Gynecologic Oncology

Bailey Pfander, PA, joined the Division of Gynecologic Oncology on November 17, 2025. Bailey will work as an inpatient PA, providing collaborative care to gynecologic oncology patients. Please help us welcome Bailey to the department! What was your professional background before joining the UW Department of Ob-Gyn? Before joining the gynecologic oncology team as a physician ... more

David Kushner, MD, professor in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, and Nicolette Codispoti, MD, MS, MPH, PGY-3 resident, recently co-authored a study featured on the cover of the International Journal of Gynecologic Pathology. Additional authors include Jin Xu, MD, MS; Lauren Montemorano, MD; Elizabeth Sadowski, MD; and Paul Weisman, MD. In “A Case of CDKN2C/CIC Null Epit... more

Congratulations to Lisa Barroilhet, MD, MS, director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology and Manish Patankar, PhD, director of the Division of Reproductive Sciences! They recently received pilot funding from the UW Carbone Cancer Center to study new immunotherapeutic agent for ovarian cancer. The project "Investigating fusokine IL-6/1 as a novel immunotherapeutic agent ... more

UW Department of Ob-Gyn residents Rusha Bajpai, MD, PGY-4, and Nicolette Codispoti, MD, MS, MPH, PGY-3, presented their research at the 2025 Heartland Association of Gynecologic Oncology Conference in Iowa City, IA, from September 18-19, 2025. Their impressive presentations include: Poster: Trends Between ACOG Referral Criteria, Age and Surgical Histopathology – Rusha Bajpai... more

Physicians and researchers in the UW Department of Ob-Gyn recently published an article in Obstetrics & Gynecology. Matthew Wagar, MD, the 2025 graduate of the UW Department of Ob-Gyn Gynecologic Oncology fellowship, is lead author on the publication; co-authors include Rachel Mojdehbakhsh, MD, MS; Eric Reetz, MD; Dandi Huang, MD; Mary Kao, MD; Ahmed Al-Niaimi, MD; Natalia G... more

The Division of Gynecologic Oncology is pleased to share that Taylor Paige Stewart, MD, will join the gynecologic oncology fellowship program as a fellow in August 2026. 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, wh... more

In late July 2025, the SGO/GOG-F BRIDGES 2.0 Research Initiative convened at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., for a milestone gathering that brought early-career scholars face-to-face with leading experts in gynecologic oncology clinical trials. Lisa Barroilhet, MD, MS, associate professor and director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, served as a Translat... more

Lisa Barroilhet, MD, MS, associate professor and director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, and Katherine Sampene, MD, clinical professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, recently co-authored a publication published in the Wisconsin Medical Journal. Matthew Wagar, MD, a recent graduate of the UW Department of Ob-Gyn Gynecologic Oncology fellowship, i... more

For the next few months, the Women’s Healthcast will dive into all aspects of aging and women’s health, through conversations with experts in the UW Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and beyond. 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 h... more

Congratulations to Ellen Hartenbach, MD, chair of the Department of Ob-Gyn and professor in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology! Hartenbach was appointed by UW School of Medicine and Public Health Dean Nita Ahuja, MD, MBA to be the senior representative from the SMPH on the American Association of Medical Colleges Council on Faculty and Academic Societies (AAMC-CFAS). The a... more

Congratulations to Janelle Sobecki, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology! Sobecki received a two-year grant from the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center Palliative and Supportive Care DOT pilot program. The grant will support Sobecki’s ongoing research into bone loss and gynecologic cancer treatment. She will collaborate with Neil Binkley... more

Congratulations to Laura Huffman, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology! On July 1, 2025, she became the new associate director of the UW Department of Ob-Gyn Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship, joining fellowship director Ryan Spencer, MD, MS, in leading the program.Huffman joined the UW Department Ob-Gyn for gynecologic oncology fellowship in 2014 an... more

On July 17, 2025, Katie Sampene, MD, clinical professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn and Director of Obstetric Quality & Safety, and Sumer Wallace, MD, associate professor in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology and Director of Gynecology Quality & Safety, presented the Grand Rounds lecture “Quality Improvement Update”.In the lecture, Sampene and Wallace... more

The UW School of Medicine and Public Health hosted the 2025 SMPH Faculty Investiture Celebration on June 18. Two faculty in the Department of Ob-Gyn with recent appointments to endowed professorships and fellowships were celebrated during the ceremony.Tiffany Green, PhD, associate professor in the Division of Reproductive and Population Health, became the Gloria E. Sarto MD,... more

Janelle Sobecki, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, published a new article published in Osteoporosis International. Co-authors include Diane Krueger; Perry Pickhardt, MD; Neil Binkley, MD; and Paul Anderson, MD. In “Optimizing region of interest size and placement for clinical opportunistic CT trabecular bone Hounsfield unit measurements”, Sobe... more

Faculty, scholars, and staff from the UW Department of Ob-Gyn brought research and provided leadership at the AcademyHealth 2025 Annual Research Meeting. AcademyHealth hosted the event in Minneapolis June 7-10, 2025. Podium presentations: Partnering with Community and Applying Evidence to Advance Reproductive Health - Tiffany Green, PhD, associate professor in the Division o... more