I was also excited by the opportunity to develop a translational research project with implications for ovarian cancer treatment. 

What lessons will you carry forward from your work in the Barroilhet Lab?

I grew so much in the Barroilhet Lab, both professionally and personally. From learning different lab techniques and engaging in scientific communication to developing leadership and communication skills, I know these experiences will stay with me throughout my career.

Any shout-outs or thanks to faculty, staff, other members of the research lab who shaped your experience?

I want to sincerely thank Lisa, Manish, and María for their guidance and constant support. I learned so much from each of them and feel lucky to have their mentorship. I'm also grateful to all past and current lab members - it was a wonderful group to learn and grow with. I already miss the lab!

Congratulations, Dr. Betancourt Ponce!

The annual Undergraduate Symposium showcases undergraduate creativity, achievement, research, service-learning and community-based research from all areas of study at UW–Madison including the humanities, arts, biological sciences, physical sciences, social sciences, and computer data and information sciences. 

10-Minute Presentations:

• Does Ovarian Estradiol Influence the Degree of NPS Innervation in the Hypothalamus Of Female Mice? - Lillian Marrah, Leah Laeuger (David H. Abbott, Daniel J. Uhlrich)
  
• Identifying Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in Rhesus Macaques - Jacob Blanchar (David Abbott) 
  
• Impact of Estradiol on Hypothalamic NPS Innervation in Female Mice - Brandon Simpraphone (David Abbott)
  
• Role of Estradiol in Reward-Related Behaviors in Female Rhesus Macaques - Tyra Kuchler, Makayla Eugene, Grace Nwankwo (David Abbott, Emily Greinwald) 
  
• Neuro-Estradiol Plays a Key Role in Sexual Behavior in Female Rhesus Macaques - Lamees Elhassan, Mohima Sinthi Aich (David Abbott, Emily Greinwald
  
• Ovarian Follicular Growth Patterns in Hyperandrogenic Rhesus Macaques with PCOS Phenotypes - Suzanne Oriel, Lucie M. Hickey, Sadie M. Larson, Grace M. Kim (David Abbott) 
  
• Overexpression of DENND1A.V2 Protein in Ovarian Theca Cells Demonstrated in Female Rhesus Monkey Model with Naturally Occurring Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) - Ella Albrecht (David Abbott)
  
• CYP17A1 Protein Expression in Ovarian Follicle Theca Cells as a Biomarker for Ovarian Hyperandrogenism in Naturally Hyperandrogenic Female Rhesus Monkeys With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome-Like Traits - Anna Just (David Abbott) 
  

Posters:

• The Role of Estrogen in Shaping Female Sexual Behavior - Alexis Ridenour (David Abbott)
  
• Neuroestrogen Contributes to Female Sexual Receptivity in Adult Female Rhesus Monkeys- Kangyu Huang (David Abbott, Emily Greinwald) 
  
• MCP-1 Treatment Induces Clustered Pattern of Immune Cells in the Trophoblastic Shell of the Cynomolgus Macaque Placenta - Jessica Dorobek (Jessica Vazquez, Logan Keding)
  
• Behavioral Aspects of High Testosterone in Female Rhesus Macaques Emulating Polycystic Ovary Syndrome - Ella Weber, Natalia Badillo (David Abbott) 
  

Congratulations, all!

In the lecture, Luthardt summarized the history of rural maternal and infant health, discussed rural maternity care deserts and the various obstetrics factors that affect access, and examined solutions to improve maternity care in rural locations.

Watch the full lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Margareta Pisarska, MD, director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Cedars-Sinai, kicked off Department Research Day with the keynote presentation How Infertility and Treatments Can Affect Human Placenta Function.

In her presentation, Pisarska identified different types of adverse pregnancy outcomes related to infertility, explained how the placenta contributes to adverse pregnancy outcomes, and discussed new scientific tools that study the role of the placenta.

Graduating maternal-fetal medicine fellow Scott Infusino, MD, followed with the presentation Fetal Cerebral Doppler in Late Onset FGR and Preeclampsia.

Next, graduating urogynecology and reconstructive pelvic surgery fellow Ushma Patel, MD, presented her research project Duration of Use of a Digital Therapeutic for Fecal Incontinence: A Randomized Non-Inferiority Trial.

Matt Wagar, MD, graduating gynecologic oncology fellow, presented his project Progression Free Survival as a Surrogate End Point of Overall Survival in Randomized Controlled Trials of Ovarian Cancer Maintenance Therapies.

Following the fellow presentations, Abigail Cutler, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, presented research on the impacts of the Dobbs decision: "The law is uninterpretable": Experiences of Obstetrician-Gynecologists Providing Pregnancy Care in a Post-Dobbs Wisconsin.

Luca Clemente, PhD, research associate in the Division of Reproductive Sciences, presented Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines Shift Endothelial Cells Toward an Immunomodulatory Phenotype—Implications for Preeclampsia.

To round out Department Research Day presentations, postdoctoral research scholar Taehyun Kim, PhD, from the UW Collaborative for Reproductive Equity, presented Effects of Medicaid Coverage for Abortion.

Throughout the event, posters from more than 20 researchers were on display in the Health Sciences Learning Center atrium. Andrea K. Wegrzynowicz, PhD, researcher in the Stanic Lab in the Division of Reproductive Sciences, received the Best Poster award for the poster Role of the Ovarian Immune Environment in Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.

Incredible work, all! You can watch the 2025 Department Research Day presentations here.

In early May 2025, UW Health published the story Rare cancer disrupts Lydia's newborn baby bliss, covering a local patient’s experience with choriocarcinoma, an uncommon diagnosis. In the story, Barroilhet talked about the challenges of navigating a new cancer diagnosis shortly after becoming a parent:

“"She's a new mom. This is already such a hard time in her life," Barroilhet said. "She had this amazing pregnancy and has this amazing son and now is going to have to really derail what we all imagine our postpartum maternity time to be like — those hopes and dreams you have for that time.””

Read the whole story from UW Health here. Statewide and national media picked up the story, including many Wisconsin outlets and People Magazine:

Mom Was Overjoyed After Welcoming Son. 9 Days Later, Doctors Found a Tumor in Her Placenta - People

Sun Prairie woman celebrates Mother’s Day cancer-free after rare diagnosis - WMTV-15 News 

Wisconsin mom celebrates Mother’s Day after receiving rare cancer diagnosis post-childbirth - Channel 8000 

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Dr. Wagar on the Use of T-DXd in Patients With HER2+ Endometrial Cancer,” Wagar recommended that healthcare providers testing or working with endometrial cancer should use HER2 testing is early as possible, and explained how HER2 positivity used gastric cancer criteria, which is different from uterine cancer standards.

“I would [advise colleagues] to always think about requesting HER2 testing from the get-go for patients with endometrial cancer. If you’re concerned [that a patient might] have an aggressive phenotype and worried about their response to systemic therapy, having that information ahead of time [could allow you to quickly] switch [therapies based on a patient’s treatment] trajectory,” said Wagar.

Read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Debunking misinformation about abortion-related maternal mortality in Africa,” Wendland and co-authors noted how misinformation in Africa about abortion that justifies its restriction and criminalization increases the continent’s rates for maternal mortality and morbidity, exacerbate risks for young, rural, poor, and unmarried women, and undermining gender equity.

“Families and communities suffer when pregnant people die or are sickened, stigmatised, prosecuted, or jailed for exercising their bodily autonomy. Faced with this reality, activists strongly opposed to abortion legalisation but committed to saving women’s lives and promoting family wellbeing might sign on to the movement for decriminalisation (Hefez et al., Pizzarossa et al.). Removing criminal penalties for seeking abortion will help epidemiologists to gather more reliable information on maternal mortality generally, and abortion-related mortality specifically.”

Read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Maternal health care in Wisconsin and the future of Medicaid,” Spencer talked about challenges with rural maternal care in Wisconsin, disparities in pregnancy risk across the state, and more:

“I think we’re actually in the long-term impacts of having not addressed those for decades,” he said. “Any expansion to Medicaid is highly likely in any given area or state to improve access that women have to prenatal care, intrapartum care, and postpartum care.”

Read the full article here. Watch Spencer discuss the challenges many communities encounter when ob-gyn physicians leave here. 

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Study: Varying abortion care directives confuse Wisconsin doctors, jeopardize patient health,” Cutler talked about a new study focused on documenting changes to clinical practices and how pregnancy complications were managed across Wisconsin after Dobbs.

“Our ability to access needed health care cannot come down to something as arbitrary as your ZIP code, whether that’s the state or the county you happen to live in. I would like it to be clear that abortion is considered to be part of normal health care that a patient who is pregnant might need or want for any number of reasons, and that it really cannot be legislated because every individual patient comes with their own set of needs.”

Read the full article here.

**by Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Amy Domeyer-Klenske, MD, director of the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, planned the annual conference as part of the Scientific Program Committee.  

Ryan McDonald, MD, professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, represented the UW Department of Ob-Gyn on the ACOG Continuing Medical Education Committee.  

Posters: 

The impact of Dobbs on management of early pregnancy problems among Wisconsin OBGYNs: A scenario-based pilot survey study - Naomi Roselaar, MD; Amy Godecker, PhD; Abigail S. Cutler, MD, MPH

Experiences of Obstetrician-Gynecologists in a Post-Dobbs Wisconsin: Establishing a Critical Evidence Base in an Abortion-Restricted State - Corinne M. Hale; Laura Jacques, MD; Eliza Bennett, MD; Jenny A. Higgins, PhD, MPH; Abigail S. Cutler, MD, MPH 

The impact of Dobbs on management of pregnancy of unknown location and perceived patient experience according to Wisconsin OBGYNs: A pilot survey study - Naomi Roselaar, MD; Amy Godecker, PhD; Abigail S. Cutler, MD, MPH

Endometrial Evaluation in Patients with a History of Tamoxifen Use: Is An Evidence-Based Approach Utilized? - Nicolette Codispoti MD, MS, MPH; Rachel Mojdehbakhsh, MD, MS; Matthew Wagar, MD; Lisa Barroilhet, MD, MS; Laura M. Bozzuto, MD, MS

Incredible work, all! 

In “UW Health team successfully saves woman from life-threatening pregnancy condition,” for Channel 3000, Bailey discussed the risk factors associated with placenta accreta, saying, “there has been a big movement within the world of OBGYN to really be thoughtful about when C sections are performed, and really trying to find that balance of minimizing any sort of risk to the pregnant patient while ensuring that we don't put the baby at any risk either.”

For WIFR, in “’We’re lucky’ Wisconsin mom grateful for care after rare complication during pregnancy,” Bailey and her UW Health team were credited for their care and expertise in Taryn Apodaca’s complications with placenta accreta.

In “Woman tells her story after receiving life saving treatment from UW Health, Meriter during her pregnancy,” Bailey told WKOW that, “in Taryn’s case, we realized we would need to put her under and remove her uterus. We did the surgery to make sure she was going to be there for all of her kids.”

Read the full articles here:

Woman tells her story after receiving life saving treatment from UW Health, Meriter during her pregnancy - WKOW

‘We’re lucky’ Wisconsin mom grateful for care after rare complication during pregnancy - WIFR

UW Health team successfully saves woman from life-threatening pregnancy condition - Channel 3000

The WMAA Emeriti Faculty Award recognizes outstanding service to the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. It is awarded to emeriti faculty in the Basic and Clinical Sciences who have exhibited exceptional commitment to the school over a period of years. 

Rice was nominated for her 15 years of service as department chair, during which time she built a remarkable team of providers and support staff focused on playing a pivotal role in advancing women’s health through clinical excellence, education, discovery, and advocacy. She led the department to its first top 10 placement in the annual U.S. News and World Report’s Best Hospitals ranking list. Her leadership extended well beyond the department, including multiple roles with the UW-Madison Athletic Board, on the UW Hospitals and Clinics Board of Directors, Senior Leadership Council, and East Campus Executive Steering Committee, and on the UW Medical Foundation Board of Directors and Funds Oversight Committee among others. 

Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Dr. Rice! 

In “Researchers just identified blood markers that could change the game for perimenopause,” Bozzuto focused on how small, dense, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (sdLDL-C) blood markers could be used to by health care providers to proactively predict perimenopause, especially for younger patients trying to navigate fertility decisions.

“People who go through menopause before age 45 also have increased risks of things like heart disease, dementia, and osteoporosis—so we could also intervene sooner if we knew that was going to occur,” said Bozzuto.

Read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Changing direction: More rural hospitals ending labor and delivery services,” Spencer discussed the variety of reasons why labor and delivery services in more rural parts of the state are becoming less available, like farther distances needed to access care and low Medicaid reimbursement rates.

“We have seen rural health systems face several challenges in maintaining labor and delivery services. The farther women live from a location that provides labor and delivery services, the higher the chances are of an out-of-hospital birth and increased risk for peri‑birth complications for both the mom and the baby,” said Spencer.

Read the full story here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Wisconsin media shared updates about the program, including interviews with Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Director Bala Bhagavath, MD, and REI fellow Jayapriya Jayakumaran, MD:

Reproductive endocrinology and fertility fellowship with UW Health expands access to care – WIFR

REI Care Fellowship at UW Health helps families get access to fertility care services – Channel 3000

UW Health: Reproductive endocrinology and infertility fellowship making impact in Wisconsin – WMTV 

UW-Health announces new fellowship to help fertility care – WEAU

UW Program Focuses on Fertility – 715 Newsroom 

UW Health is touting the impact of Wisconsin’s first reproductive endocrinology and infertility fellowship program, one of about 50 in the country. – Wisbusiness

Residents led breakout groups on vaginal delivery, pelvic exams, and suturing. Students who joined also got to take home a suture kit for more practice. 

Thanks to our residents for hosting such an important event! 

Vakili received his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, followed by obstetrics and gynecology residency at ChristianaCare in Newark, Delaware. He completed urogynecology fellowship at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center.

He joins us from ChristianaCare in Delaware, where he was the medical director of the Center for Urogynecology and Pelvic Surgery from 2007-2025 and vice chair of gynecologic surgery from 2011-2025. In those roles, he started the ChristianaCare Urogynecology Division, developed specialty clinics in pelvic pain and sexual health, mentored gynecologic surgeons, and led all initiatives regarding gynecologic surgery. He is a respected educator, receiving multiple APGO Excellence in Teaching Awards throughout his career. Dr. Vakili’s robust research career has generated dozens of peer-reviewed publications and presentations at national conferences.

Vakili is the first-ever ISCW Medical Director, stepping into a role created to support the new program at Eastpark Medical Center. As ISCW Medical Director, Vakili will be the physician leader of the specialized services within the program, providing oversight to medical and surgical services. His leadership will be essential to maintaining high-quality clinical operations, seamlessly integrating educational and research efforts, and developing effective plans for future growth as we launch this distinctive program. He will report to the UW Health Chief Clinical Officer in this role.

Please help us welcome Dr. Vakili to the department, to UW Health, and to Wisconsin!

• Jessica Vazquez, PhD, moderated the session Immune Cell Programming and Consequences.  
• Sathish Kumar, DVM, PhD, moderated the session Developmental Programming II.  

Oral Presentations:

Maternal Biology and Health: Pregnancy-Specific Programming of Hypertension and Vascular Dysfunction in Postpartum Rats Exposed to Gestational Intermittent Hypoxia. Ruolin Song, Pankaj Yadav, Alissa Hofmann, Jay Mishra, Sathish Kumar 

Developmental Programming I: Elevated Maternal Testosterone Induces Neurodevelopmental and Behavioral Deficits in Rat Offspring. Sathish Kumar, Jay Mishra  

Preeclampsia I: PFAS Exposure Impairs Vascular Function in Placental Chorionic Plate Arteries and Increases Preeclampsia Risk. Pankaj Yadav, Alissa Hofman, Ruolin Song, Jay Mishra, Sathish Kumar - Winner of Kusum Lata Excellence Award 

Reproductive Biology II: Serial Intravascular Labeling Highlights Tissue Residency Alterations in Trafficking NK Cells during Pregnancy. Mona A Mohamed, Jessica Vazquez, Fernanda Leyva Jaimes, Aleksandar K Stanic 

Summary: During pregnancy, natural killer (NK) cells—key players in the immune system—support healthy development by helping reshape the blood vessels that nourish the placenta. However, how these cells move in and out of the uterus has remains poorly understood. Mona Mohamed and colleagues in the Stanic lab used a novel technique called serial intravascular labeling to track NK cell movement in pregnant mice. This allowed them to identify which immune cells are circulating, entering, or staying in uterine tissue throughout pregnancy. They discovered that decidual NK cells change their behavior and surface features at different stages of pregnancy, especially around mid-gestation, when they show signs of becoming more "resident" in tissue and alter their cell surface receptors which govern leukocyte migration and residency. These findings offer new insight into how the immune system adapts to support pregnancy and could lead to better understanding—and potentially prevention—of pregnancy-related complications. 

Posters: 

Preeclampsia, Related Disorders: Sexually Dimorphic Regulation of MiR-29a/c-3p in Human Endothelial Cells. Si-yan Zhang, Chi Zhou, Jing Zheng 

Preeclampsia, Related Disorders: Cytokine-Induced Changes in Endothelial Cell Gene Expression May Promote Preeclampsia via Th1 and Th17 Signaling. Luca Clemente, Ian M Bird, Derek S Boeldt 

Reproductive Biology: Serial Intravascular Labeling Suggests a Quiescent Near-Term Decidua in the Non-Human Primate Model. Jessica Vazquez, Ann Mitzey, Thaddeus Golos, Aleksandar Stanic 

Preeclampsia, Related Disorders: Longitudinal Serum Biomarkers Through 10 Days Postpartum in Patients with and without Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy. Jeannette M Larson, Fernanda B Leyva Jaimes, Sophia J Beaulieu, Natalia Gontarczyk Uczkowski, Amy Godecker, Janine S Rhoades, Aleksandar K Stanic 

Reproductive Endocrinology, Infertility: Role of the Ovarian Immune Environment in Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Andrea Killian Wegrzynowicz, Soma Banerjee, Fernanda Leyva Jaimes, Laura Cooney, Aleksandar K Stanic 

Maternal Biology, Health: PFOS Impairs Insulin Secretion and Glucose Tolerance during Pregnancy via Reduced cAMP Production in Pancreatic β-Cells. Alissa Hofmann, Pankaj Yadav, Ruolin Song, Jay Mishra, Sathish Kumar 

Congratulations to all!  

In “Polycystic ovary syndrome: an evolutionary metabolic adaptation”, Abbott and co-authors explore PCOS as an ancestral primate trait that, in humans, likely underwent relatively recent preferential selection when scarcity of food in hunter-gatherers of the Pleistocene selected for enhanced fat storage and insulin resistance as a survival advantage to maintain glucose homeostasis for brain and reproductive function.  

As an evolutional model for PCOS, healthy normal-weight women with hyperandrogenic PCOS have subcutaneous (SC) abdominal adipose stem cells that favor exaggerated lipid accumulation during adipocyte development in vitro accompanied by reduced systemic insulin sensitivity and preferential accumulation of highly lipolytic intra-abdominal fat. Programmed by genetic inheritance and epigenetic events during early life, such a metabolic adaptation in PCOS, provides a balance between enhanced SC adipose fat storage and increased circulating glucose and free fatty acid availability as energy substrate for crucial target tissues. The accompanying increased muscle strength and oligo-anovulation in PCOS women of antiquity also enabled sustained energy use during endurance activities in combination with greater time as a rearing advantage for children and a lower risk of maternal mortality.  

Heritable PCOS characteristics that originally evolved in primates as a genetically and epigenetically enhanced metabolic adaptation to favor fat storage now predispose to lipotoxicity and pregnancy complications, calling for improved preventive healthcare, with early lifestyle and therapeutic choices to optimize the long-term health of PCOS women and their children in today’s obesogenic environment. 

Read the whole article here. Incredible work, Dr. Abbott! 

Wendland was celebrated for her unique perspective on the complex relationships involved in practicing medicine on people around the world, as well as many years of uplifting students and fellow faculty members by creating spaces for research collaborations and community building.   

Congratulations for this well-deserved honor, Dr. Wendland! Read more about the 2025 Hilldale Award winners here.  

As an editorial fellow, Gelissen will learn about journal operations, work on projects with international colleagues, and learn and share the latest findings in gynecologic oncology through the IJGC’s publications, podcasts, and journal clubs. 

Incredible work, Dr. Gelissen! 

The GFEC exercises the powers of the graduate faculty with respect to establishing, reviewing and modifying graduate degree programs, named options, doctoral minors, graduate/professional certificates, and capstone certificates. This 16-member committee sets standards for admission and degree requirements; engages in strategic planning discussions around issues like graduate student recruitment, professional development, and learning outcomes; and more.  

Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Dr. Patankar! 

Janelle Sobecki, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, served on the Research Retreat steering committee.

Abstracts presented at the retreat:

Basic Science: Development of a new 3D Microfluidic Model of STIC Lesions. Yalmarie Numan-Vazquez, Finnbar Reed-McBain, María Virumbrales-Muñoz

Population Science and Other: Linking Heterogenous Radiation Therapy to Dose Dependent Gene Expression Changes Through Deep Neural Network based Dosimetry from Spatial Transcriptomics. Zachary M. Danaceau, Justin Jagodinsky, Jessica M. Vera, Jessica Miller, Zachary Morris, Irene M. Ong

Population Science and Other: Overall survival following primary debulking surgery versus neoadjuvant chemotherapy in advanced ovarian cancer patients by frailty status. Minh Tung Phung, Britton Trabert, Ronald Gangnon, Amy Trentham-Dietz, Lisa M. Barroilhet

Translational Science: Treatment of ovarian cancer via combination radio- or chemotherapy with PARP-targeted radiopharmaceutical therapy. Taylor Johnson, Manish Patankar, Paul Ellison

Translational Science: Harnessing Electronic Health Records Data to Expedite the Diagnosis of Early-Stage Ovarian Cancer. Aurod Ounsinegad, Aubrey Barnard, Rene Welch, Jesus Gonzalez-Bosquet, Peter Argenta, Manish Patankar, Irene M. Ong

Translational Science: Biochemically-Informed Multimodal Learning for Immune Recognition Prediction with position-specific peptide analysis. Tapanmitra Ravi, Irene M. Ong

Incredible work, all! 

In “Crossing Lines: How abortion bans are reshaping medical training and practice,” Cutler mentioned how the UW Department of Ob-Gyn residency program saw an 8% decrease in applications between 2022 to 2023, and a 15% decrease from 2023 to 2024. She also talked about how the department shifted to training residents out of state in order to make sure they graduated in compliance with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) standards.

“Our residents rightly worried about how they were going to acquire the requisite clinical skills to provide comprehensive abortion, miscarriage, and other obstetrical care. They also expressed distress over the fact they were learning to care for patients not based on evidence-based medicine and guidelines but rather based on concerns about what kind of healthcare was legal,” said Cutler.

Read the full story here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “New cuts to the nation’s family planning program will worsen access to contraceptive care in Wisconsin,” CORE discussed the implications such decreases in funding have for Wisconsin families, as Title X provides important contraception services to families and limits the financial strain on clinics providing sexual and reproductive health care services.

“These shifts in policy treat reproductive health services more as a political issue than essential healthcare. The latest actions will cause even more harm to Wisconsinites and people nationwide who need access to family planning care.”

Read the full brief here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Report sheds like on struggles of doctors, patients after fall of Roe v. Wade,” Cutler talked about her article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which found that pregnant patients received less-than-adequate care after Roe v. Wade was overturned. She also mentioned how this reality relates to a Wisconsin law from 1849 that some interpreted as criminalizing abortion.

“One of the most alarming things that emerged was that there was a total lack of clear, consistent guidance across the state regarding how this 1849 law should or shouldn't apply to actual clinical practice,” especially for doctors working patients over previable preterm premature rupture of membranes (previable PPROM).

Read the full article here (login required).

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Maternal-fetal medicine fellow experience in the first year of training compared to interview expectations based on interview modality,” Rhoades, Infusino and co-authors evaluated how accurately fellow candidates can judge their fellowship experience based on virtual interviews.

“We found no difference in the actual experience in the fellowship program matching expectations whether the interview was in person or virtual. We also found no difference in satisfaction with the fellowship program between interview modalities. Overall, the interview experience, program overview presentation, and recommendations from faculty mentors remain highly influential on fellows’ perceptions of a program regardless of interview modality.”

Read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Caroline Cox, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, was selected in early 2024 to lead the (SGS) Pelvic Anatomy Group Digital Library. She presented an update on the group’s new anatomy website. The mission of the group is to advance the field of gynecologic surgery through research and education on pelvic anatomy.   

Oral Presentation:

Randomized Controlled Trial of Postoperative Standardized Counseling Regarding Return to Sexual Activity After Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery. Kim-Fine S, Caldwell L, Long J, Hudson P, Husk K, Heisler C, Lozo S, Lyer S, Meriwether K, Demtchouk V, Antosh D, Rogers R. 

Posters:

• Implementation of a Postpartum Urinary Retention Protocol.  Warner, K, Avery, G, Pinto A, Heisler C 
• App-based Interventions for Fecal Incontinence: App Usability, User Engagement, and Global Improvement. Patel U, Keyser L, Brown H, Giles D 
• Saving Time and Money: The Impact of Streamlining Preoperative Testing Guidelines. Dixon A, Patel U, Cox C, Heisler C 

Incredible work, all!

In the lecture, Pickus examined the current stage of climate change and how it affects the patient population in regards to obstetrics and gynecology, explained current mitigation plans, current actions, and future steps related to climate change and being an Ob-Gyn.

You can watch the full lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In the lecture, Madde demonstrated the clinical utility in bedside screening and imaging to determine various maternal conditions regarding maternal safety, identified the criteria necessary to move a patient to the ICU, examined systems-based strategies and challenges to maternal care in areas with minimal resources, and addressed maternal trauma and post-ICU recovery.

You can watch the full lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Residents Navigating Moral Distress After the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Decision,” Cutler and co-authors interviewed 21 obstetrics and gynecology residents working in states with restrictions on abortion, in an effort to learn how they mitigated moral distress in their training.

“Overwhelmingly, residents expressed appreciation for proactive efforts of faculty and institutions to help mitigate moral distress and noted when such efforts were absent or fell short of expectation. They desired unambiguous statements of opposition to abortion restrictions from their institutions, transparent communication from institutional leadership, and tangible resources to help them navigate a post-Dobbs landscape.”

Read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Immunotherapy Continues to Redefine Treatment Considerations in Advanced/Recurrent Endometrial Cancer,” Wagar talked about how recent advancements in treatment options like immunotherapy can greatly help chemotherapy for metastatic or recurrent endometrial cancer.

“The integration of immunotherapy into the adjuvant treatment realm drives home the importance of staging and having access to someone capable of performing these staging procedures for these patients … if [clinicians decide] to go one step further and do a full lymphadenectomy, including pelvic lymph node dissection, can be helpful to help risk stratify some of these patients. We are seeing a dramatic effect with the integration of immunotherapy, particularly when these patients are adequately staged.”

Read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In the lecture, Grimes touched upon her own research journey as well as who is involved in Ob-Gyn research and how faculty members can cooperate effectively during this process.

You can watch the full lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Adnexal mass referral patterns in Gynecologic Oncology,” Bajpai, Rose, and co-authors sought to determine how many adnexal mass referrals to Gynecologic Oncology meet standards set out by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). They hypothesized that the increased proportion of referrals that meet the ACOG criteria may be due to increased scrutiny on the part of gynecologic oncologists.

“Improved scrutiny of adnexal mass referrals could decrease the number of benign cases evaluated by Gynecologic Oncology, helping preserve resources for patients with higher risk of malignancy.”

Read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Experiences of Obstetrician-Gynecologists Providing Pregnancy Care After Dobbs,” Cutler and co-authors analyzed how the 2022 Dobbs decision affected the ability of ob-gyns in Wisconsin to provide adequate health care to patients with pregnancy risks or complications.

“In this qualitative study of OB-GYNs practicing in an abortion-restrictive state, threat of criminalization in post-Dobbs Wisconsin resulted in uncertainty and confusion for OB-GYNs and worse care for pregnant patients … these experiences, which contribute to a critical evidence base on the harms of abortion restrictions, are relevant to states facing similar bans that criminalize or restrict health care.”

Read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “The Future of Birth Cost Recovery in Wisconsin,” Green and REAL co-authors discussed the implications of Wisconsin’s Birth Cost Recovery program and the issue it poses for families, and why Governor Tony Evers’ plan to eliminate it will be widely beneficial.

“Ending Birth Cost Recovery across the state may reduce harm on Wisconsin families and result in more child support money going to children and their custodial parent. The largest administrative barrier to ending Birth Cost Recovery in Wisconsin, loss of funding for county-level child support agencies, can be overcome by implementing the budget proposal, ensuring that county child support agencies remain fiscally solvent to carry out their mission.”

Read the full brief here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

During the rotation, Sibbald worked with the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital’s Department of Ob-Gyn, participating in both inpatient and outpatient care. During her elective, Sibbald focused on teaching bedside ultrasound skills to junior trainees at the teaching hospital.

Dr. Sibbald shared personal reflections from her time in the Gambia:

Rotation at Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, Banjul, The Gambia

February 17-March 14, 2025

It’s easy to focus on the differences between practicing in a low resource area and the hospital in America where I grew accustomed to the vast support and systems that we have at our disposal. It’s easy to focus on the challenges, the lack of availability, the lack of personnel, faculty, and staff, and the stark differences in the cases, burdens, and outcomes seen at the hospital. Every day, with every experience, the differences are overwhelming, especially in the seemingly insurmountable challenges that the teams there face every day. On the surface, what’s most noticeable is what isn’t there. All paper charts, disorganized and excessively difficult to find any information in, lack of any IV pumps, a single ultrasound for the entire department, hand written orders for labs, imaging, and medications that had to be taken by the family to be paid for and performed at an outside facility and brought back, minimal prenatal care, limited preventative care, limited hospital bed space, electricity that can go out at a moment’s notice, even during surgery, few nurses, a single CTG machine for all antepartum and intrapartum patients, not even sheets or pillows for any of the beds. The list could go on for a long time.

I came into the rotation with only my own training, expecting to be able to use the quality education that I’ve received over the past 3.5 years to take care of patients, provide perspective, and teach where I could. This expectation wasn’t wrong, exactly, but it quickly became apparent that a large amount of what I learned and how I practiced in the United States had to be thrown out the window as the setting, more than just the resource challenges, dramatically affected the approach to care at the hospital. I was flabbergasted at how quickly and how often the providers jumped to cesarean section, for indications that I’ve never used myself in my own training, and how resistant they were to opting for induction of labor instead. After a couple weeks on the labor ward, it made sense. With 7 beds on the labor ward, widespread uncontrolled hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, oftentimes limited prenatal care, late term and post term pregnancies the norm, and virtually no access to CTG or any available staff to monitor it, induction of labor would be an incredibly risky endeavor for both the mother and the baby. It made sense that their criteria for induction, and especially for TOLAC, is very strict and more often than not they lean towards cesarean delivery instead. 

The conservative approach pervaded all the patient care, with decisions to deliver earlier than we typically would in the US, prescribing only some of the tests so that patients could afford it, even only providing medical management of miscarriage under direct supervision in the hospital. Despite this, the outcomes were exceptionally poor. I estimate a third of the pregnancies that came to the hospital were IUFDs, with placental abruption, severe preeclampsia, and eclampsia all common. We had five deaths during my 4-week rotation, more than I have had in four years at UW, and more fetal deaths than I could count. Every death presented to the hospital too late to be able to do anything about it, indicating the drastic need for systemic improvements to earlier access to care. 

Despite the challenges, frustrations, and sad outcomes, the people I had the privilege of working with were incredible. The term the “Smiling Coast of Africa” is well named, and everyone was exceptionally kind wherever I went. The teams were amazing to work with and were eager to accept and incorporate me, and I was impressed by the knowledge level of the medical students and senior residents. They truly do remarkable medicine for the situation and resources that they are given, and I learned so much in providing flexible and innovative medicine pivoted to the circumstances of each patient. My short 4 weeks forever changed my perspectives of ob/gyn and approach to caring for patients, particularly regarding consideration of external contexts.

In “Doctors see influx of requests for long-acting reversible contraception,” Hanks talked about recent contraceptive trends after the Dobbs Decision and the November 2024 presidential election.

"I will tell you that we all received an email within the first month after Trump was elected, asking if we would be willing to open up more clinic time to accommodate the huge influx of requests for lark and permanent sterilization.”

She also talked about how to effectively manage pain before and after an IUD insertion.

You can read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Your patient’s menopause symptoms could be a warning sign for something worse,” Bozzuto acknowledged that menopausal symptoms can be different for every patient, making it important for them to be aware of their symptoms and at what time they should seek professional guidance, in case something more serious is going on.

“It can be confusing whether something is just abnormal bleeding that occurs with the perimenopause transition, vs something that’s more concerning like postmenopausal bleeding.”

You can read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

• Hannah Ahrendt – Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
  
• Matida Bojang – Medical College of Wisconsin
  
• Michelle Breuer (Rural Track) – Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine
  
• Sarah Dzubay – Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine
  
• Justin Henningsen – University of Vermont College of Medicine
  
• Sanaya Irani – University of Michigan Medical School
  
• Kia Gianni Thigpen – University of Washington School of Medicine
  
• Alexander Zhang – University of Colorado School of Medicine
  

We can't wait to welcome them to our department in June 2025!

Focused Forum presentation:

Ultrasonography based measurements of endometrial thickness in patients with p53 abnormal endometrial carcinomas  - Matt Wagar, MD (co-authors Mojdehbakhsh, RP, Reetz, E, Huang, D, Kao, MJ, Al-Niaimi, AN, Gontarczyk Uczkowski, N, Godecker, AL, Barroilhet, LM, McGregor, SM)

Posters: 

Government Funding for Uterine Cancer Research Lags Behind Rising Incidence – Rachel Mojdehbakhsh, MD, MS (co-authors Wagar, MK, RP, Gontarczyk Uczkowski, N, Godecker, AL, Spencer, RJ)

An intervention to improve rates of code status discussion and documentation for gynecologic oncology inpatients – Aaditi Naik, MD (co-authors Montemorano, L, Kaur, S, Godecker, AL, Kushner DM)

Development and initial clinical testing of a multiplexed circulating tumor cell assay in patients with epithelial ovarian carcinoma as a predictive biomarker of optimal cytoreduction - Matt Wagar, MD (co-authors Schehr, J, Hintz, AM, Montemorano, L, Mojdehbakhsh, RP, Gontarczyk Uczkowski, N, Godecker, AL, Zhang, RZ, Huffman, LB, Lang, J, Hartenbach, EM)

Matt Wagar, MD, gynecologic oncology fellow, served on the 2025 Annual Meeting Program Committee. Wagar is also a member of the SGO Communications Committee.

Incredible work, all!

This award recognizes outstanding clinician leaders who have built exemplary professional relationships, who prioritize exceptional, patient-centered care, and who have made measurable contributions to clinical practice at UW Health.

Adams joined the UW Department of Ob-Gyn in 2017 as a fellow in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine. She joined the division faculty in 2020 following graduation from MFM fellowship. She became co-chair of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services Maternal Mortality Review Team in 2023.

In nomination materials, Adams was praised as a leader in improving maternal health outcomes in the Department of Ob-Gyn, UnityPoint Health-Meriter Hospital, and the state of Wisconsin. Janine Rhoades, MD, director of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, said this:

“Dr. Adams led development of HOPE kits to provide UnityPoint Health-Meriter patients with practical lifesaving tools and information on connections to a Peer Recovery Coach. Successful dissemination and implementation included developing workflow processes for distribution of these kits, and comprehensive education for all OB staff and providers encouraging broad distribution of these resources to their patients. Dr. Adams initiated a community collaboration and is the primary outreach provider at a Lac du Flambeau clinical site which largely focuses on prenatal care for patients with substance use disorder. Recently, Dr. Adams recruited a first nations member from Bad River to coordinate group recovery and peer counseling services supporting the Lac du Flambeau community Opioid Overdose Prevention and Education Project.”

Dr. Adams will be celebrated at the 2025 UW Health Physician Excellence Awards Ceremony on May 21, 2025. Congratulations on this well-deserved honor!

The Osher Collaborative offers specialized advanced training in integrative health. The goal of the Faculty Fellowship is to develop highly skilled leaders and clinicians in integrative health. The Faculty Fellowship expands integrative health expertise, fostering an accessible and comprehensive network of integrative care, education, and scholarship. Over the course of the year-long program, scholars are encouraged to develop their individual interests in integrative health.

Incredible work, Dr. Ladanyi!

In Healthy Heart, Healthy Parent, Hoppe described the origins of STAC and the program’s trajectory, beginning as a seed grant in 2017 to becoming the standard of care at UnityPoint Health-Meriter Hospital for patients with high blood pressure during pregnancy or delivery:

“It’s the largest [postpartum blood pressure monitoring] program across Wisconsin and one of the biggest in the country too,” says Dr. Hoppe. “And it was all because I felt [there] was a problem with the way we were caring for people and there was a solvable answer. I think it’s the wave of the future.”

Read the whole story here!

This award recognizes an outstanding educator working with residents, medical students, as well as other interdisciplinary team members, patients and families. Recipients must demonstrate exceptional and measurable contributions to clinical practice and education at UW Health.

Huffman joined the UW Department Ob-Gyn for gynecologic oncology fellowship in 2014, and returned to the department as an assistant professor in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology in 2022.

“Dr. Huffman created a standard laparoscopic curriculum that she herself oversees, instructs our students on week to week and provides them with evaluations and formative feedback. This has allowed for our division to provide equitable feedback and perspective on a student’s ability to acquire new procedural skills – an ability that is paramount to developing the next generation of OBGYNs. This change in our curriculum has been so well received that Dr. Huffman has been invited to present this novel approach to procedural learning at the national Association for Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics (APGO) Faculty Development Seminar this month, placing UW and our department in national spotlight,” Matt Wagar, MD, said in his letter of recommendation for Huffman.

Dr. Huffman will be celebrated at the 2025 UW Health Physician Excellence Awards Ceremony on May 21, 2025. Congratulations on this well-deserved honor!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Doctors see influx of requests for long-acting reversible contraception,” Hanks mentioned how LARCs and permanent sterilization rates have increased since the US Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in 2022. A recent study found a 106% increase in permanent sterilization rates in the year after Dobbs.

While there is not current data on requests for LARCs or permanent sterilization since the November 2024 presidential election, Hanks shared anecdotal evidence of increased desire for these methods.

"I will tell you that we all received an email within the first month after Trump was elected, asking if we would be willing to open up more clinic time to accommodate the huge influx of requests for LARC and permanent sterilization.”

You can read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “The End of Children,” Gideon Lewis-Kraus evaluated the decline in global birth rates and the implications this has on the stability of society. Senderowicz was featured in a section discussing reproductive autonomy and its intersection with pro-natalist mindsets.

“There is fundamentally no way to do this that doesn’t end up treating women’s bodies as a tool,” Senderowicz said in reference to how such ideas tend to be seen as less democratic internationally.

You can read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In the lecture, Tamkus reviewed the history of AI and how it is applied to the field of medicine and more specifically ob-gyn, as well as examined the pitfalls and legal considerations behind AI in medicine, and what a physician’s role in this contemporary issue is.

You can watch the full lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Many members of the UW Department of Ob-Gyn attended the conference to strengthen their advocacy skills and meet with Wisconsin legislators to discuss issues like rural obstetric care and policy impacts on Medicaid and Medicare.

Faculty:  

• Amy Domeyer-Klenske, MD – Director, Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn 
  
• Laura Hanks, MD – assistant professor, Division of ASOG 
  
• Abigail Nelezen, MD – assistant professor, Division of ASOG 
  
• Doug Laube, MD – emeritus faculty 
  

Trainees: 

• Taylor Badger, MD – PGY-1 resident
  
• Michelle DeMeo, MD – PGY-1 resident
  
• Jackie Powell, MD – Maternal-Fetal Medicine fellow 
  
• Ben Pickus, MD - PGY-4 resident 
  
• Margaret Williams, MD - PGY-4 resident 
  

Medical Students: 

• Laurie Lapp 
  
• Kaitlyn Landry
  

 Incredible work, all!

“An Endogenous Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Ligand Dysregulates Endothelial Functions, Transcriptome, and Phosphoproteome” builds on the team’s recent report in the Journal of Physiology-London. In this follow-up study, the authors explore the transcriptomic and phosphoproteomic mechanisms by which tryptophan metabolites induce endothelial dysfunction in preeclampsia. Their findings highlight a set of genes and phosphoproteins that could serve as potential therapeutic targets for improving vascular function in preeclampsia. 

Read the whole article here.  

The Clean Birth Kit (CBK) Program allows Global Health Charities to provide training and supplies to childbirth staff in order to improve the safety of both mother and child during the birthing process. Volunteers are able to host or attend a CBK Event, during which individuals package each CBK to ready them for shipment to remote places in need. 

The UW Department of Ob-Gyn group put 150 kits together during the activity. Incredible work, all! 

In “Dr. Wagar on Lenvatinib Plus Pembrolizumab vs. Chemo in First-Line Advanced Endometrial Cancer,” Wagar explained how a mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR) population could favor lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab, meaning immunotherapy strategies for dMMR advanced endometrial cancer could delay chemotherapy for later.

“There wasn't really a difference in overall survival [OS] outcomes between the lenvatinib [plus] pembrolizumab up-front group vs the chemotherapy up-front group. [Data] didn't meet a specific prespecified criterion for progression-free survival [PFS] or OS. [Therefore,] chemotherapy remains the standard of care, particularly for [patients with pMMR] endometrial cancer. [However], in the dMMR group, there was quite a bit of a signal [favoring] the lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab arm."

Read the whole article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Breakout Sessions: 
OBGYN Standardized Letter of Evaluation – Updates, Lessons Learned, Future Directions – Nicolette Codispoti, MD, MPH 

Farewell FLS! Embracing EMIG: A Near-Peer Educational Opportunity – Matthew Wagar, MD; India Anderson-Carter, MD; Saule Tamkus, MD 

Discussion Den Session: 
Striving for Resident and Fellow Symbiosis in Subspecialty Training – Saule Tamkus, MD; Katharina Stewart, MD; Caroline Cox, MD 

Oral Abstracts:
Navigating the Transition: Understanding Ob-Gyn Interns’ Perspectives on Residency Preparation – co-authored by Nicolette Codispoti, MD, MPH 

Mobile Health Mindfulness-Based Intervention Decreases Stress and Burnout in Residents – Bridget Kelly, MD; Amy Godecker, PhD; Sydney Tan 

Residents’ Experiences with Managing Moral Distress in Abortion-Restricted States – Abigail Cutler, MD, MPH (co-authors from UC San Francisco) 

Poster:  
An Evidence-Based Gynecologic Oncology Curriculum for All Ob-Gyn Residents – Carrie Sibbald, MD; Nicolette Codispoti, MD, MPH; Matthew Wagar, MD 

Congratulations to all who shared their expertise at the conference! 

In the lecture, Phelps described the evolution of weight stigma and diet culture prior to the rise of social media, identified key recent moments that impacted the current culture of weight stigma, analyzed social media weight loss directives and advertisements and how certain viewers are disproportionately affected, and how resources can be utilized in a clinical setting to decrease weight stigma.

Watch the full lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

As a member of the editorial board, Rhoades will review manuscripts, help facilitate submissions of articles to the journal, participate in editorial board meetings, and more. 

Incredible work, Dr. Rhoades! 

The GWIMS/BIRCWH Women’s Health Research Mentorship Award recognizes impactful mentorship of women scientists fostering successful careers in women’s health and sex/gender differences research. The award is co-sponsored by the UW BIRCWH Program. Higgins shared reflections on what the mentorship award means to her. 

What does receiving this award mean to you?

Receiving this award helps me feel that some of the aspects of my day-to-day work were just rendered a little more visible. I don’t go into a conversation with a trainee or a junior colleague thinking, “okay, now I’m going to be a mentor”, I’m just going to talk with my colleague. So this award highlights the critical work and the critical ways we support our colleagues. I was really touched to receive it.

What inspired you to take on mentorship roles in your career?

I didn’t specifically set out to take on a mentorship role. But I have always believed that showing up for trainees and junior colleagues is a good use of our time. Even just offering presence, compassion, and someone who sees their humanness as opposed to their ability to be good workers, good researchers or scientists, good physicians – it feels really great to be recognized as a person, so I try to show up compassionately for people I work with and people I interact with. 

Who inspired you as a mentor or helped shape your career?

I have been so touched by so many mentors, and I hope I have integrated some of their superpowers into my own work with colleagues. I had mentors during my doctoral work who were so patient as I was learning – they made it seem like there was nowhere they would rather be than sitting with me, reviewing data. 

Some of the best mentors were ones who were genuinely energized by trainees’ ideas. For me, they really fanned the flames of my ideas versus tried to put fences around them. And as a cautious person, I am very grateful for the encouragement and fan-flaming that I really needed.

If you have ever been to the Ebling Library in the Health Sciences Learning Center, there’s a picture on the wall as you walk in of Dr. Paul Ebling with a little homage to him. It says something like, “Some people walk into a room and say, ‘Here I am.’ Dr. Ebling walked into a room and said, ‘There you are.’” I want to be a mentor who walks in and sees you, your hopes and dreams as well as your values and challenges. Really good mentoring is all about seeing someone else and supporting them. I get so much inspiration from that quote about Dr. Ebling, even though I’ve never met him.

Why is mentorship so crucial in academic medicine, ob-gyn and reproductive health?

There are a lot of unwritten rules in academic medicine. These rules aren’t necessarily immediately obvious to scholars from different backgrounds. Mentoring and mentorship is important to help make those unwritten rules more manifest for scholars at all levels and support them through their careers. 

In some ways, ob-gyn and reproductive health is such an easy field to be a mentor in – people come to this field because they are really passionate about birthing folks and reproductive health, and how to make sure folks can move through the world with reproductive autonomy. What a delight to get to work with mentees who share my passion, or bring their own passion for this work. 

At this moment in particular, it’s hard to feel like we can completely live our values at work. Sometimes this can be a field where having passion also leads to real heartbreak – we have these passions, these values, but they are not always matched at the policy level or cultural level. I am always working with myself as well as with mentees on how to hold those passions, but also get out of bed in the morning and be able to persevere even when you feel as if your own values aren’t being reflected in the policies and systems around you.

What is the importance of mentorship in reproductive health research?

I think there is tremendous value in reproductive equity research to help make the world a better place for birthing people. Being able to walk alongside colleagues and trainees on their research journeys is exciting and hopeful. We need all sorts of efforts to advance equity, and research is one very important component of that. Good research, good science are critical pieces of how to improve people’s reproductive equity, reproductive health, and wellbeing.

In “UW Health, SSM Health staff identify diaper need in postpartum patients,” Liss talked about how a new UW Health survey seeks to approach diaper needs in a more conversational rather than clinical way. UW Health then uses this information to figure out how many diaper packs they can provide to patients from the Village Diaper Bank.

“Being a new parent is so challenging in so many ways so even reducing a stressor in any one area, it’s going to allow them and their baby to thrive and bond,” Liss said. “It’s just a lot easier when you’re not worrying about something so simple as diapering.”

Liss also shouted out 20 South Park clinic manager Melinda Hohlbein, who partnered with Village Diaper Bank to help meet patients’ needs.

Read the whole article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In the lecture, del Carmen focused on the structure and success of models used at the Massachusetts General Hospital and how they add to the patient, community, educational, and research environments and experiences.

You can watch the full lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “The Causal Effect of Increasing Area-Level Income on Birth Outcomes and Pregnancy-Related Health: Estimates From the Marcellus Shale Boom Economy,” Green and co-authors analyzed the impact on area-level income gains on birth outcomes and pregnancy health by using tax and birth certificate data. They specifically worked with school districts above the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania. Additionally, they worked with a subsample of siblings to better understand income effects associated with pre-boom district poverty rates.

“The effect of income gains on low birth weight does not appear to operate through birthing parents’ smoking, pre-pregnancy weight status, or gestational weight gain. Hence this article adds evidence to the growing literature that increasing income leads to a significant improvement in birth weight independent of measured health behaviors.”

Read the whole article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

As the Quality Chief, Codispoti will actively participate in all aspects of the department's Quality Program, including Quality Improvement Review Committee and the Quality Committee. Codispoti will serve as liaison to residents for quality and patient safety work and help to create and develop quality curriculum for the future. 

Codispoti will transition with the current Quality Chief, Kharmen Bharucha, MD, PGY-3, in the coming months and will step into the role officially on May 1, 2025. 

Please join the department’s Quality team in welcoming Dr. Codispoti and thanking Dr. Bharucha for their time and commitment to quality and patient safety.

Alpha Omega Alpha is a medical honor society that recognizes individuals for their excellence in scholarship, professionalism, leadership, and teaching. The criteria for induction are based on the AOA’s founding principles of recognizing educational achievement, honoring gifted teaching, encouraging leadership development, supporting the ideals of humanism, and promoting service to others. 

Iruretagoyena and other nominees will be honored during the annual AOA Banquet and Induction Ceremony on April 8, 2025. Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Dr. Iruretagoyena!

The grant Uncovering the Function of Long Non-coding RNA 00704 in Endothelial Cell will support research into the role of a newly identified long non-coding RNA linked to preeclampsia in human vascular endothelial cells.

Incredible work, Dr. Zheng!

During the event, Spencer and other SGO leaders, along with patient advocates, met with congressional offices to talk about continued funding for gynecologic cancer research. They also hosted a congressional briefing to highlight treatment innovations, emphasize the need for research support, and advocate for a mentorship program at the National Cancer Institute.

The event also included a women’s health research roundtable co-hosted American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Women’s First Research Coalition, and the American Gynecology and Obstetrics Society. Read more about the event in the February 2025 Presidential Matters post from current SGO President Amanda Nickels Fader, MD.

Thanks to Dr. Spencer for supporting cancer research funding at the national level!

The WMAA Distinguished Faculty and Resident Clinical Science Teaching Awards are given to the most exceptional teachers from across the statewide campus. Bajpai was voted best resident teacher across all programs by fourth-year medical students in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.

In Bajpai's nomination materials, medical students said this:  

"Dr. Bajpai is an amazing resident who always made me feel welcome and included in the obstetrics and gynecology team. She was a perfect example of how to balance her own roles and responsibilities as a resident with assisting on the team.  She challenged me to further my OB-GYN skills and knowledge by pushing me out of my comfort zone to prepare for my next role as an OB-GYN intern."

This award is a well-deserved recognition of Bajpai’s commitment to excellence in medical education!  

Hoppe, who is the principal investigator of the UW PRC Core Research Project Community-Based Implementation of STAC, attended PRC Week with UW PRC Director Jill Denson, PhD, MSW, and Deputy Director Harald Kliems, MA.  

PRC Week 2025 convened PRC recipients, community members, partners, and CDC PRC program staff and other agency leadership to share the goals and research of their centers and leverage the experiences and expertise of PRC recipients to organize the PRC Network for collective impact. 

The Cap Times article “Sterilization rate at Madison hospital doubled after abortion ruling, study finds” shared data from a study co-authored by Hanks in the most recent issue of the Wisconsin Medical Journal. Hanks’s study found that surgical sterilization rates for pregnancy-capable patients at UnityPoint Health-Meriter Hospital rose 106% from  2016 to 2023. Hanks mentioned some of the reasons patients were interested in sterilization after the Dobbs decision:

“Hanks said more people are choosing surgical sterilization due to concerns that, should they become pregnant, access to abortion services could be restricted. She also said other forms of contraception aren’t 100% effective and might be unsuitable for all patients.”

You can read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Co-chairs are appointed by the WPHA President, and are further approved by the Board of Directors.

WPHA works to address the root causes behind public health policy and practice in Wisconsin, with special attention paid to those from historically marginalized backgrounds. Specifically, the Maternal and Child Health Section advocates for the improvement of services that benefit mothers and children across the state.

Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Cheryl!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Perfluoralkyl substances (PFAS) exposure and preeclampsia risk: Impaired angiogenesis through suppression of VEGF signaling,” Hoppe, Kumar and co-authors investigated the link between maternal PFAS exposure and preeclampsia risk in Wisconsin. Their study was also the first to link maternal PFAS exposure to preeclampsia in the state.

“In conclusion, this study provides evidence that exposure to PFAS, particularly PFOS and PFHpS, is associated with an increased risk of PE after 34 weeks gestation…Given the widespread exposure to PFAS and their persistence in the environment, understanding the impact of these chemicals on human health, particularly during pregnancy, is of paramount importance for public health and regulatory efforts.”

Read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Thirty years of ‘strange bedmates’: The ICPD and the nexus of population control, feminism, and family planning,” Senderowicz and Nandagiri reflects on the impact the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action had on global family programs and some of its limitations. Their study specifically analyzed the concern for reproductive rights and autonomy, fertility and population dynamics, and opposition to biomedical contraception and abortion.

“The ICPD+30 moment allows us to reconsider the compromises made at Cairo on issues of poverty, environmental protection, racism, and coloniality and to create new ways of addressing these challenges without implicitly blaming poor women’s own bodies and their fertility. As we confront multiple interlocking crises, it is time to consider their structural root causes and how these structures may be radically transformed.”

Read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Hypothalamic Estrogen Receptor a Is Essential for Female Marmoset Sexual Behavior Without Protecting From Obesity,” Abbott and co-authors sought to understand the connection between Estrogen Receptor a (ERa) in the hypothalamic ventromedial (VMN) and arcuate (ARC) nuclei of female marmosets and their sexual receptivity, and if this disrupted gonadotropic metabolic homeostasis.

“ERα expression was significantly diminished in the VMN and ARC, but not the preoptic area (POA), of ERαKD females coincident with elimination of timely female sexual responses, more than 80% loss of female receptivity, modestly elevated gonadotropin levels, hyperglycemia, and diminished calorie consumption.”

Read the full study here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In the lecture, Tellez-Giron explained the connections between Latine culture and the patient-provider relationship for obstetric care, underscored the uniqueness of social-cultural factors influencing healthcare access for the Latine community, and described what can be done in obstetrics care to provide Latine patients safe health outcomes.

You can watch the full lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Two members of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology are quoted in news stories about the hearing on postpartum Medicaid extension. Articles about postpartum Medicaid coverage from Wisconsin Public Radio, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and Wisconsin Examiner include insights from Amy Domeyer-Klenske, MD, director of the Division of Academic Specialists in Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Jackie Powell, MD, fellow in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine: 

Bipartisan proposal to expand Medicaid coverage for new moms returns to Madison – Wisconsin Public Radio

““A change in health insurance coverage, whether that means being uninsured, underinsured or switching to a new plan with a new provider or out-of-pocket costs can result in missed appointments and lack of access to needed treatments,” said Amy Domeyer-Klenske, an OB-GYN at UW Health.”

Wisconsin lawmakers renew effort to extend Medicaid coverage for new moms at risk of postpartum complications – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“Amy Domeyer-Klenske, an OB-GYN in Madison who spoke on behalf of ACOG, recounted a patient who suffered worsening high blood pressure and a life-threatening blood clot after delivery and who required blood thinners and frequent adjustments to her medication that were necessary beyond two months postpartum.

"When we see women who lose their coverage who are newly requiring these medications, we worry as physicians about what will happen to them, their risk for things like heart disease, stroke and death in the upcoming year and beyond," she said. "We are failing to cover mothers like this across Wisconsin."”

Overwhelming support for Medicaid postpartum expansion in Senate Health Committee – Wisconsin Examiner

“Powell said that through her work she sometimes diagnoses a major medical condition, including heart failure, cancer and kidney failure, during pregnancy that “alters someone’s life course.”  

“Many of these patients need life-saving surgery and intervention postpartum to save their lives. Oftentimes, we need to deliver patients very preterm so that they can receive this care that they need,” Powell said.”

Effect of the Dobbs Decision on Severe Maternal Morbidity in Wisconsin - Jacqueline M. Powell; Janine S. Rhoades; Ronald E. Gangnon; Kara K. Hoppe

Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Severe Maternal Morbidity Based on Location in Wisconsin - Jacqueline M. Powell; Janine S. Rhoades; Ronald E. Gangnon; Kara K. Hoppe

Effect of the Dobbs Decision on Sterilization Rates Based on Location Across Wisconsin - Michelle P. Lin; Jacqueline M. Powell; Megan Knutson Sinaise; Janine S. Rhoades; Ronald E. Gangnon; Kara K. Hoppe

Timing of Delivery of Preterm Membrane Rupture at 34 Weeks and Beyond: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis - Celine Huynh; Sarah K. Dzubay; Megha Arora; Jacqueline M. Powell; Aaron B. Caughey

Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Sterilization Rates based on Location in Wisconsin - Michelle P. Lin; Jacqueline M. Powell; Megan Knutson Sinaise; Janine S. Rhoades; Ronald E. Gangnon; Kara K. Hoppe

Fetal Doppler Progression and Outcomes in Pregnancies with Late Onset Fetal Growth Restriction and Preeclampsia - Scott Infusino; Jeanette Larson; Natalia Gontarczyk Uczkowski; Amy Godecker; Jacquelyn H. Adams; Jesus Iruretagoyena

Middle Cerebral Artery Pulsatility Index and Cerebroplacental Ratio in Late Onset Growth Restriction and Preeclampsia - Scott Infusino; Jeanette Larson; Natalia Gontarczyk Uczkowski; Amy Godecker; Jacquelyn H. Adams; Jesus Iruretagoyena

Incredible work, all!

This collaboration between the UW School of Medicine and Public Health Department of Family Medicine and Community Health and UW Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology offers a 24-month fellowship providing essential surgical training and high-risk obstetrical experience for family physicians aiming to serve rural populations. Ryan Luellwitz, DO, assistant professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, is co-lead of this fellowship program. 

Fellows will spend about half their time at UnityPoint Health-Meriter Hospital for high-volume, high-risk obstetrics training and two months per year at rural hospitals in Wisconsin. They will also maintain a family medicine practice and teach residents in both inpatient and outpatient settings. In Wisconsin, family physicians deliver babies in 66% of rural hospitals and perform c-sections in 34%. With the number of rural hospitals providing obstetric services having decreased by over half in the last 20 years, this fellowship aims to increase the number of family physicians offering full-scope and surgical obstetrics in rural Wisconsin.

Cornelius, coming from the Swedish Cherry Hill Family Medicine Residency and Seattle Indian Health Board, has roots in Florida, Boston, Oneida-Wisconsin, and Seattle. They completed their undergraduate studies at Harvard University and graduated from the University of Washington School of Medicine, where they completed the Indian Health Pathway. As a member of the Oneida Tribe, Turtle Clan, and identifying as Two-Spirit, Cornelius is passionate about Indigenous Health. They have integrated traditional indigenous medicines into their care of indigenous patients and participated in Land Rehabilitation and Reclamation for the Snoqualmie tribe. Cornelius’s medical interests include Reproductive Health and Obstetrics, Indigenous Health, 2SLGBTQ+ Health, and Addiction Medicine. 

In “Moms on Medicaid would get a year of postpartum care under bill”, faculty in the Department of Ob-Gyn added important perspective about common postpartum health issues that can affect new parents beyond the current cutoff of Medicaid coverage.  

Ryan McDonald, MD, professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, shared data on postpartum mental health issues at a Healthy Women Community Talk that was referenced in the article.  

Similarly, Jackie Adams, MD, MS, assistant professor in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, was quoted from the same event speaking on pregnancy-related issues that can have lifelong health impacts, including high blood pressure in pregnancy and gestational diabetes. 

Amy Domeyer-Klenske, MD, director of the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, talked about how Medicaid extension can impact the U.S.’s growing maternal mortality rate: 

“This is an issue that impacts our communities, our patients, families and is widely recognized to be a possible solution to help combat the maternal mortality crisis,” Domeyer-Klenske said of the legislative proposal. “Maternal health is not and should not be a one-party issue. We all need to come together to find these solutions, to ensure that we have help for our patients and families.” 

Read the whole article here.  

The award-winning image "Separated Before Birth" shows a monochorionic placenta treated by the UW Health Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment Center team for twin-twin transfusion syndrome. Colleagues in pathology helped dye the placenta to highlight the separated structures of the placenta following laser treatment.  

Incredible work, Dr. Beninati! 

At Your Health After Pregnancy, a Healthy Women Community Talk presented January 23, 2025 on Maternal Health Awareness Day, experts from the UW Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology answered questions about physical recovery, postpartum mental health, breastfeeding, and so much more: 

• Ryan McDonald, MD, professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, talked about signs and symptoms of postpartum depression and anxiety, treatment and support options, and important resources for people and families navigating postpartum mental health issues. 
• Katherine Sampene, MD, associate professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, talked about recommendations for spacing pregnancies, why people may want to have a plan for birth control after giving birth, and how different methods affect breast or chest feeding. 
• Jacquelyn Adams, MD, MS, assistant professor in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, talked about physical recovery after birth, the importance of postpartum health visits, and what to know about how pregnancy can affect health long-term. 
• Community Health Workers from the UW Health ConnectRx program shared resources available in the Madison, Wisconsin area to support postpartum health. 

Watch the whole event here.  

Hoppe earned her DO in 2008 from Midwestern University, followed by ob-gyn residency  and Maternal-Fetal Medicine fellowship at the University of Washington in Seattle. In 2024, she received a PhD in Clinical Investigation from the University of Wisconsin Institute for Clinical and Translational Research. 

She began working in the UW Department of Ob-Gyn in 2015 as a Clinical Assistant Professor. Hoppe is currently the Medical Director of Perinatal Services at UnityPoint Health Meriter, an Associate Professor (CHS) in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, as well as the Vice Chair of Clinical Research in the Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 

Hoppe is a prolific research leader in our department, particularly focusing on hypertension, cardiovascular health, and pregnancy.

She received the UW Health Rising Star Clinical Practice Award in 2020, the Norman F. Gant Award for Best Research in Maternal Medicine at the 43rd Annual Pregnancy Meeting for the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine in 2023, the David Sackett Annual Trial of the Year Award, given out by the Society for Clinical Trials in 2023, as well as the Poster Session Award from the Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine in 2024. 

Congratulations on this well deserved honor, Dr. Hoppe!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Spencer received his MD in 2007 with a Distinction in Humanistic Studies from the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, followed by ob-gyn residency at the Harvard Integrated Residency Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Spencer completed fellowship in Gynecology Oncology at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in 2015 and earned an MS in clinical investigation from the University of Wisconsin Institute for Clinical Translation Research in 2018.

Spencer joined the Division of Gynecologic Oncology faculty in 2015. In addition to a busy clinical practice, he is an educational leader in the Department of Ob-Gyn, UW Health, and the state. He served as residency program director from 2019-2023 and is currently program director of the gynecologic oncology fellowship. In 2024, he was named the UW Health UW Health Associate Designated Institutional Official (ADIO) of Graduate Medical Education. In addition, he is a statewide and national leader in rural graduate medical education.

Since Spencer’s time at UW, he’s earned the Karl A. Rudat Award for Excellence in surgical teaching at the senior resident level, the Rural Health Community Hero Award from the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health, ACOG Mentor of the Year Award from the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, among many other impressive awards. 

Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Dr. Spencer!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “The Role of Neighborhood in Individual and Disparity-Level Factors and Birth Weight in Dane County, Wisconsin,” Bailey, Hoppe and co-authors investigated the relationship between geographic location with infant birth weight z-scores.

“We identified geographic variations in birth weight at a granular level … The lack of evidence of area deprivation on birth outcomes but significant spatial trends demonstrated continued geographic disparities in our health care systems.”

Read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Sterilization Rates of Pregnancy-Capable People at a Single Institution in Wisconsin Before and After Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization,” the authors used retrospective cohort data to examine the rate of tubal sterilizations from 2016-2022 to the rates of sterilization from 2022-2023, the first year after the Dobbs decision.

“There was an increase in the rate of interval sterilization procedures for pregnancy-capable people – particularly among younger and nulliparous patients – at a single academic institution in Wisconsin in the year following the Dobbs decision.”

Read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Abortion Access and Birth-related Outcomes and Inequities: A Call to Dismantle Abortion Restrictions in Wisconsin to Improve Health and Well-being,” Higgins and Green discuss how abortion access fits into the domain of reproductive and birth equity, as well as the consequences associated with a lack of access to abortion.

“Abortion restrictions disproportionately affect the communities that experience the worst birth outcomes, which amplifies existing inequities. Both abortion access and complication-free births are most out of reach for individuals and communities facing social oppression, systemic racism, and socioeconomic scarcity: people of color, rural residents, and/or people living on low incomes.”

Read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Association of an Enhanced Recovery After Cesarean Surgery Protocol With Postpartum Opioid Utilization: Analysis of a Quality Improvement Project,” the authors looked into the efficacy of a standardized enhanced recovery after cesarean surgery (ERAS) at decreasing the use of opioids after cesarean births:

“An ERAS protocol for cesarean birth including intrathecal morphine was associated with a 93.8% reduction in cumulative opioid dose by MME and should be considered by all hospitals that offer obstetric services.”

Read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Gaston received his MD from Rush Medical College, followed by ob-gyn From there, residency at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Prior to coming to UW, Gaston was an instructor in ob-gyn at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University and an ob-gyn physician at hospitals in Chicago and Milwaukee. He joined the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn faculty in 2017. 

Since 2018, Gaston has served as the Medical Director in the OB Hospitalist Program at UnityPoint Health-Meriter. In 2020 he started as a clinical associate professor in the UW SMPH Dept. of Ob-Gyn, as well as a Director for the Clerkship of Sub Internship for OB In House Rotation. He has also collaborated across the department in research topics focusing on fetal growth in the presence of preeclampsia and using intrapartum transperineal ultrasound to predict vaginal delivery.

Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Dr. Gaston!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “An endogenous aryl hydrocarbon receptor ligand induces preeclampsia-like phenotypes in rats”, the authors reveal that a tryptophan metabolite induced preeclampsia-like symptoms in pregnant rats. These symptoms are associated with fetal sex-specific disruption of gene expression and biological pathways in placentas. These suggest a novel mechanism underlying preeclampsia. Furthermore, these disrupted genes and pathways might represent therapeutic and fetal sex-specific targets for preeclampsia-induced impairment of vascular functions in placentas.

This article was selected as Editor's Choice by the Journal of Physiology and featured on the journal's X (formerly Twitter) account in January 2025. Read the whole article here!

Sampene received her MD from the Medical College of Wisconsin in 2010, before starting her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC in Pittsburgh. She joined the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn in 2015.

In 2023, Sampene became the Director of Obstetric Quality and Safety in the Department. In 2024, she stepped into the role of Vice Chair of Clinical Operations. She formerly served as chair of the department’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. 

Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Dr. Sampene!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Session:

Mitigating participant fraud: Lessons from the field - Klaira Lerma, MPH; (moderator); Heidi Moseson, PhD, MPH; Tamika Odum, PhD; Obie Oniah, BS (UW med student); Jane Seymour, PhD, MPH; Laura Swan, PhD, MSW

Session: 

Centering racial justice and health equity in contraceptive care delivery - Diana Carvajal, MD, MPH; Kimberly Clemente, MD, MPH; Christine Dehlendorf, MD, MAS (moderator); Rachel Logan, PhD, MPH; Heather Maisen, MSW, MPH

Session: 

The fog of regulatory confusion: Research challenges post-Dobbs - Heather Gould, MPH; Lee Hasselbacher, JD; Melissa Madera, PhD, MA, MST; Lucrecia Mena-Meléndez, PhD (moderator); Elizabeth Mosley, PhD, MPH; Jane Seymour, PhD, MPH

Oral Abstract: 

Adolescent demand for medication abortion from an online telemedicine service before and after the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision - Dana M. Johnson, PhD, MPAff

Congratulations to all who attended and shared research!

In the lecture, Matson outlined current Uterine Serous Carcinoma (USC) treatment and outcomes options, and the potential for a custom anti-GATA2 monoclonal to be used in existing surgical pathology practices, as well as national trials analyzing the connection between GATA2 and USC. Matson also touched upon future directions for understanding GATA2 and USC treatment or management.

You can watch the full lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Bennett received her MD from the University of Kansas in 2006 before coming to the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health for her Obstetrics and Gynecology residency. She joined the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn faculty following graduation from residency.

While at UW, Bennett was awarded the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists Resident Award in 2010, the 2013 UW Health Patient Experience Physician Champion Award, the Dr. Elizabeth Karlin Memorial Award in 2017, given out by the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, and the John M. Anderson Award for Demonstrating Patience, Integrity and Compassion in the Care of Women back in 2018. Bennett is the Dennis D. and Lynn F. Christensen Professor in Family Planning.

Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Dr. Bennett!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Tiffany Green, PhD, associate professor in the Division of Reproductive and Population Health and current Gloria Sarto, MD, PhD, Chair in Women’s Health and Health Equity Research, joined the broadcast to talk about Sarto’s impact on her own career.

“Seeing the work that she would do in the community, and how trusted she was, frankly, by the Black women in this community, that really gave me an example of how CBPR [community-based participatory research] should be done,” says Green.

“And it's finally ended up that I started doing research in community settings...and then I ended up coming back here to UW, and now a lot of my research is mixed methods...there often are really strong community engagement elements to that work, and I don't know that I would be doing this if not for Dr. Sarto.”

You can listen to the full recording here.

After graduating from Michigan State University’s ob-gyn residency in June 2017, Luellwitz worked as an ob-gyn hospitalist for SSM Health/Dean Clinic and was awarded the St. Mary’s Hospital Adjunct Faculty Educator Award in both 2018 and 2021. He joined the UW Department of Ob-Gyn faculty in October 2021 as a clinical assistant professor in obstetrics and gynecology. Currently, he is a co-facilitator for the Rural Family Medicine OB Fellowship. Since joining the Department of Ob-Gyn, Luellwitz has also been awarded the Kimberley J. Miller-Thoreson Compassionate Colleague Award (2023), the APGO Excellence in Teaching Award by the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics (2024), and the Sabine Droste Award (2024).

Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Dr. Luellwitz!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Bajpai and Larson will be the Administrative Chief Residents, transitioning into the role with support from current administrative chiefs John Gravelle, MD, and Carrie Sibbald, MD. Dudley will be the Education Chief Resident, stepping into the role with support from current education chief Maggie Williams, MD.  

Please join the Department of Ob-Gyn and the Education Team in congratulating our incoming and outgoing Administrative and Education Chiefs who allow this program to excel as we move forward.

Lepic joined the UW Department of Ob-Gyn as a clinical assistant professor in 2018 after completing ob-gyn residency at Aurora Health Care in Milwaukee. Since then, she serves as a supervisor in the OB rotation and a physician informaticist with UW Health Medical Informatics. In 2019, she received both the CREOG National Faculty Award as well as the Dr. Sabine Droste Outstanding Teacher Award. She also won the Society for Academic Specialists in General Obstetrics and Gynecology Award in 2024. Lepic has been awarded the Dolores A. Buchler Award twice, once in 2023 and later in 2024.

Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Dr. Lepic!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In the lecture, Beninati focused on the development in fetal surgery, starting with early fetoscopies and different reasons fetal surgery may be needed, and later discussed some future endeavors for the practice that continue to involve UW services, residents, and patients.

You can watch the full lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

After graduating from the ob-gyn residency program at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago in 2015, Bannon was their attending physician director of off-service residents. She came to the UW Department of Ob-Gyn in 2023 after being an attending physician at Edward-Elmhurst Health. She is a member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, as well as the North American Menopause Society. While working with Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Bannon was awarded the Dr. John J. Barton Leadership award and the Excellence as Chief Resident in 2015.

Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Dr. Bannon!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “For 50 years, Madison group has helped parents grieve infant loss,” Sharp talked about her own loss experience, starting the UW Health Hope After Loss Clinic, and how the Bereaved Parents of Madison works to fill the gaps in support for families dealing with pregnancy loss.

““They have been doing this work for so long — much before any of this was really widely recognized — so I think it would just be a huge loss for our community if they weren't existing or never existed in the first place,” Sharp said.”

You can read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

University Roundtable events share interesting programs and scholarship with members of the university community and their guests. At the February event, Spencer will discuss the current state of training ob-gyns in the United States and how patients in rural areas are not being served by this model. Dr. Spencer will explore opportunities and programs to increase the flow of ob-gyn physicians into rural America, highlighting the UW Department of Ob-Gyn Rural Residency Track at the University of Wisconsin.

The University Roundtable will be held from 11:30am-1:00pm in Varsity Hall at Union South. Registration is $15 and includes lunch. Learn more and register here by February 11, 2025. 

As part of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health ForWard curriculum, every Phase 1 student is assigned a preceptor to support their growth. Preceptors can be members of UW SMPH faculty or physicians who work elsewhere in southern Wisconsin. The preceptor relationship gives students an opportunity to develop their skills in Phase 1 by working one-on-one with a physician in an office setting. Under preceptor supervision, the students progress to working with patients. Throughout the 18 months of Phase 1, students also identify a quality improvement project that can improve quality of care at the clinic.

As Director of the Phase 1 Preceptor Program (P1PP), Giles is responsible for the integration of the P1PP within the medical school curriculum and support of the Phase 1 students and their preceptors throughout the program. An important part of the role is building and maintaining positive relationships with health systems throughout southern Wisconsin, to ensure productive relationships and high-quality placements for SMPH students. Giles will also provide education and orientation to preceptors, review student and preceptor feedback for continuous quality improvement, work closely with block leaders to align P1PP curriculum with other block activities, and more. 

This director role reports to the Phase 1 Director in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. Giles looks forward to more interactions with the undergraduate medical students while they are adjusting to medical school: “I enjoy watching them develop from that first overwhelming week of med school into the confident students that transition into the Phase 2 clinical setting,” he says.

We cannot think of anyone better suited to support students and educators through the beginning of their medical school careers. It is exciting to have another amazing leader from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology making a big mark on the medical school’s curriculum and operations!

The APGO Faculty Development Seminar provides practical and timely ideas for medical education and curricula that can be applied at attendees’ home institutions. UW Department of Ob-Gyn trainees led presentations in three of the 18 available roundtable slots:

Ob-Gyn resident Nicolette Codispoti, MD, MS, MPH, PGY-2, mentored by Laura Jacques, MD, associate professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn: Ascending Heights: Crafting Your Residency Elevator Pitch 

Ob-Gyn resident Kharmen Bharucha, MD, PGY-3, mentored by Molly Lepic, DO, assistant professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn: Compass Points: Guiding Students Through L&D with Nurse Educators

Gynecologic oncology fellow Matthew Wagar, MD, mentored by Laura Huffman, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology: Standardizing Procedural Skills Evaluation for the SLOE Using a Laparoscopic Curriculum

This year’s submissions were reportedly very competitive, with more than 90 proposals for the 18 roundtable spots. Amazing work, Department of Ob-Gyn team!

In the lecture, Sibbald outlined different cultural influences for pregnancy, examined global childbirth practices, explained how birth attendants are used in a variety of birthing settings across the world, and identified medical care challenges for places with little resources available.

You can watch the full lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Wisconsin abortion providers brace for another Trump presidency,” Higgins spoke about a CORE study from October 2024 that looked at the demand for abortion medications in Wisconsin from out-of-state providers, as well as some barriers people looking for abortions in the state may face.

“We now have some sense that hundreds of people in our state have been served in terms of medication abortion care through the shield law providers,” Higgins said.

You can read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

The Meriter Foundation board invited Hoppe to share an update about her work as it aligns closely with a key health strategy of improving outcomes for parents and babies. Hoppe shared reflections on how STAC, since becoming standard of care at Meriter, has decreased readmissions for postpartum hypertension and reduced maternal morbidity and mortality. 

In 2024, Dr. Hoppe’s STAC program became the Core Research Project for the UW–Madison Prevention Research Center (PRC), a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded center focused on maternal and child health. With PRC funding of $600,000 a year over five years, Hoppe seeks to reduce racial health disparities and improve maternal and infant health outcomes for Black women by offering blood pressure monitoring during pregnancy to catch more instances of hypertension, and work with community-based partners such as doula organizations and public health departments to bring the program outside of hospital and clinic walls. 

Incredible work, Dr. Hoppe!

In the article To Close Racial Gap in Maternal Health, Some States Take Aim at Implicit Bias, Green added perspective about the levels of bias that can impact care and questioned whether implicit bias training can help effect systemic change:

“Green…said her team’s review of studies on anti-bias trainings in clinical settings found little evidence that it led to long-term behavioral changes.

Because racism isn’t just an individual problem but a systemic one, Green said, institutions must combat bias at the organizational level.”

Read the whole article here. 

In Intratumoral radiation dose heterogeneity augments antitumor immunity in mice and primes responses to checkpoint blockade, Ong and co-authors studied the impacts of combined high and low-dose radiation on tumors in mice, finding that:

“…this heterogeneous approach outperformed homogeneous dose RT in a T cell–dependent manner and could be combined with immune checkpoint inhibition. These data support further clinical development of heterogeneous RT.”

The UW School of Medicine and Public Health shared an article highlighting the study and its potential implications. You can read the article in Science Translational Medicine here, and find the UW SMPH research article about the study here. Incredible work, Dr. Ong!

SMPH Collaborate fosters connections among investigators, researchers, and learners through the sharing of research discoveries and building of community. The November 2024 event, hosted by the SMPH Office of Basic Research, Biotechnology and Graduate Studies, focused on postdoctoral research. 

Incredible work, Dr. Wegrzynowicz! 

In the webinar, Hartenbach discussed what brought her to gynecologic oncology, why people might choose to participate in clinical trials, and how trials work.  

Watch the whole webinar here! 

In the interview, Rose talked about the pivotal moments in his career in gynecologic oncology. He also touched upon the issue of burnout for medical students, and the importance of good mental health and the role of hobbies in preserving it, for prospective gynecologic oncologists.

You can listen to the full episode here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Despite state restrictions, Wisconsinites are receiving abortions via telehealth,” Higgins helped explain “shield laws,” which allow clinicians to offer abortion care by telehealth to patients in states with restrictive abortion policies.

“These telehealth services offer something really important to people, regardless of whether brick and mortar facilities offer care in our state … telehealth is a great choice for folks who lack access to care through physical distance or have other reasons that it might be hard for them to get in person to a brick and mortar facility,” Higgins said.

You can read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In the lecture, Schaumberg explored some of the predictors or risk factors in childhood and adolescence that could signal the potential to develop an eating disorder, as well as the obstetric and gynecologic risks that relate to eating disorders, and analyzed how menopause connects to eating disorders.

You can watch the full lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Decidual leukocytes respond to African lineage Zika virus infection with mild anti-inflammatory changes during acute infection in rhesus macaques”, published in Frontiers in Immunology, Stanic, Golos and co-authors evaluated the effect of the Zika virus on pregnant rhesus macaques, and believed the infection creates a pro-inflammatory response. Co-authors on this article include Michelle R. Koenig, Jessica Vazquez, Fernanda B. Leyva Jaimes, and Ann M. Mitzey.

“We found that ZIKV infection was overall associated with mild phenotypic changes in decidual leukocytes that were consistent with an anti-inflammatory response … We believe that the lack of a pro-inflammatory response in the decidua to ZIKV infection is consistent with the results presented in Koenig et al., showing that ZIKV infection in the decidua is mainly restricted to endovascular EVTs and that ZIKV infection causes no clear pathology in the decidua.”

You can read the full article here.

With “Cotyledon-Specific Flow Evaluation of Rhesus Macaque Placental Injury Using Ferumoxytol Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MRI”, published in the Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Stanic, Golos and co-authors wanted to measure placental blood flow in rhesus macaques with injuries to their placentas. Co-authors include Ruiming Chen, Daniel Seiter, Logan T. Keding, Jessica Vazquez, Kathleen M. Antony, MD, Heather A. Simmons, Puja Basu, Andres F. Mejia, Kevin M. Johnson, Ruo-Yu Liu, Dinesh M. Shah, and Oliver Wieben.

“This study demonstrates the feasibility of cotyledon-specific functional analysis at multiple gestational time points and injury detection in a placental rhesus macaque model through ferumoxytol-enhanced DCE MRI.”

You can read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Number, rates of legal abortions declined nationwide from 2013 to 2022,” data was analyzed from a CDC-requested abortion data survey from health agencies across the U.S. that collected rates from 2013 to 2022. Cutler added her perspective to this report:

“The CDC report reflects a growing trend toward medication abortion, which between 2021 and 2022 did account for more than half of all abortions performed at or before 9 weeks, which represents a continued shift away from procedural abortion in early pregnancy. The growing proportion of medication abortion in the CDC's data is likely due to a number of factors — increased use of telehealth, being one — that has helped to expand access to medication for those seeking it.”

You can read the full report here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Placental gene therapy in nonhuman primates: a pilot study of maternal, placental, and fetal response to non-viral, polymeric nanoparticle delivery of IGF1,” the research team sought to understand how the delivery of IGF1 to help with placental insufficiency in small animals could be applied to pregnant macques, in order to shed some light on the lack of placenta-targeted treatments that change the in utero environment for women diagnosed with fetal growth restriction (FGR).

“The lack of adverse maternal reaction to nanoparticle-mediated IGF1 treatment, combined with changes in placental signaling to maintain homeostasis, indicates no deleterious impact of treatment during the acute phase of study.”

You can read the journal article here. The UW-Madison news office also shared an article about the research and its potential future impact here. 

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Beloit woman overcomes lupus, rare lung and heart condition to become a mother,” the article shares the hurdles Vanessa Fitz had to overcome to insure her own health as well as her daughter’s, during her pregnancy since Fitz was dealing with lupus and pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Her daughter, Lyla, was delivered on April 1, 2024 via cesarean section through the University Hospital, and was discharged from the American Family Children’s Hospital’s NICU on April 6.

You can read the full story here.

The story for Spectrum News, “Pursuit Unlimited: Woman overcomes health challenges to become a mother,” focused on the team effort it took to help Fitz deliver a healthy baby girl. In addition to Adams, specialists from UW Health University Hospital, American Family Children’s Hospital, and the UnityPoint Health-Meriter Hospital Center for Perinatal Care helped Fitz in her last months of pregnancy.

“The goal from day number one was for us to try to work together and keep her as healthy as possible so that we could keep baby healthy, while also making sure that we sort of didn’t push too hard,” said Adams.

You can read the full story here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Holmes-Drammeh and Kwitek presented ABC, 123, AUB...Oh My! Uterine Bleeding in the Primary Care Setting to an audience of physicians, advanced practice providers, and trainees. 

After their presentation, they sat on a question-and-answer panel to answer questions from primary care providers on management and when to refer to gynecology for abnormal uterine bleeding.   

Incredible work, Emelle and Laura! 

In “Ranking Antibody Binding Epitopes and Proteins Across Samples from Whole Proteome Tiled Linear Peptides,” Ong and co-authors developed HERON, or an R package for Hierarchical antibody binding Epitopes and proteins from linear peptides, in order to study antibody responses that can inform different diagnostics or treatments.

“Our approach estimates significance values at the linear peptide (probe), epitope, and protein level to identify top candidates for validation … which shows HERON’s competitiveness in estimating false discovery rates and finding general and sample-level regions of interest for antibody binding.”

Read the whole article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Fearing birth control bans, Wisconsin women begin to plan ahead,” Williamson and Higgins discussed the role local health departments and family planning options will play in coming years. As more people become interested in learning more about these services and what potential restrictions might mean for their reproductive health, there is fear that services like Planned Parenthood will not receive enough federal funding or be legally allowed to offer their help.

“The Title X program is absolutely critical as a family planning safety net in the state, and the prior Trump administration rules left it reeling for years, and it's still not gotten back up to the service levels it had prior to Trump,” Williamson said.

Higgins added, “the landscape of contraceptive care in the state is likely to change drastically.”

You can read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Jon Pennycuff, MD, MSPH, assistant professor in the division, presented Exploring Early Career Surgeons' Views on Support and Mentorship during a Rapid Fire Oral Session. He also presented on the Careers in Urogynecology panel.

Christine Heisler, MD, MS, associate professor and division director, gave multiple presentations: 

• Impact of Workplace Microaggressions on Surgeon Career Status and Trajectory 
  
• Reporting Mechanisms for Workplace Microaggressions Against Surgeons
  

She was also co-author of a Rapid Fire Oral Session presentation Pharmacologic Thromboprophylaxis Linked to Complications in Prolapse Patients. 

Dobie Giles, MD, MS, MBA, professor in the division, moderated the General Session. 

Caroline Cox, MD, assistant professor in the division, moderated the Concurrent Session Postpartum/Pregnancy & OASIS. She was also co-author on the presentation Gender-Affirming Testosterone Treatment and Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms, which was presented during the general session. 

Kristina Warner, MD, the first graduate from our URPS fellowship, gave the Rapid Fire Oral Session presentation The Rural-Urban Divide and Urogynecologic Healthcare Disparities. Her presentation was co-authored by Kelley Stewart, Gabrielle Avery, Caroline Cox, Ushma Patel, Dobie Giles, Christine Heisler, and Jon Pennycuff.

Congratulations, all! 

Domeyer-Klenske co-authored the chapter "Leading During Times of Legal Uncertainty: Legislative Disruption to Residency Training" with Kathryn Dielentheis, MD, associate professor in the Medical College of Wisconsin Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Their chapter focuses on how to pivot educational experiences for residents following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, and strategies for supporting and engaging residents' desires for advocacy opportunities in the face of this legal uncertainty.  

Learn more about the book here. Incredible work, Dr. Domeyer-Klenske!

Vazquez received a $219,000 grant for the project “Sterile inflammation at the maternal-fetal interface and fetal immune programming in a non-human primate model,” which aims to understand how the in-utero environment impacts the developing fetal immune system, and to assess the long-term immunological consequences. 

Incredible work, Dr. Vazquez!

The Vilas Faculty Mid-Career Investigator Award provides $75,000 in flexible funds that can be used for research, publication, project assistantships, or other expenses related to scholarly activity. This award is for the period of July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2027. 

Higgins received this award for her nationally recognized expertise on reproductive health policy and advancement of sexual and reproductive health. Her well-funded research platform includes funding from a number of federal and private national organizations. Her robust publication record includes award winning publications for her work on pregnancy ambivalence and contraceptive use. In addition, Higgins is an award-winning teacher and mentor. She also received the 2024 GWIMS/BIRCWH Women’s Health Research Mentorship Award in recognition of impactful mentorship of women scientists fostering successful careers in women’s health and sex/gender differences research. 

Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Dr. Higgins! 

Following the lecture, Sobecki spent the day meeting with members of the Trinity Health ob-gyn department and leaders from the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, including UW Department of Ob-Gyn residency alum and current gynecologic oncologist Kevin McCool, MD! 

During those meetings, she provided advice and expertise on building a sexual health clinic for women with cancer. Sobecki is the medical director of the UW Health Women’s Integrative Sexual Health (WISH) Program. 

Betancourt Ponce attended the European Association for Cancer Research Cancer Metabolism Conference in Bilbao, Spain, where she brought the poster “Targeting resistance mechanisms in melanoma.” 

Incredible work, Mayra! 

In UW Eastpark Medical Center offering 40+ Specialty Care Programs, Hartenbach and other leaders describe the new models of care on offer at Eastpark: 

“For Dr. Ellen Hartenbach, the department chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology for UW Health, she’s seen the benefits to having many specialties under one roof as she works with both the cancer center and Integrated Specialty Care for Women.

“We’ve got our surgeons, our therapeutics experts, our radiation doctors and we’ve got social workers and nurses that just really help these women,” Hartenbach said, describing the center as an opportunity for both patients and providers.” 

See the whole story here! 

In early August 2024, the National Science Foundation sponsored the first-ever ElevateHER (Engineering Innovations for Women’s Health Discovery) Conference at Texas A&M University. The event, which was created in response to a White House initiative to improve women’s health funding and research, brought together biomedical engineers and scientists to identify opportunities and challenges in women’s health engineering. Virumbrales-Muñoz was one of a small group invited to attend the inaugural event.

Virumbrales-Muñoz was also invited to attend the 2024 Perinatal Research Society NIH-Reckitt/Mead Johnson Nutrition Young Investigator Workshop in Providence, RI, in September 2024.

She also attended the Biomedical Engineering Society 2024 Annual Meeting in Maryland in October. While at the meeting, Virumbrales-Muñoz served as Session Chair for the Pregnancy and Fertility session. She also co-authored the presentation 3D microphysiological model to evaluate the effects of atovaquone as a therapeutic agent for high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC).

Incredible work, Dr. Virumbrales-Muñoz!

Olga Fajardo, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, was a member of the event’s Program Committee.

Dobie Giles, MD, MS, MBA, professor in the Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, was a co-presenter of the AAGL Med Talk Strong Work: How a Work-Related Injury Made Me Whole.

Bala Bhagavath, MD, director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, moderated the Laparoscopy Video Session. He also co-authored Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes Following Intrauterine Adhesiolysis - A Systematic Review, which was presented during an oral session on Hysteroscopy.

Incredible work, all!

In “Contraceptive Coercion and Women’s Health Research with Leigh Senderowicz,” Senderowicz talked with WSUM News Director Paige Stevenson about the importance of engaging with the community she works with while researching contraceptive coercion both here in the United States and abroad, as well as the intersection of politics in research around women’s health.

You can listen to the full interview here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Sobecki presented during the Nursing Symposium, with a presentation entitled, “Survivorship & Sexuality Dysfunction After Cancer Treatment.”

She also co-authored an e-poster in the Endometrial/Uterine Corpus Cancers session. Her poster was titled, “GOG-3069: Phase 2 Study of Alpelisib and Fulvestrant for PIK3CA-Mutated Estrogen Receptor-Positive Endometrioid Endometrial Cancers.”

Incredible work, Dr. Sobecki!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

The UWMF Board of Directors consists of 15 voting members including the UW Health CEO, UWMF President, UWMF Chief Administrative Officer, four department chairs, four faculty, and four independent public members. Hartenbach, who will join the board as one of the four department chair representatives, was elected to the board by other clinical chairs in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health during a competitive election process.  

The UWMF Board of Directors provides oversight of the faculty physician practice plan including physician compensation matters, management of funds flow, and the management of faculty and UWMF employee retirement plans. The board’s governance functions include participation in CEO hiring, election of public directors, bylaw amendments, and receipt of committee reports. Additional topics are brought to the Board for advice and institutional input. 

Our gratitude to Dr. Hartenbach for representing the Department of Ob-Gyn and the needs of our faculty, trainees, and staff on the UWMF Board! 

Ob-Gyn resident Ben Pickus, MD, PGY-4, and Laura Hanks, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, presented the poster “Improving Access to Gender-Affirming Hysterectomy: A Quality Improvement Effort” during the conference.  

Amy Domeyer-Klenske, MD, director of the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, spoke on the panel “Sharing your Voice through Op-Ed Writing”. During the conference, she also completed her multi-year term as chair of the ACOG Wisconsin Section. 

Congratulations to all who attended and participated in the ACOG District VI Annual Meeting! 

““We can’t count on stability of access or training,” said Dr. Abigail Cutler, an OB-GYN at UW Health and professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Despite a court ruling that a 1849 state law doesn’t ban abortions, UW Health’s residency program sends residents to an academic medical center in Illinois for abortion training in case Wisconsin’s laws change.” 

The article “A Young Doctor’s Dilemma: Stay Home or Move Where Abortion Is Protected?” was originally published in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required). The full text is available on MSN as well.  

The GWIMS/BIRCWH Women’s Health Research Mentorship Award recognizes impactful mentorship of women scientists fostering successful careers in women’s health and sex/gender differences research. The award is co-sponsored by the UW BIRCWH Program.   

Incredible work, Dr. Higgins! 

In the lecture, Shanks walked the audience through technology’s current role in how obstetrics and gynecology is being taught, and described the connection between large language models (LLMs) and ob-gyn education.

You can watch the full lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Research examines treatment side effects in estrogen-positive breast cancer patients,” Bozzuto discusses research that compares the side effects of both ovary removal and medically-induced menopause via injections in order to reduce estrogen for patients with estrogen-positive breast cancers.

“I think it is important to understand how these treatments impact people’s quality of life and how we potentially help them. That, ultimately, may help their ability to stay compliant with the medications and improve their cancer outcomes,” said Bozzuto.

You can read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “WI Supreme Court hears case on 1849 law that could impact abortion in the state,” Higgins discussed the history of abortion legislation in the state, and the effects of the Dobbs Decision on this law. Higgins also talked about how abortion access intersects with poverty and racism, making it harder for marginalized people to receive them.

In the future, Higgins hopes federal lawmakers will look closer at the 1976 Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal funds for abortion, amending it to consider the economic barriers to abortion care.

“Those effects make it much harder for folks to be able to access contraceptive care, be in relationships that are stable and healthy and communicative, to be able to see past the end of the day into one's future if you are, again, mostly focused on your own economic scarcity or figuring out how to feed your kids, or figuring out how not to get evicted,” Higgins said.

You can read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In the lecture, Patel defined fecal incontinence (FI), described the parts of a physical examination for FI, and recommended an approach to FI management.

You can watch the full lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In the UW Health news article “Integrated Specialty Care for Women begins at Eastpark Medical Center”, Hartenbach and Heisler touched upon the need for new treatment and management options throughout the state that target specific aspects of women’s health, like pelvic floor disorders, incontinence, and sexual health issues. The Eastpark Medical Center will be the first facility in Wisconsin to offer this integrated specialty care for women, by combining the expertise of urogynecologists, urologists, gastrointestinal experts, colorectal surgeons, and physical therapists in one, accessible place.

“Women need to know that there are options to address and manage the common but very often treatable things they’re going through,” said Heisler.

“U.S. News & World Report ranked obstetrics and gynecology at UW Health among the top 10 in the nation this year. At Eastpark, our patients will have access to what makes our care great: an amazing care team, the latest clinical trials, technology, physiotherapy and minimally invasive procedures,” said Hartenbach.

The ISCW launch was covered by WMTV-15 in “UW Health Eastpark launches state’s first program addressing women’s stigmatized health needs.” 

You can read the full UW Health article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Bala Bhagavath, MD, director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, taught a half-day course in the ASRM Postgraduate Program. Bhagavath was on the faculty for the course “Inequity in Management of Uterine Fibroids Can Be Addressed by Innovations in Nonsurgical and Surgical Management.”

Bhagavath, who also served on the 2024 Scientific Congress Planning Committee as the Society of Reproductive Surgeons representative, presented on a Symposia panel on October 23 titled “Minimally Invasive Approaches to Management of Uterine Fibroids: Advantages and Limitations.”

Laura Bozzuto, MD, MS, assistant professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, was lead author on “Trajectories In Antimullerian Hormone (AMH) Decline Across The Menopause Transition; Study Of Women’s Health Across The Nation (SWAN)”, which received the Scientific Congress Prize Paper honor during the conference! 

Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Fellow Jayapriya Jayakumaran, MD, was lead author on the paper presented during the Benign Gynecological Disease – Endometriosis and Adenomyosis session: “Diagnosis Of Concurrent Endometriosis Along With Other Infertility Diagnoses, And Its Effect On Outcomes Of Single Euploid Blastocyst Transfer (SEBT): A Retrospective Study Of SARTCORS Data.”

Aleks Stanic-Kostic, MD, PhD, taught “Show Me the Data! Evidence-Based Evaluation and Management of Recurrent Pregnancy Loss”, a full-day course in the Postgraduate Program for the Early Pregnancy Loss Special Interest Group.

Incredible work, all!

Several people shared their research during Paper Sessions throughout the event:  

Ob-Gyn Resident Rusha Bajpai, MD, PGY-3, presented “Gynecology Oncology Adnexal Mass Referral Patterns” 

Gynecologic Oncology Fellow Rachel Mojdehbakhsh, MD, presented “Government Funding for Endometrial Cancer Research Lags Behind Rising Incidence”

Gynecologic Oncology Fellow Matt Wagar, MD, presented “Progression-Free Survival as a Surrogate End Point of Overall Survival in Randomized Controlled Trials of Ovarian Cancer Maintenance Therapies”

Stephen Rose, MD, professor in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, moderated the panel “Controversies in Practice.”

Incredible work, all!

Molly Lepic, DO, assistant professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, and Abigail Cutler, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, joined the Women’s Healthcast to tell us more about what these recommendations mean for patients and why pain management during IUD placement is such a hot topic.  

Cutler and Lepic talked about the different types of IUDs, how getting an IUD works, why pain or discomfort during the procedure can be an important consideration for many patients, and what today’s pain management options look like. 

Listen to All About IUDs now.  

Did you know the Women’s Healthcast is available on all your favorite podcast platforms? Whether you like to listen on  Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, or anywhere else, you can find us! (Just search Women’s Healthcast, and while you’re at it, may as well subscribe!) 

The UW Department of Ob-Gyn has been a leader in addressing rural health disparities since 2017, when the Residency Program launched the first-ever rural ob-gyn residency track in the country. The rural residency track gives residents real-life experience practicing in rural settings with rotations at several rural hospitals and clinics around the state. “It’s a really fascinating phenomenon that we’ve seen repeatedly, the more time someone spends training in a rural area, the much more likely they are to practice in a rural area following residency,” says Ryan Spencer, MD, MS, rural residency track director. 

With the help of a new grant from the United States Department of Health and Human Services through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Department of Ob-Gyn is poised to further expand the rural training opportunities for ob-gyn residents in Wisconsin. The HRSA grant provides $750,000 over three years to create a new Rural Training Program in partnership with the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics (UW Health) and the Marshfield Clinic Health System (MCHS) in central Wisconsin.

In the current rural residency track training model, rural ob-gyn residents spent about six months of their four years of training in rural sites. With the new Rural Training Program, residents complete just under half of their training in Madison, establishing the foundations of their clinical skills at UW Health alongside other ob-gyn residents. They will spend more than two years of residency with MCHS, where they will continue to build skills in obstetrics, gynecologic surgery, and ambulatory medicine as they care for rural, underserved patients and become comfortable providing care in a rural community. 

“What I’ve heard from the residents who go out on these rotations is they get a great experience in rural areas and smaller communities,” says Spencer. “They get a feeling for what their day-to-day life would be like. In some cases, they might have clinic on the same day they do a delivery on the same day they do some surgery. That’s not the typical experience when training at UW Health.” 

The HRSA grant will also support adding another rural residency spot, doubling the rural resident complement in this already highly competitive track. Spencer led the HRSA grant application, which received a perfect score. He believes the rural rotations are an invaluable experience for rural ob-gyn residents as well as their peers.

“It definitely enriches the experience of our residents who are not in the rural track,” Dr. Spencer says. “They hear about the experiences of their counterparts in rural areas, and it helps them understand why certain transfers come to Madison, what systems of care and limitations in services other providers and other places are working with.”

The UW Department of Ob-Gyn was one of 15 recipients of the $11 million investment from the federal government in rural health, and the only obstetrics and gynecology-specific program to be funded.

**This story originally published in the 2024 UW Department of Ob-Gyn Five-Year Report. Find the whole report here. 

In the lecture, Infusino reviewed the basics and common uses for Doppler evaluation in pregnancy in order to understand research around fetal Doppler evaluation in a larger clinical overview.

You can watch the whole lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In nomination materials, Jasmin’s colleagues said: 

“Jasmin is the epitome of what a women’s health provider should be. She is incredibly thoughtful, empathetic, and gives 110% to each of her patients. She truly listens to patients and seeks to understand them. She is honest and compassionate and fosters a high level of trust with her patients. She is efficient, yet also incredibly compassionate, kind, and caring with patients. She takes the necessary time with patients to provide well-rounded, patient-centered care.”  

Jasmin was described as an excellent communicator and remarkable team member.

Congratulations, Jasmin!

State of the Science Summit™ (SOSS) events are in-person meetings where health care professionals can network with their colleagues while learning about the latest advances in cancer care. This FREE event is designed for health care professionals:

• Physicians (med and gyn oncs)
  
• Oncology nurses, APP’s
  
• Trainees, fellows

Janelle Sobecki, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, is chairing the event. Ellen Hartenbach, MD, Laura Huffman, MD, Matthew Wagar, MD, and Cathering Zhang, MD, MPH, will all present at the event. Topics include:

• Navigating PARP Inhibitors for Ovarian Cancer
  
• ADCs and Other Novel Agents in Ovarian Cancer 
  
• Emerging Therapies in Endometrial Cancer
  
• Clinical Scenarios: Endometrial Cancer
  
• Recent Advances in Cervical Cancer
  

Learn more and register for this free event today!

In nomination materials, her colleagues said: 

“Angie is an incredible patient advocate. She partners with her patients to ensure that they receive the best, evidence-based care. She consistently considers the social determinants of health and addresses the care of the patient holistically. 

Angie is a phenomenal practitioner, and patients adore her. I know this because I hear it all the time. She is the type of practitioner who knows about the birth of a patient’s grandchild or a patient’s hobbies. She remembers that the care of the patient is in caring for the patient.”

She was described as a mentor, role model, and exceptional provider who sets patients at ease.

Congratulations, Angie! 

Charlotte Gamble, MD, MPH, joined this episode of the Women's Healthcast to discuss disparities in treating and diagnosing endometrial cancer. Dr. Gamble is an attending surgeon in gynecologic oncology at the Washington Cancer Institute at the MedStar Washington Hospital Center, which is part of Georgetown University. She discussed the disparities seen at every stage of cancer, from diagnosis through treatment. She also talked about what needs to change to make sure all patients have equitable access to cancer care. 

Listen to Health Equity in Endometrial Cancer now.

Did you know the Women’s Healthcast is available on all your favorite podcast platforms? Whether you like to listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, or anywhere else, you can find us! (Just search Women’s Healthcast, and while you’re at it, may as well subscribe!) 

María Virumbrales-Muñoz, PhD, assistant professor in the Division of Reproductive Sciences, gave the keynote presentation “Elucidating the functional effects of atovaquone in a 3D microphysiological model for high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC)”. 

Manish Patankar, PhD, Director of the Division of Reproductive Sciences, was named Faculty of the Year by ERP students.

Sejal Sharma, PhD candidate in the UW Endocrinology and Reproductive Physiology (ERP) program and graduate student in Patankar’s lab, received the Student Academic Research Excellence Award.

Congratulations, all!

Spencer was one of three panelists on a Maternal-Child Health panel convened to discuss increasing the maternal health workforce in the country. Spencer presented data and discussed evidence-based solutions to increase the number of residency positions in rural areas, as well as increase the rural healthcare workforce using existing state- and federal-level models. He presented to an audience representing governors’ offices from all 50 states and four U.S. territories.

Incredible work, Dr. Spencer!

In “Medical student perceptions of clinical abortion training opportunities across the United States,” Jacques and co-authors explored abortion training options available to medical students. They found that as restrictions increased regionally, the type of training available also changed.

“Of 100 survey respondents, 50 % reported institutional access to abortion training (17.5 % in restrictive states; 71.2 % in permissive states; χ2 = 25.9, p < 0.00001) and 46 % indicated that they or a peer had attended a visiting student elective (VSE) covering abortion care (47.5 % in restricted states; 51.9 % in permissive states).”

You can read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

“Over-the-Counter UTI Products: What Primary Care Clinicians Need to Know” publicized a study done by Patel and Cox that analyzed over-the-counter treatments across three major U.S. drugstores, with different price points and ingredients. Patel and Cox originally presented the study at the American Urogynecologic Society’s PFD Week conference.

They found in general many options were falsely advertised as UTI treatments.

“The products in each type of category are for symptom relief or UTI prevention — not treatment,” said Patel. “These products within the categories described are interchangeable, and consumers should make cost-effective choices as no product is superior to another within its respective category.”

You can read the full article with Medscape here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Percutaneous Puncture of a Fetoscopic Endoluminal Tracheal Occlusion Balloon,” Beninati and co-authors studied the impact of fetoscopic endoluminal tracheal occlusion (FETO), which can help increase lung volume and development for a fetus with severe congenital diaphragmatic hernia by placing a detachable balloon in the trachea. The team performed FETO at 30 weeks and one day gestation, and then at 35 weeks they broke the balloon after observing increased lung volume.

In the end, “the infant underwent successful diaphragmatic hernia repair 2 days after birth and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was not required for support during the hospital course.”

You can see the article here.

In the lecture, Raghuraman talked about research directions for labor and delivery and the science around obstetric implementation as well as de-implementation.

You can watch the full lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Bailey’s presentation focused on postpartum hemorrhage and placenta accreta spectrum, while Beninati spoke about fetal surgery.

Incredible work, all!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Charlotte Gamble, MD, MPH, an attending Surgeon in Gynecologic Oncology in the Department of Ob-Gyn at Georgetown University School of Medicine was the keynote speaker, presenting, “Endometrial Cancer: Interventions to Address a Growing Public Health Crisis.”

You can watch the full Symposium presentations timestamped below:

Brief and Brilliant presentations:

• Toward a unified concept of abortion access — Jenny Higgins, PhD, MPH, director of the Population and Reproductive Health Division of the UW Department of Ob-Gyn, on behalf of Jane Seymour, PhD, MPH (11:19-15:38)
• Adolescent demand for medication abortion from an online telemedicine service before and after the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Decision — Dana M. Johnson, Jennifer E. Starling, Rebecca Gomperts (15:39-18:22)
• LARC Removal and Contraceptive Coercion — Leigh Senderowicz, ScD, MPH, assistant professor in the Division of Reproductive and Population Health (18:36-22:43)
• From Micro to Macro: A Collaborative Effort to Understand the Role of the Cervix in Preterm Birth — Alexandra Christensen (22:58-26:20)

The final Brief and Brilliant presenter was unable to attend the conference. Jeanne Erickson, director of Health Ed Express, planned to present "Place Matters: The Foundation for Neighborhood Health Education" and share information about the nonprofit founded by Dr. Gloria Sarto in recent years. Learn more about the mission of Health Ed Express here.

Keynote presentation:

Endometrial Cancer: A crisis of inequity — Charlotte R. Gamble (keynote presentation - 32:36-1:44:20)

BIRCWH Scholar Presentation:

Make No Bones About It: Osteosarcopenia in Women With Gynecologic Cancers — Janelle N. Sobecki, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology (1:49:51-2:10:08)

Community-Engaged Research Presentation:

Evolution of a Community Engaged Approach to Support Justice Impacted Pregnant and Post-Partum Women — Jill Denson, PhD, director of the UW-Madison Prevention Research Center; Cheri Branham (2:11:48-2:31:18)

In “Association between interpreter use and small for gestational age infants,” Sibbald and co-authors wanted to figure out if needing an interpreter to overcome a language barrier while receiving obstetrics and gynecology care was associated with small for gestational age infants. They saw a connection between low English proficiency rates and worse health outcomes, and how having an interpreter normally can lead to improved health care, but pregnancy care has not been well studied.

“Our results indicate that recognizing demographic risk factors and providing patients with social resources such as access to interpreter services may positively impact obstetric and neonatal outcomes.”

You can read the full study here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “The Subcutaneous Adipose Microenvironment as a Determinant of Body Fat Development in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome”, Abbott and co-authors found that abdominal subcutaneous fat storage in normal-weight women with and without PCOS may represent a reciprocal balance between androgen inhibition of catecholamine-induced lipolysis and peripheral glucocorticoid-induced lipolysis. 

Congratulations on this incredible honor, Dr. Abbott! You can read the publication here.  

In “UW-Madison expert stresses important of abortion access, urging voter action through research,” Williamson mentioned how CORE research into a post-Dobbs landscape contributed to negative situations for women like increases in pregnancy-related mortality, immediate and long-lasting mental health issues, more chronic health problems, greater intimate partner violence, and restricted opportunities for educational, career, and life aspirational achievements.

“We want to be a trusted source of evidence,” Williamson said. “Our reason for being is that our work helps decision-makers, policymakers and just regular people like you and me make informed decisions, and informed decisions includes people's assessment of the issues that matter.”

You can read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Management of twin reversed arterial perfusion (TRAP) sequence with microwave ablation: A case report and review of the literature,” Beninati and co-authors evaluated a pregnancy with TRAP. The team used percutaneous ultrasound-guided MWA to get into the acardiac mass twin, and noticed a decrease in its size afterwards, as well as improved left ventricular function for the pump twin. They were able to successfully deliver the pump twin through induced vaginal delivery.

“Our approach is novel because we traversed the thorax of the acardiac mass and ablated the confluence of the umbilical artery and vein without puncture of either vessel under ultrasound guidance. This mitigated the risk of post-procedural bleeding that has been implicated in post-ablation fetal demise of the pump twin.”

You can read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

This APGO award is given out to Ob-Gyn educators who consistently demonstrate compassion, respect and foster collaborative relationships with their patients, peers and students.

In nomination materials, her colleagues said:

“Kathy Stewart, MD, MS is an outstanding nominee for the APGO Humanism in Teaching Award. She consistently demonstrates compassion, respect and empathy for learners, healthcare teams and patients in all settings, and models sensitivity to and respect for the inherent dignity and work of every individual. Medical students, residents and fellows consistently note that Dr. Stewart is an extremely effective teacher who takes time to get to know each individual, and clearly cares about their overall wellbeing. They also emphasize that Dr. Stewart inspires her team to do their best possible work and learning, that she gathers and values input from everyone, and that on service she builds everyone up, creating a collegial atmosphere. Approximately 30 percent of our Maternal-Fetal Medicine fellows have accepted positions within our department, in no small part due to Dr. Stewart’s exceptional skill as an educator who dedicates time to mentoring faculty in their early career. Dr. Stewart serves as Director for our medical school’s advanced clinical curriculum, overseeing the design and implementation of acting internships and courses for our medical students and coordinating training programs with our statewide campus sites. Dr. Stewart applies herself to ongoing training to constantly improve her own leadership skills, which she very effectively applies to her service, clinical and teaching endeavors. Currently, Dr. Stewart serves on several curriculum assessment and improvement committees, including on the school-wide Technical Standards and Access to Accommodations Committee, emphasizing Dr. Stewart’s commitment to fostering safe and accessible learning environments.”

Congratulations again for this well-deserved honor!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

“Dobbs Revisited — Addressing Effects on Resident Training in Obstetrics and Gynecology,” focused on the experiences of residents and practitioners across UW and Illinois to establish valuable abortion instruction in a post-Dobbs environment.

In the NEJM Podcast interview, Cutler elaborated on why abortion care training is important to medical residents, how the UW-Illinois program was established, as well as how other programs around the United States addressed the post-Dobbs decision and its impact on abortion education.

You can listen to the full podcast here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Sibbald, who is one of the 2024-25 Administrative Chief Residents, has demonstrated an interest in high-risk pregnancy care throughout residency. She co-authored multiple posters at the 2023 Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine annual meeting and recently published a study in AJOG MFM on the use of interpreter services for patients with limited English proficiency and obstetric and neonatal outcomes. 

Congratulations on this exciting career step, Dr. Sibbald! 

In “Everything You Need to Know About Getting the RSV Vaccine During Pregnancy," Beninati talked about why RSV is dangerous to newborns, as it is the leading cause of pneumonia, or the primary reason for infant hospitalization in the United States.

When mothers receive the RSV vaccination, they are able to pass on antibodies to the fetus. It’s also safe to get the vaccine with others like the flu, Tdap or COVID-19 shots, mentioned Beninati. Plus, the maternal RSV shot was found to reduce risk for infant hospitalization by 68%.

You can read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Donovan received her DO from Chicago College of Medicine of Midwestern University and is currently completing ob-gyn residency at Ascension St. Vincent. She comes highly recommended by our REI colleagues, and we’re looking forward to her joining the team. 

Please help us welcome Dr. Donovan to Madison! 

STAC provides postpartum patients who had high blood pressure during their pregnancy with a blood pressure monitor. The monitor is able to send alerts to nurses at Meriter Hospital to make sure patients are within a healthy blood pressure range during the six weeks after birth, a critical time where complications can arise. These messages can help both doctors and patients decide what management methods like blood pressure-lowering medications are needed.

STAC originally launched in 2019. Now, STAC is extending its resources to bridge the gap in care for Black women, who experience higher levels of hypertension during pregnancy in Wisconsin.

The announcement of the Core Research Project was shared in many media stories:

WKOW’s, “Blood pressure monitoring program for new and expectant mothers to expand,” mentioned the program’s expansion to include doula and public health organizations in an effort to connect more with the Black community.

In WPR, “Blood pressure program hopes to reach more new mothers in Dane, Milwaukee counties,” explored the dangers associated with high blood pressure following pregnancy. Hoppe spoke about the risk for stroke and organ damage due to hypertension postpartum.

“Forward Analytics report predicts staffing challenges in senior care industry; Maternal health monitoring program expanding through research project,” found in WisBusiness, elaborated more on STAC’s connection to the Prevention Research Center, with its director, Jill Denson saying, “We are expanding to partner with community advisory boards, community-based organizations, health care organizations and state programs so that they can adapt, refine and implement STAC, and we can share our findings to inform communities, policy, and future research.”

A feature in the Wisconsin State Journal, “UW gets $5 million to improve health for pregnant Black women and their babies,” explained the funding for STAC, which received a $5 million federal grant spread over five years from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Howell received her MD from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine. She is currently completing ob-gyn residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She was highly recommended by MFM colleagues.

Please help us welcome Dr. Howell to Madison!

In “Impact of Dobbs ‘immediate and profound’ on OB/GYN residents in Wisconsin,” Cutler talked about how after the Dobbs decision, ACGME still required abortion training for residents, even for states restricted by the Dobbs decision. Many UW residents were sent to Illinois but Cutler said there was still a noticeable discrepancy in training compared to when residents could continue their education in-state.

“While training partnerships are invaluable in so many ways, they cannot be the sole solution. Educators and leaders in places with abortion bans or other restrictions must work tirelessly to reverse those restrictions in their own health care settings,” Cutler said.

You can read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Farabee attended medical school at the East Tennessee State University College of Medicine, followed by ob-gyn residency at the University of Louisville. She comes highly recommended by gynecologic oncology colleagues. 

Please help us welcome Dr. Farabee to Madison!

In “Dobbs Revisited — Addressing Effects on Resident Training in Obstetrics and Gynecology,” Cutler and Hartenbach walked through their experience post-Dobbs to create a program for third-year residents to obtain necessary abortion training in Illinois. They also discussed how recent legislation from December 2023 reopened the possibility to train residents in-state, but that this ruling is under appeal and thus still uncertain.

“Our experiences aren’t unique: a substantial proportion of Ob/Gyn residents are training in states with abortion bans or major restrictions on abortion … training partnerships can make a difference, but they cannot be the sole solution; the financial and logistic barriers are high, and host programs are stretched thin already — by trainees seeking education and by patients seeking care,” the duo said.

You can read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In the lecture, Cox created a model for the progression of prolapse by understanding the anatomy and histology of ligaments and biomechanical imaging of the ligaments in relation to prolapse.

You can watch the whole lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In the lecture, Hanks examined the history of gender-affirming care. She analyzed two perspectives — one on the patient side and one on the doctor’s side — in order to assess how the media has changed its reporting around sex and gender throughout time, and advocacy for gender-affirming care.

You can watch the whole lecture here.

In “Madison Promise Walk supports mission of Preeclampsia Foundation,” Hoppe sat down with Britney Paffel, a preeclampsia survivor, and Kristin Hildebrandt, a lead preeclampsia nurse to discuss what preeclampsia is, and explain the Walk.

Hoppe stressed the importance of monitoring blood pressure levels during pregnancy, as many symptoms can be quite subtle and many people don’t realize they’re experiencing hypertension or preeclampsia until their illness is severe.

The event will take place in Lewis Park in McFarland on Saturday, September 28 from 10am to 1pm, and aims to help raise awareness and funds for preeclampsia and hypertensive disorders associated with pregnancy.

You can watch the full interview here. 

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Sari Archer and Carrie Schwoerer joined this episode of the Women’s Healthcast to tell us more about pelvic floor disorders, how physical therapy can help, what the process is like, and where physical therapy fits under the broader umbrella of treatment options for pelvic floor issues. Sari Archer is a nurse practitioner in the UW Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology’s Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery. Carrie Schwoerer is a physical therapist and rehabilitation manager with UW Health.

Listen to Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy now. 

Did you know the Women’s Healthcast is available on all your favorite podcast platforms? Whether you like to listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, or anywhere else, you can find us! (Just search Women’s Healthcast, and while you’re at it, may as well subscribe!) 

Soehl (formerly Dr. Poehlmann) received his undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, after which he earned his MD at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. He completed his obstetrics and gynecology residency in our department, graduating in 2022. He left Wisconsin for maternal-fetal medicine fellowship at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island.

Soehl’s research interests include the impacts of diabetes in pregnancy and pain management during delivery. While at UW, he worked with Tiffany Green, PhD, of the Division of Reproductive and Population Health, in analyzing racial disparities in pain experiences for patients undergoing C-sections. He also worked with former faculty Kathleen Antony, MD, MS, in the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine to study understand the impact of anxiety on pain and opioid use after C-section births. During his time in residency here, Soehl earned the Phillip R. Hamilton III, MD Award for Best Effort for Resident Research in 2022, the SMFM Residency Program Award for Excellence in Obstetrics in 2020, and served as the administrative chief resident in 2021-22.

Dr. Soehl will be an excellent addition to our faculty, so please help us welcome him back to UW-Madison!

Dudley will present as part of the Resident Research Competition on Saturday, September 14, along with ob-gyn residents from the Medical College of Wisconsin and Aurora Health Care.

Incredible work, Dr. Dudley! 

Bailey will join the Placenta Accreta Spectrum Panel & Fetal Surgery session on Friday, September 13.  

Incredible work, Dr. Bailey!  

Badger’s term will begin after the ACOG District VI annual meeting at the end of September. Congratulations on this exciting leadership opportunity! 

Proteomic Exploration of Lung Matrisome in Pulmonary Fibrosis: Role of MRC2 is a three-year Collaborative Health Science Program grant, which will be led by Department of Medicine Chair Lynn Schnapp, MD.  

Ong will also be a co-investigator on the grant Radiopharmaceutical Therapy for Leptomeningeal Metastatic Disease, a three-year grant led by Department of Human Oncology Chair Zachary Morris, MD.  

Incredible work, Dr. Ong! 

In this role, Wallace helps oversee robotic surgery programs across UW Hospital and UnityPoint Health-Meriter Hospital, making sure programs have access to robotic operating rooms, and helping service lines expand their robotic surgery offerings. 

In the near future, Wallace and the steering committee will lead the process to bring more robotic systems to UW Hospital, as well as guide the transition to incorporate robotic surgery into a transplant program. 

Incredible work, Dr. Wallace!  

The Cincinnati Children’s Hospital is renowned for fetal surgery and the training program is very competitive. Incredible work, Dr. Infusino! 

In “Abortion Restrictions Threaten Miscarriage Management In The United States,” Jacques, Bennett, and co-authors illustrate the connection between abortion and miscarriage care, and how restrictions on the former greatly affect management of the latter.

They estimated that, “1,034,000 miscarriages occur annually, including nearly 400,000 in US states with abortion bans. Attempts to restrict mifepristone access further threaten miscarriage management.”

You can read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Impact of patient safety bundle and team-based training on obstetric hypertensive emergencies,” Domeyer-Klenske and co-authors aimed to increase the amount of obstetric patients with hypertension who received immediate care, in order to reduce pregnancy-related mortality rates.

“Implementation of a patient safety bundle led to a sustained 6 month improvement in the percentage of patients receiving appropriate treatment of obstetric hypertensive emergency within 60 minutes of the first severe hypertension measurement.”

You can find the article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Validation of Lower Urinary Tract Symptom Questionnaire in the Transmasculine Population,” Cox and co-authors addressed the fact that many times lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) go under-reported for transmasculine individuals due to a lack of validating surveys. Much of the data out there still comes from cisgender-focused surveys. Cox and co-authors were interested in seeing if the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire—Female Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (ICIQ-FLUTS) could effectively evaluate LUTS for transgender patients:

“Our validation of the ICIQ-LUTS will now allow quantitative assessment of LUTS severity in this population. Further, future analyses can likely be done to validate its use in capturing change in symptom severity following a variety of medical and surgical treatments in this population.”

You can read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In the lecture, Meduri went over the differences between MRIs and CTs, and explained when to use Ferumoxytol as an MRI contrast, multiphasic imaging when it comes to obstetrics, as well as how to help obstetrics patients with understanding these different techniques.

You can watch the full lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Incidence of postoperative venous thromboembolism in patients with vulvar carcinoma undergoing vulvectomy with or without lymphadenectomy,” Wagar and co-authors assessed whether the incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) differed for radical vulvectomy with or without lymph node assessment for patients who underwent surgery for vulvar carcinoma:

“Inguinofemoral lymph node dissection by any method does not appear to be a risk factor for VTE when compared to radical vulvectomy alone. Further research is needed to determine if extended VTE prophylaxis is beneficial in this population.”

You can read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “What doctors wish patients knew about preeclampsia,” Hoppe talked about the risk factors, symptoms, and diagnoses for preeclampsia and how it can extend into the postpartum period as well.

““That mild gestational hypertension or preeclampsia requires an increase in surveillance, frequent clinic visits – ideally in combination with home blood-pressure monitoring as long as the person does not have any symptoms of worsening of the hypertension disorder. Patients will need an increase in their care, if they develop symptoms or achieve severe range blood pressures,” Dr. Hoppe said.”

You can read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In the lecture, Adams and Zapata focused on a study done by the Wisconsin Maternal Mortality Review Team that analyzed maternal mortality trends from 2019 to 2020. Specifically, they found that 38% of the deaths were due to mental health conditions, and 29% were due to cardiovascular conditions and hypertension issues. The pair also shared recommendations to help limit the amount of pregnancy-related deaths moving forward.

You can watch the full lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

This new faculty fellowship is intended to advance ovarian cancer research at the University of Wisconsin. Since joining the Department of Ob-Gyn faculty in 2021, Sobecki has focused her research on important aspects of cancer care and survivorship. She is the Disease-Oriented Team leader of gynecologic oncology clinical trials for Carbone Cancer Center, leading the effort to advance treatment options and cures for female pelvic cancers. She is a recent recipient of the GOG Foundation New Investigator Award. The GOG Foundation is the premier international collaborative network for transformative clinical research in gynecologic malignancies.

Sobecki’s research interests include improving the quality of life for gynecologic cancer survivors, particularly in the areas of bone and sexual health. She is the medical director of the Women's Integrative Sexual Health (WISH) program at UW Health. She is in her final year as a scholar in the NIH-funded Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her currently funded research is prospectively investigating the risk of osteosarcopenia in women undergoing treatment for gynecologic cancers; this faculty fellowship will help support her work in this crucial area.

Please help us congratulate Dr. Sobecki on this well-deserved honor!

The department’s partnerships with various community non-profits initially brought in a total of 2,200 diapers. That total has increased over the last 14 years, with a grand total of over 100,000 diapers distributed to community-serving organizations around the community. 

In recent years, the Diaper Drive transitioned to collecting online, monetary donations only. By working with the local health care system to purchase diapers, the Department of Ob-Gyn can stretch every donation a lot further: while a pack of diapers at a supermarket may cost $30 or more, the department can buy packs for as little as $2.20. This enables donations to be spread over a larger amount of supplies, creating a greater impact on the community. 

Community partners like ConnectRx, YWCA, Domestic Abuse Intervention Services, River Food Pantry, and more, benefit from the Diaper Drive immensely.

“I would definitely say that community health workers [benefit] because it allows us a sense of relief to be able to address our patients in real time without diapers being a barrier anymore,” said Kimberly Ashford, community health worker supervisor for ConnectRx, care coordination program that helps providers working with Black pregnant patients navigate supportive resources for patients that are available in the community.

The Diaper Drive provides products families know and trust, as well. “We found that a lot of babies can’t use generic diapers because it would cause things like diaper rash,” Ashford said. “The diapers that the drive provided were brand-name diapers that most families would request or be familiar with.”

Diapers bought with donations go to babies not just in the Dane County area, but families from surrounding Wisconsin counties as well as Illinois families who come to the Madison area for birth and postpartum care. This increase in potential patients has also increased demand for diapers, making donations this year as important as ever to ensure the Diaper Drive can serve as many families as possible.

“Groups like ConnectRx are extremely grateful for this partnership,” Ashford said. “Without [it] we wouldn’t be able to address the needs of both infants that have allergies to other diapers,” and families that need a little extra support.

Learn more about the UW Department of Ob-Gyn Diaper Drive and how you can support it here. 

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Collaborative Health Sciences Program grants provide up to $600,000 over three years. The project “Synergizing OXPHOS-inhibitors and Innate T cell-DC Cellular Immunotherapy to Treat Ovarian Cancer” builds on work by Barroilhet and Patankar to understand and apply atovaquone, a common anti-malarial treatment, to ovarian cancer prevention and treatment. In this proposal, they hope to use atovaquone to change tumor cell behavior, to make it more vulnerable to immunotherapy treatment. 

Rose traveled to Providence in June to give the lecture “Humor in Medicine” on June 20, 2024. 

The Dr. Skip Granai Memorial Lecture was established in honor of Dr. Granai, the founding director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at Women & Infants Hospital. 

Incredible work, Dr. Rose! 

In "High risk twins delivered safely in Madison after rare pregnancy complication", a patient shared her experience with a rare monochorionic, monoamniotic (momo) twin pregnancy. Beninati discussed the challenges of safely delivering momo pregnancies: 

“We have to make sure that, when you get one baby out, that you are quick to get the second baby out and don’t let their cords kind of tether or tension on the other, which can limit blood supply to the one who is still on the inside.” 

Watch the whole story here!  

Anna, the patient who worked with Dr. Beninati to safely deliver her twins, shared patient feedback with UnityPoint Health-Meriter Hospital:

"Thank you for everything you did for our momo twins. You gave me the strength and courage to get through my pregnancy and kept me so informed. You always made me feel just as equal in the room when making decisions. I truly believe that if I didn't have you as my doctor that my daughters wouldn't be here. You saved their lives on many occasions and I can't thank you enough!" 

Ong, who holds a joint appointment in the UW Department of Ob-Gyn Division of Reproductive Sciences and the UW School of Medicine and Public Health Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, joined the UW in 2017. Since then, she has built an impressive portfolio around her research interests of data mining, machine learning, probabilistic methods, dynamical models, with applications to biological and medical data, particularly trans-omics, cancer immunotherapy, and precision medicine. 

Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Dr. Ong! 

At Northwestern Medical Group, she worked with patients on nonsurgical management of a wide variety of pelvic floor disorders, provided pessary fittings, and cared for postpartum patients with perineal lacerations. 

Maureen earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Marquette University and a Master of Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Please help us welcome Maureen to the department!  

In “Cervical cancer: a new era,” Wagar and co-authors sought to better understand recent developments in how cervical cancer is treated and dealt with.

“While ambitious global initiatives seek to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem, the management of cervical cancer continues to evolve with major advances in imaging modalities, surgical approaches, identification of histopathological risk factors, radiotherapy techniques, and biomarker-driven personalized therapies.”

You can read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Rose presented “A Revised Markov Model Evaluating Oophorectomy at the Time of Hysterectomy for Benign Indication: Age 65 Years Revisited”. The Grand Rounds presentation is based on a study Rose co-authored, which was published in Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2022. 

The Grand Rounds presentation was co-sponsored by the Society of Hospitals, New Mexico Chapter and the American College of Physicians, New Mexico Chapter.

Incredible work, Dr. Rose! 

Sejal can use the $1500 travel award to support conference travel and professional development.

Incredible work, Sejal!

In the study, Patel and co-authors (including Dobie Giles, MD, MS, MBA and Amy Godecker, PhD) found that more than 60% of adult women in the U.S. experience urinary incontinence, a big increase over past estimates. The study analyzed data collected by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). 

You can read the whole study here. Incredible work, Dr. Patel! 

Jacob Blanchar participated in the McNair Scholars program, which included two presentations. Blanchar presented “Defining Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in Female Rhesus Monkeys” in July at the UCLA McNair Conference in California. He also presented at the McNair Summer Research Experience (MSRE) Virtual Symposium on August 2, 2024.

Phoebe Hayes presented “Discrimination and enrichment of theca cells in rhesus macaque ovarian follicular cell cultures to investigate the molecular underpinnings of ovarian hyperandrogenism in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)-like female monkeys” at the UW–Madison Honors Summer Research Apprenticeship Retreat on July 29, 2024.

Incredible work, Jacob and Phoebe!

Vidalin earned her medical degree from the University of Miami. She is currently completing ob-gyn residency at the Medical College of Georgia. Prior to medical school, Vidalin was a registered nurse for several years.  

Please help us welcome Dr. Vidalin to Wisconsin! 

Presenters, mentors, and projects were: 

Michelle Lin, mentored by Kara Hoppe, DO, MS: The Effects of the Dobbs Decision on Sterilization Rates Based on Location Across Wisconsin

Madison Seifer, mentored by Laura Hanks, MD: Postoperative complications following gender-affirming hysterectomies

Srishi Gupta, mentored by Kara Hoppe, DO, MS: Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring in Young Adult Women With and Without a History of Hypertension in Pregnancy

Estelle Ndukwe, mentored by Abigail Cutler, MD, MPH: Referrals in Abortion Care

Alexandra Sabgir, mentored by Bala Bhagavath, MD: Pelvic Infection after Egg Retrieval in Patients with Endometriosis

Watch all the presentations here. 

In “Increased Prevalence of Binge Eating Disorder and Bulimia Nervosa in Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” Cooney and co-authors analyzed the prevalence of eating disorders among women with PCOS and how this information informs lifestyle recommendations between doctors and patients with PCOS.

“Odds of bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and disordered eating, but not anorexia nervosa, were increased in PCOS. Mean disordered eating scores were higher in PCOS (SMD: 0.52 [0.28, 0.77], 13 studies), including when stratified by normal and higher weight body mass index.”

You can read the whole article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In the lecture, Jackson described long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) methods available domestically and internationally, and what these similarities and differences mean for patient care and dealing with LARCs.

You can watch the full lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Self-managed abortions increased since Dobbs decision, study indicates,” Higgins spoke tangent to a study done recently analyzing an increase in self-managed abortions. Specifically, Higgins talked about self-managed alternatives to medical abortions.

Overall, the story focuses on recent trends, demographics, and the future of self-managed abortions and abortions in general moving forward from the Dobbs Decision.

You can read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In the lecture, Pennycuff discussed the current trends and options available for pelvic floor management. With this, he also mentioned some of these method’s limitations, as well as how pelvic floor management and associated devices can impact pregnancy.

You can watch the full lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

“Doctors react to Aspirus Medford OB/GYN news” noted that beginning October 1, Aspirus’s Medford clinic will no longer offer prenatal and postnatal care, making patients in labor have to travel to all the way to Wausau for similar services.

""When patients don't have access to obstetric units in their local area, we know that leads to increased complications for deliveries, and subsequently for those babies that are born, risk to them can be higher as well,” said Spencer."

Currently, there is only one part-time Ob-Gyn physician at the clinic, leading to staffing issues that make it unmanageable to keep the clinic open.

Yet Spencer is optimistic that the UW Department of Ob-Gyn’s rural residency program will be able to provide support and resources in the future for clinics similar to Medford.

You can read the full story here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Optimal Timing of Delivery for Pregnant Individuals With Mild Chronic Hypertension,” Hoppe and co-authors investigated connections between gestational age and delivery times for pregnant people with chronic hypertension, to see if any change in gestational age improved perinatal outcomes.

“Planned delivery in the early-term period compared with expectant management was not associated with a reduction in adverse maternal outcomes. However, it was associated with increased odds of some neonatal complications.”

Read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Abbott co-authored the paper “Interplay of Cortisol, Testosterone and Abdominal Fat Mass in Normal-Weight Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome”, which compared cortisol and cortisone levels between normal-weight women with PCOS to a control group of women with a similar age and body mass index to figure out if adrenal steroids are associated with abdominal fat deposition.

Congratulations on the honor, Dr. Abbott!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Dr. Tiffany Green named Gloria E. Sarto, MD, PhD Chair in Women’s Health and Health Equity Research,” Green was recognized for her research around racial and ethnic disparities in reproductive health across the U.S., and her appointment to the endowed chair.

This position honors internationally recognized academic leaders like Green, who are paving the way for women’s health through innovative ideas and research. Any money associated with the recognition goes to supporting research and education programs as well as other scholarly activities.

Congratulations, Dr. Green! You can read the full story here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Can You Get Herpes From a Toilet Seat?” Luellwitz and other health care experts from around the United States clear up some myths surrounding herpes. Luellwitz specifically talked about how the STI is transmitted, reducing risk for herpes, and good public restroom hygiene tips in general:

“Getting herpes is more likely when you have skin-to-skin contact with someone who has active herpes lesions or symptoms, says Dr. Luellwitz, but it’s still possible to get herpes from skin-to-skin contact with a partner who currently has no noticeable symptoms.”

Read the whole article here!

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Madison woman finds hope after recurrent uterine cancer,” Hartenbach talked about one of the clinical trials patient Judi Trampf was able to join at the Carbone Cancer Center that has helped her recovery.

“Patients who join prospective clinical trials, especially at the phase three level, generally do better than those who don’t,” Hartenbach said. “Being eligible for a phase three trial is actually a positive opportunity.”

Read the whole article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In the lecture, Pennycuff touched upon the epidemiology of pelvic floor disorders for women and the evidence surrounding the outcomes of pelvic floor surgeries after pregnancy. From this, Pennycuff discussed what this evidence means for delivery recommendations after having pelvic floor surgery.

Watch the full lecture here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Anti-Mullerian Hormone: A Molecular Key to Unlocking Polycystic Ovary Syndrome?,” Abbott and co-authors evaluated the correlation between hormone levels and PCOS symptoms in hyperandrogenic (HA) female rhesus monkeys. They specifically focussed on testosterone and anti-mullerian hormones (AMH), finding that:

“Gestational or peripubertal exogenous T or dihydrotestosterone induction of PCOS-like traits in female mice, rats, sheep, and monkeys fails to elicit ovarian AMH hypersecretion; thus, AMH excess per se may lead to a distinct pathogenic contribution to hyperandrogenic PCOS origins.”

Read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Green has been a member of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology since 2019 with her primary home in the Department of Population Health. Beginning July 1, 2024, she is moving her administrative home along with more time and effort to our department to enhance collaborations with clinical faculty. Green shared that she “is genuinely excited to think about how being more embedded in a clinical department can accelerate our mutual goals to achieve birth equity.”

The Gloria E. Sarto MD, PhD Chair in Women's Health and Health Equity Research honors an internationally recognized academic leader at the forefront of women's health research. The income from this endowment supports research and education programs, and services that further these scholarly activities.

Green is a nationally recognized economist, population health scientist, and science communicator whose mission is to reduce and eliminate racial/ethnic disparities in in reproductive health. Since joining the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2019, she has focused much of her research on understanding how and why Black people with the capacity for pregnancy experience the worst reproductive health access and outcomes of any racial/ethnic group—and what innovative solutions might ameliorate these persistent inequities. 

As a science communicator and educator, Green is dedicated to making complex issues accessible to policymakers, the lay public, and the next generation of physicians and population health scientists. She has used her expertise to promote evidence-based policy via legislative testimony and has provided interviews for numerous local and national media outlets on reproductive equity and the racial/ethnic and socioeconomic inequalities heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Green also developed “Race in American Obstetrics and Gynecology”, one of the first medical education courses in the United States to address the role of race in the development of American obstetrics and gynecology. 

Green actively serves in local and state community organizations to address reproductive health disparities. She is a member of the Wisconsin State Maternal Mortality Review Team and proudly serves as inaugural Co-Chair of the Black Maternal & Child Health Alliance of Dane County—a coalition committed to ensuring that Black birthing people and babies are free to reach their highest potential.

Please help us congratulate Dr. Green on this well-deserved appointment! We are excited to see what such an already-accomplished, impressive researcher can do with the support from this endowed chair and the opportunity for more increased collaboration with our clinical faculty.

India Anderson-Carter, MD:

Where will you be going and what will you be doing after UW Ob-Gyn? 

I will be staying in Madison and joining UW's Ob-Gyn department faculty in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn.

What was your proudest accomplishment during residency? 

My proudest accomplishment was being part of the resident DEI committee and getting our department to agree to fund/support resident representatives to attend conferences aimed at targeting our DEI initiatives!

How do you feel UW Ob-Gyn prepared you for success after residency? 

They molded me into the amazing physician I am today. I have them to thank for my excellent surgical skills, my medical knowledge base and so much more.

Any special shout-outs or thanks to faculty, staff, other residents who really shaped your time here? 

My co-residents for their support, encouragement and making my time here great; the department for investing in me; nurses, PAs, and APPs for their role in teaching me; all the other staff for helping me provide the best care to patients over the years! 

Alexandra Andes, MD:

Dr. Andes will depart for private practice at Association for Women's Health Care in Illinois.

Gabrielle Avery, MD:

Where will you be going and what will you be doing after UW Ob-Gyn?

I will be starting fellowship in Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery at the University of California - Irvine! 

What will you miss most about UW Ob-Gyn, Madison, and/or your time in residency? 

Definitely the people! My co-residents, fellows, attendings, nurses, and support staff – you all made a huge difference in my experience and hold a special place in my heart! Thank you! From Madison and Wisconsin, I'll miss a good Friday Fish Fry, the best farmer's market in the country, and the changes of the seasons.

Any special shout-outs or thanks to faculty, staff, other residents who really shaped your time here? 

Shout-out to my class of 2024 for becoming amazing doctors and surgeons, all while maintaining lives, relationships, and families outside of work. We did it!! Thank you to the URPS division for their unwavering support and cheerleading me through research and the fellowship application process. Thank you to the generalists and sub-specialist faculty for all your support, mentorship, insight, and commitment to making me better every day.

Kaley Gyorfi, MD:

Where will you be going and what will you be doing after UW Ob-Gyn?

I have accepted a general Ob-Gyn position at Kaiser Permanente in West Los Angeles.

How do you feel UW Ob-Gyn prepared you for success after residency?

I feel like this resident program prepared me very well in terms of obstetrics and benign gynecology. With our high surgical volume, I feel very ready to tackle difficult cases coming right out of residency.

What will you miss most about UW Ob-Gyn, Madison, and/or your time in residency?

I will miss my classmates and co-residents and fellows dearly, I will miss putting on a personal concert in any Swiftie attending's OR, and I will just miss this perfect city and the people in it. I feel extremely grateful to have trained here.

Any special shout-outs or thanks to faculty, staff, other residents who really shaped your time here?

Shout out to my classmates, I truly couldn't have picked a better group of 7 people to go through residency with. Thank you to ALL former and current co-residents as well, this group of people has felt like a second family for the last four years.

Margaret Harrison, MD:

Dr. Harrison will join the private practice Women's Health Care Associates in Colorado.

Jennifer Janik, MD:

Dr. Janik moves on to the private practice Grand Rapids Women's Health in Michigan.

Awa Sanneh, MD:

Dr. Sanneh joins the University of Wisconsin Department of Ob-Gyn faculty in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn.

The three-year grant will support the development of a new OB-GYN Rural Track Program in partnership with the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics (UW Health) and the Marshfield Clinic Health System (MCHS) in Wood County. Future residents in the program would spend the beginning of their residency training in Madison and finish with more than two years in Marshfield, building skills in obstetrics, gynecologic surgery, and ambulatory medicine as they care for rural underserved patients and become comfortable providing this care in a rural community.

Ryan Spencer, MD, MS, associate professor in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology and director of the rural residency track, led the application for this new grant, which scored a perfect 100 out of a possible 100.

The grant received media attention in the week since its announcement. Learn more about it on these stories:

New federal grant sends more ob-gyns to train in rural areas – Wisconsin Public Radio

UW receives federal grant to expand OB-GYN rural residency program – WBAY Green Bay

UW OBGYN rural track program receives $750,000 in funding – WKOW

Biden-Harris Administration Invests $11 Million to Expand Medical Residencies in Rural Communities – HRSA Press Release

Members of the organization, as well as families affected by IVF legislation, were at the Capitol on June 12 to share stories with legislators in advance of a scheduled vote on the act. You can read the ASRM’s statement on the outcome of the vote here.

Thank you for joining the advocacy efforts, Dr. Bhagavath!

In "Assessing Immune Factors in Maternal Milk and Paired Infant Plasma Antibody Binding to Human Rhinoviruses", Ong and co-authors “used high-density peptide arrays to profile infant and maternal antibody reactivity to capsid and full proteome sequences of three human rhinoviruses (RVs).”

You can read the article here. Incredible work, Dr. Ong!

In “Can I Get a Gel Manicure While Pregnant?”, Beninati and other experts talk about different aspects of manicure safety and how to choose whether nail services are right for you:  

“Research on this topic can be scarce, so you and your health care provider can make a personal judgment call that feels right for you. "I would say that commercially available gel or acrylic polish should be considered safe in pregnancy and would ideally be applied in a well-ventilated space," says Dr. Beninati.”

Read the whole article here.

On May 31, 2024, Kumar met with Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin’s office to discuss the effects of perfluoroalkyl and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on pregnancy.

Relatedly, Kumar is the senior author on a new publication in Biology of Reproduction: “Male infertility and Perfluoroalkyl and poly-fluoroalkyl substances: Evidence for alterations in phosphorylation of proteins and fertility-related functional attributes in spermatozoa".

Kumar is also senior author on the article "Gestational Intermittent Hypoxia Impairs AT2R-Mediated Vascular Protection in Female Offspring on a High-Fat, High-Sucrose Diet", published in the Journal of Biotechnology and Biomedicine.

Incredible work, Dr. Kumar!

In “Abortion Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions of Obstetrics and Gynecology Residents at Four Midwestern Residency Programs Prior to Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health”, Cutler and co-authors surveyed ob-gyn residents in Wisconsin and Minnesota to understand their attitudes towards abortion, interest in learning about abortion, and future career intentions regarding abortion care.

Cutler and co-authors found most residents:

“…reported highly favorable attitudes toward abortion, nearly all found the issue of abortion important, and the majority planned to incorporate abortion care into their future work. There were no differences in median attitude scores or behavioral intentions among institutions.”

Read the whole article here.

Members of the Review Committee are responsible for setting accreditation standards, providing peer evaluation of residency and fellowship programs in obstetrics and gynecology, assessing compliance with educational requirements, and conferring an accreditation status for every program. Review Committee members are nominated by ABOG, ACOG, or other nominating organizations. Selection from the nominees is based on professional experiences and prior service in national organizations and committees. 

Incredible work, Dr. Spencer!

Clemente will bring the poster “Cytokine-induced changes in endothelial cell mRNA and protein expression may promote vascular inflammation in preeclampsia via an immunomodulatory mechanism" to the conference. Gordon Research Conferences provide an international forum for leading-edge research in biological, chemical, physical, and engineering sciences.

Incredible work, Dr. Clemente!

In “Multidisciplinary approach to evaluation of rectovaginal fistulas,” Cox and co-authors sought to demonstrate how colorectal surgery and urogynecology teams use a variety of methods while examining rectovaginal fistulas (RVFs) and their relationship to surgical repair time.

The team found that, “multidisciplinary evaluation of a complex RVF with examination under anesthesia aids in thorough assessment of a fistulous tract and optimization of the surgical approach.”

Read the whole article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

In “Qualitative Pilot Study: Longitudinal Perspectives From People Who Had Second Trimester Abortions for Fetal Anomaly,” Jacques, Cowley, and co-authors discussed patient experience for fetal anomaly abortions, with the hopes that future intervention based off of these cases can improve care.

“Patients indicated that having a choice to have an abortion and choose the modality is imperative, and they remained certain in their decision-making over time. They also described initially strong, then lacking, social support; processed grief; and identified resource constraints.”

Read the whole article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson