Congratulations to the amazing UW Department of Ob-Gyn faculty received promotions this academic year! Their promotions will be effective at the end of June 2026.
Jacquelyn Adams, MD, MSCI, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, was promoted to Associate Professor (CHS). 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.
Michael Beninati, MD, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, was promoted to Associate Professor (CHS). 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.
Caroline Cox, MD, Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, was promoted to Associate Professor (CHS). Cox joined the UW Department of Ob-Gyn in 2023; she served as associate program director of the UW Department of Ob-Gyn residency from 2023-2026 and will become director of the Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery on July 1, 2026.
Bridget Kelly, MD, Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, was promoted to Associate Professor (CHS). 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.
Babak Vakili, MD, Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, was promoted to Professor (CHS) following successful completion of a senior rank review. Vakili joined the UW Department of Ob-Gyn as the first Medical Director of the UW Health Integrated Specialty Care for Women (ISCW) program. He moved to Wisconsin following an 18-year career of progressive clinical and educational leadership at ChristianaCare in Delaware.
The Society of Gynecologic Surgeons hosted the 52nd Annual Scientific Meeting in Phoenix, AZ from March 22-25, 2026. UW Department of Ob-Gyn faculty and trainees brought posters, films, and presentations to the meeting. Just some of their exciting accomplishments:
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!
On January 29, 2026, Babak Vakili, MD, professor in the Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery and the Medical Director of Integrated Specialty Care for Women, presented the Grand Rounds lecture “Neurophysiology of Chronic Pelvic Pain”.
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
Members of the UW Department of Ob-Gyn Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery presented at the American Urogynecology Society’s (AUGS) Pelvic Floor Disorder Week, held in Vancouver, Canada, from October 14-17, 2025. The meeting was held in collaboration with the Canadian Society for Pelvic Medicine. Their impressive presentations include:
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
