Laura Hanks, MD, FACOG
Clinical Assistant Professor
Academic Specialists in Obstetrics and Gynecology
Office Address
Union Corners
2323 E Washington Av
Madison, WI, 53704
Clinic Address
Union Corners
2323 E Washington Av
Madison, WI, 53704
Administrative Assistant
Chelsea R. Gatica
cgatica@wisc.edu
608-242-6840
Hanks publishes blog about global health trip
In “In My Own Words: Dr. Hanks’ trip to Gambia,” Hanks describes what it was like serving as a mentor for UW Ob-Gyn global health resident Awa Sanneh, MD, PGY-4, and acting as a guest lecturer in Banjul, Gambia. Many of her lectures focused on quality improvement projects regarding postpartum hemorrhage and C-section rates.
“Overall, this trip was filled with a lot of great experiences. In addition to my observation with Dr. Sanneh, we met many doctors in various surgical specialties while we were there. I am hopeful that these connections will be important for creating future partnerships.”
Read the whole blog post here.
**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson
UW Department of Ob-Gyn at 2024 ACOG Congressional Leadership Conference
Faculty:
- Amy Domeyer-Klenske, MD – Division of ASOG Director and associate professor
- Laura Hanks, MD – assistant professor, Division of ASOG
- Carley Zeal, MD – assistant professor, Division of ASOG
- Katie O’Brien, MD – soon-to-be assistant professor, Division of ASOG
- Doug Laube, MD – emeritus faculty
Trainees:
- Jackie Powell, MD – Maternal-Fetal Medicine fellow
- Ben Pickus, MD - PGY-3 resident
- Margaret Williams, MD - PGY-3 resident
Medical Students:
- Laurie Lapp
- Kaitlyn Landry
The Wisconsin Section of ACOG also won the State Legislative Advocacy Award during the conference. Congratulations, all!
Phillips receives Excellence in Student Research Award
Congratulations to Camille Phillips, UW School of Medicine and Public Health medical student and mentee of Laura Hanks, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn! Phillips received the Excellence in Student Research award at the 22nd Annual Medical Student Research Forum on Nov 20, 2023.
Forty students were competitively selected to present their research with a podium talk in four concurrent sessions, with each session selecting a winner.
Camille presented “Sterilizations Rates of Pregnancy Capable People at a Single Institution in Wisconsin Before and After the Dobbs Decision”, co-authored by Jeanette Larson, MD, PGY-2, Amy Godecker, PhD, and Laura Hanks, MD. Camille did a fantastic job and her talk was scored highest in her session by faculty, students, and staff in attendance! She wins a $500 award and her achievement will be listed in the booklet of awards that MD Student Services prepares each spring.
Camille’s project was funded by the Shapiro Summer Research Program and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Incredible work, Camille!
Grand Rounds: Shapiro Students present research projects
Every summer, Shapiro Summer Research students collaborate with UW Department of Ob-Gyn faculty on research projects. On August 3, the 2023 Shapiro Summer Research students presented their projects during Ob-Gyn Grand Rounds.
Presenters, mentors, and projects were:
Camille Phillips, mentored by Laura Hanks, MD - “Sterilizations Rates of Pregnancy Capable People at a Single Institution in Wisconsin Before and After the Dobbs Decision”
Amy Tran, mentored by Jon Pennycuff, MD, MSPH - “Pelvic Floor Symptom Burden and Treatment Choices for Rural versus Urban Dwelling Women”
Lindsey Christianson, mentored by Laura Jacques, MD - “How is the Dobbs Decision Impacting Decision-Making and Perceived Training Options for Ob-Gyn Residency Applicants?”
Sami Stroebel, mentored by Laura Cooney, MD - “Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSD) & Time to Pregnancy”
Doua Chee Xiong, mentored by Laura Bozzuto, MD - “Optimizing Care for Patients with Granulomatous Mastitis”
Watch all the presentations here.
Phillips earns Junior Fellow prize paper at ACOG District VI meeting
Huge congratulations to Camille Phillips, UW School of Medicine and Public Health medical student and mentee of Laura Hanks, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn! Phillips earned the Junior Fellow Prize Paper at the ACOG District VI Meeting in early October 2023.
Phillips presented the paper “Sterilizations Rates of Pregnancy Capable People at a Single Institution in Wisconsin Before and After the Dobbs Decision” at the meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. Jeanette Larson, MD, PGY-2, Amy Godecker, PhD, and Laura Hanks, MD, co-authored the paper, which shared data from a retrospective chart review:
“The June 2022 Dobbs vs. Jackson decision extremely restricted abortion care in Wisconsin, leading to uncertainty about how patients would respond to limitations on their reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy. Anecdotal data suggested that more patients were seeking permanent sterilization in direct response to the decision. Our presentation provides a summary of our retrospective chart review of all patients that received sterilizations at a single hospital in Wisconsin before and after the Dobbs decision. We will analyze what patient populations are receiving sterilizations post-Dobbs, and discuss what these trends mean for reproductive health care in an abortion-restricted state.”
Incredible work, Camille!
Hanks passes ABOG board exams
Sincere congratulations to Laura Hanks, MD, assistant professor in the UW Ob-Gyn Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn! We are proud to share that Hanks passed her ABOG board exams.
Hanks joined our department faculty in May 2022. Incredible work, Dr. Hanks!
Women’s Healthcast: Robotic-Assisted Surgery, featuring Laura Hanks, MD
On a recent episode of the Women’s Healthcast, Laura Hanks, MD, assistant professor in the UW Ob-Gyn Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, discussed different ways surgery can be performed, with a focus on robotic-assisted surgery.
In the episode, Hanks talked about how robotic surgery works, what kinds of procedures in the ob-gyn world can and can’t be performed with this method, and how people can weigh the risks and benefits when deciding whether robotic-assisted surgery is right for them.
Listen to Robotic-Assisted Surgery 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, Stitcher, Podbean, or anywhere else, you can find us! (Just search Women’s Healthcast, and while you’re at it, may as well subscribe!)
Women’s Healthcast: Surgical Sterilization, featuring Dr. Laura Hanks
Since the spring of 2022, ob-gyn clinics around the U.S. have reported an increase in questions about tubal ligation, also known as surgical sterilization or salpingectomy. On a recent episode of the Women’s Healthcast, Laura Hanks, MD, assistant professor in the UW Ob-Gyn Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, talked about why those requests are up, and answered questions about surgical sterilization: what happens during the procedure, why people might be interested in permanent birth control, and how she helps patients make sure sterilization is right for them.
Listen to Surgical Sterilization 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, Stitcher, Podbean, or anywhere else, you can find us! (Just search Women’s Healthcast, and while you’re at it, may as well subscribe!)