Calendar of Events

Jun
22
Wed
2022
2022 Resident and Fellow Research & Alumni Day @ Bolger Auditorium, MCW Medical Education Building or Via Zoom: register below
Jun 22 @ 7:45 am – 12:30 pm

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You must register for this event: REGISTER NOW!

Featuring The Roland S. Cron Lectureship

Guest Speaker

Kristyn Melíssa Brandi, MD, MPH
Board Chair
Physicians for Reproductive Health

About Dr. Brandi

Dr. Kristyn Brandi (pronouns: she/her/ella) is an Assistant Professor at Rutgers – New Jersey Medical School, where she completed her medical school and residency. She completed a Family Planning Fellowship at Boston University where she also earned her Master’s in Public Health with a concentration in Health Law, Bioethics and Human Rights. Her research is on reproductive decision making, contraceptive coercion, and racism in reproductive health care. She serves as the Board Chair of Physicians for Reproductive Health, sits on several sub-committees for the Society of Family Planning and is a founding member of Centering Equity, Racial and Cultural Literacy in Family Planning (CERCL-FP). She proudly identifies as a Latina pansexual abortion provider.

Agenda

TimeActivity
7:15amGRAB AND GO BREAKFAST
7:45amWELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS
8:00amChristine Livergood, MD, MFM Fellow
Characterization of RhoBTB1, a PPARγ target gene, in the Placenta

Mentors: Curt Sigmund, PhD & Jenn McIntosh, MD
8:15amJordan Hauck, DO, R3
Risk of unplanned healthcare utilization in post-partum period for patients with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy

Mentor: Anna Palatnik, MD
8:30amLeigh Mahlum, MD, R3
Factors associated with persistent hypertension at 1-year postpartum in patients with gestational hypertension or preeclampsia

Mentor: Anna Palatnik, MD
8:45amSarah Amherdt, MD, R3
Incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes based on the degree of short interpregnancy interval in urban Milwaukee population

Mentor: Anna Palatnik, MD
9:00amZack Schoppen, MD, R3
What To Expect When You’re Expecting a Medical Student

Mentor: Kate Dielentheis, MD
9:15amSteph Nguyen, MD, R3
Continuity of Care and Non-Urgent Health Care Utilization

Mentors: Jessica Francis, MD & Stephen McAvoy, MD
9:30amBREAK
9:45amAlex Petrie, MD, R3
Evaluating the use and utility of a Weight Loss Clinic referral after surgical treatment of Endometrial Cancer

Mentor: Erin Bishop, MD
10:00amKatie Pellino, MD, R3
Post-Discharge Opioid Prescribing After Cesarean: A Quality Improvement Initiative

Mentor: Erika Peterson, MD
10:15amDavid Eggert, DO, R2
The Influence of Patient Education Level, Infertility Treatment, and Pregnancy and Breastfeeding Status on Perceptions of the COVID-19 Vaccine: A Mixed Methods Study

Mentor: Stephanie Gunderson, MD
10:30amRebecca Sigourney, MD, R2
Investigating the Impact of the Addition of a MIGS Surgeon on Surgical Volume of General OBGYNs

Mentor: Ben Beran, MD
10:45amBREAK
11:00amThe Roland S. Cron Lecture:
Kristyn Melíssa Brandi, MD, MPH
Title: "Who is in Control Here- Contraceptive Coercion and Reproductive Justice"

Learn More about Resident and Fellow Research & Alumni Day

Feb
22
Wed
2023
Precision Pathology and PDX Models for Breast Cancer Drug Response Prediction – Hallgeir Rui, MD, PhD @ Ob-Gyn Conference Room #252 (2nd floor Wisconsin Diagnostic Lab Building)
Feb 22 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

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Presented by

Hallgeir Rui, MD, PhD
WBCS Endowed Professor of Breast Cancer Research
Vice Chair of Research, Department of Pathology
Director of MCW Tissue Bank
Associate Director of Shared Resources, MCW Cancer Center
Medical College of Wisconsin

About

Hallgeir Rui, MD, PhD is internationally recognized for his research on hormone signaling in breast cancer, and has a strong track record of leadership, mentoring and collaboration. He is the WBCS Endowed Professor of Breast Cancer Research at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), with his primary appointment in the Department of Pathology, and a secondary appointment to the Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology. In addition, Dr. Rui serves as the Associate Director of Basic Science and Shared Resources at the MCW Cancer Center. With his past experience as a Program Leader and Shared Resource Director at the NCI-designated Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University, Dr. Rui brings valuable experience to the MCW Cancer Center efforts toward NCI-designation. Dr. Rui serves on the Breast Cancer Translational Research Committee of NRG Oncology.

A central focus of hisresearch is on molecular profiling of solid tumors, with published track record in malignancies of the breast, pancreas, prostate, colon, head and neck and melanomas. Key areas of interest are therapy-relevant protein expression, including pathway-activation status and tumor immunology-related markers, with development of better predictive markers and improved personalized cancer care as the overarching goal. Efforts are dedicated to improving methods and applications for quantitative, multiplex immunohistochemistry (IHC) for single-cell protein marker analyses – histocytometry – in solid tumors.

His laboratory invented novel ultrahigh density tissue arraying technology termed cutting-edge matrix assembly (CEMA) that overcomes limitations of core-based tissue arrays (US patent 8,349,584). Our laboratory, in collaboration with Dr. Kay-Uwe Wagner, developed novel prolactin-humanized NSG-Pro mouse strain for more accurate modeling and drug response testing of human breast cancer and other prolactin receptor-positive cancers, and my team has established a panel of new patient-derived breast cancer xenograft models in NSG-Pro mice.

Dr. Rui has extensive experience in facilitating multidisciplinary and collaborative program projects, including a concluded $6.7 million Promise Project Award funded by Susan G. Komen Foundation. Attesting to the productive use of immunofluorescence-based quantitative histocytometry and tissue arraying technologies for high-throughput application of innovative and nonstandard technologies for immunoprofiling of solid tumors, I led a multidisciplinary team that quantified levels of more than 100 therapy-relevant protein markers in nearly 3,000 breast cancer specimens, using tissue arrays and accompanying clinical data assembled and procured by a consortium of five institutions. As the leader of this consortium, I coordinated extensive efforts to combine tissue resources, data, equipment resources and broad areas of expertise.

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Apr
26
Wed
2023
“Epigenetic Regulated Heterogeneity in Endocrine Resistant Breast Cancer” – Victor Jin, PhD @ Ob-Gyn Conference Room #252 (2nd floor Wisconsin Diagnostic Lab Building)
Apr 26 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

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Presented by

Victor Jin, PhD
Linda T. and John A. Mellowes Endowed Chair of Bioinformatics and Data Analytics
Director, Bioinformatics Shared Resources
Professor, Institute for Health and Equity/Biostatistics
Medical College of Wisconsin

About

Dr. Jin has extensive experience in developing computational and genomics approaches for analyzing various omics-seq data, and runs a systems biology lab with a balanced dry and wet components.

Research Interests:

1) Developing genomics and computational approaches for the identification of three-dimensional (3D) chromatin interactions from the various omics-seq data.
2) Functionally and mechanistically characterizing the roles of epigenetic marks in cancer development and progression using novel techniques such as 3C/ChIP/RT-qPCR, 3D-FISH and CRISPR/Cas9.
3) Adapting/applying genome-wide omics-seq techniques in patient tissues to identify epigenetic-driven therapeutic targets and biomarkers.

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Jun
28
Wed
2023
2023 Resident and Fellow Research & Alumni Day @ In-person event only. Alumni Center, MCW Medical Education Building
Jun 28 @ 7:15 am – 1:30 pm

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Schedule:

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TimeActivity
7:15amBREAKFAST
7:45amWELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS
8:00amYiwen Cui, MD, MFM Fellow
O-GlcNAc transferase contributes to sex-specific placental deregulation in gestational diabetes

Mentor: Stephanie Olivier-Van Stichelen, PhD
8:15amLindsay McAlarnen, MD GYN ONC Fellow
Exosomal FXR1 as a translational mediator in the ovarian cancer microenvironment

Mentor:Pradeep Chaluvally-Raghavan, PhD
8:30amRebekah Summey, MD GYN ONC Fellow
Exploration and exploitation of hormonal pathways in adult granulosa cell tumors for development of targeted therapeutics

Mentors: Elizabeth Hopp, MD and Janet S. Rader, MD
8:45amAlex Levy, MD, R4
Is One Superior? Comparison of Early Removal Rates of Intrauterine Device versus Nexplanon Subdermal Implant in Women Ages 16-24 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Mentor: Jessica Francis, MD
9:00amRana Aliani, MD R3
Impact of Race, Insurance, and Procedural Timing on Sterilization Method

Mentor: Ben Beran, MD
9:15amMary Siracusa, MD R3
Determining Patients’ Preferred Ultrasound Provider During the Preoperative Evaluation of Endometriosis

Mentor: Ben Beran, MD
9:30amBREAK
9:45amIman Khan, MD R3
Postpartum Care in a Post-COVID Era

Mentors: Amy Domeyer, MD and Erika Peterson, MD
10:00amBlake Neuburg, MD R3
Inpatient Versus Outpatient Management of Gestational Hypertension or Preeclampsia Without Severe Features

Mentor: Anna Palatnik, MD
10:15amAnkita Sarawagi, MD R3
Screening rates for intimate partner violence (IPV) in the OBGYN clinic from 2019 to 2022

Mentor: Kim Gecsi, MD
10:30amMargaret Bruce, MD R3
Evaluating Modern Contraceptive Methods as Risk Factors for Recurrent UTI’s


Mentor: Sumana Koduri, MD
10:45amBREAK
11:00amThe Roland S. Cron Lecture:
Nandini Raghuraman, MD, MS
Fellowship Program Director, Maternal-Fetal Medicine
Assistant Professor, OB/GYN
Washington University School of Medicine

"Moving Evidence into Clinical Practice on Labor & Delivery"
12:00pmQuestions for Dr. Raghuraman
12:30pmLunch
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Featuring The Roland S. Cron Lectureship

Guest Speaker

Nandini Raghuraman, MD MSCI
Fellowship Program Director, Maternal-Fetal Medicine
Assistant Professor, OB/GYN
Washington University School of Medicine

About Dr. Raghuraman

Nandini Raghuraman, MD, MSCI, is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Washington University in St Louis and the MFM Fellowship Program Director. She is a NIH-funded physician scientist with expertise in Labor & Delivery clinical trials and implementation science in obstetrics. She has authored over 70 peer reviewed manuscripts and is currently leading a multicenter randomized trial investigating the effect of maternal oxygen supplementation in labor for fetal resuscitation.

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Jul
26
Wed
2023
Protein Arginine Methylation: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Vulnerabilities – Wei Xu, PhD @ Ob-Gyn Conference Room #252 (2nd floor Wisconsin Diagnostic Lab Building)
Jul 26 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

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Presented by

Wei Xu, PhD
Professor of Oncology, Marian A. Messerschmidt
Associate Director,, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research
Director of MCW Tissue Bank
Co-Director, Genetic and Epigenetic Mechanism Program, Carbone Cancer Center

About

Dr. Xu’s laboratory explores the protective roles of environmental and nutritional estrogenic compounds in mammals for breast cancer prevention and treatment. Estrogen receptors (ERs) exist in two forms, ERa and ERb, which have opposing roles in cell proliferation. Estrogenic compounds can control balance between mammary cell proliferation and differentiation via stimulating the formation of different forms of ER dimers. Xu lab has developed the Bioluminescent Resonance Energy Transfer (BRET) assays for detecting in vivo homodimerization and heterodimerization of ERa and ERb induced by estrogenic compounds. Biological functions of these estrogenic compounds are currently being investigated in cell-based and breast cancer mouse models. Dr. Xu’s laboratory has also employed biochemical and functional genomic approaches, as well as mouse genetics to decipher the contribution of histone arginine methylation to the epigenetic control of cancer cells. The major focus of Xu lab is on a protein arginine (R) methyltransferase CARM1/PRMT4, a nuclear hormone receptor co-activator. Dr. Xu has identified a number of non-histone substrates for CARM1 and is in the progress of elucidating the functions of protein arginine methylation in breast cancer initiation and progression.

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Sep
27
Wed
2023
Application of Human Amniotic Membrane in Tissue Engineering – Bo Wang, PhD @ Ob-Gyn Conference Room #252 (2nd floor Wisconsin Diagnostic Lab Building)
Sep 27 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

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Presented by

Bo Wang, PhD
Director – Tissue Regenerative Engineering Laboratory (TRE Lab)
Assistant Professor – Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Marquette University and Medical College of Wisconsin

About

Dr. Bo Wang, Director and Principal Investigator of the TRE Lab, received her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Mississippi State University in 2012 and completed her Postdoctoral Fellowship at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Surgery, in 2016. She joined the Marquette-MCW Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering in January of 2019 with research interests that include stem cell engineering, hard-tissue engineering and 3D bioprinting, as well as vascular tissue engineering, imaging, modeling and simulation.

The Tissue Regenerative Engineering Laboratory is developing bio-functional engineered tissues that provide advanced therapeutic options for such conditions as birth defects, bone disorders, and liver and vascular diseases. To do this, the TRE Lab will first develop a greater understanding of the biological and molecular processes involved in regenerative regression.

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Mar
27
Wed
2024
“Advances Toward the Next Generation Tools For Precision Medicine” – Navonil De Sarkar, PhD @ Ob-Gyn Conference Room #252 (2nd floor Wisconsin Diagnostic Lab Building)
Mar 27 @ 12:10 pm – 1:10 pm

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Presented by

Navonil De Sarkar, PhD
Assistant Professor – Department of Pathology at the Medical College of Wisconsin

About

Navonil De Sarkar is an Assistant Professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center with a dual background in computational and experimental genomics; he brings a multidisciplinary approach to studying human cancers. His research focuses on understanding the natural history of the disease, devising noninvasive approaches to track adaptive and molecular evolutionary changes in cancer accurately, and ultimately developing practical strategies for precision medicine in advanced cancer patients (Augmented precision medicine).

Navonil received his Ph.D. from the Indian Statistical Institute and joined Peter Nelson’s lab at the University of Washington & Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, for postdoctoral training. Through adopting integrative genomics approaches, Navonil developed extensive experience analyzing tumor genomes to study functionally relevant mutations and structural aberrations using tumor tissue and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). Navonil participated in several large-scale consortium data analyses, including Stat-up-to-cancer germline and prostate tumor analysis efforts. Navonil led the bioinformatics analysis of the large-scale germline sequence work that highlighted the importance of inherited DNA repair genes in shaping the fate of advanced prostate cancer. He is one of the early discoverers of CDK12 loss-associated tandem duplicator signature. Subsequently, De Sarkar developed a machine learning-based classifier that accurately predicts functional homologous recombination deficiency. Recently, he co-led a study interrogating whole genomes of advanced prostate cancers using cell-free DNA sequencing and discovered imprints of cancer epigenomes in native cell-free DNA sequence data.

Navonil is a recipient of several trainee awards. To mention in 2019 Navonil received the very competitive Prostate Cancer Foundation Young Investigator Award. Then onwards, Navonil is co-leading Prostate Cancer Foundation DNA repair-focused working group activities. He is the editorial board member for Translational Oncology and an associate editor for the Genitourinary Oncology edition of Frontiers journals.

Navonil re-joined MCW in March 2023 and committed to establishing a multidisciplinary research group to develop cutting-edge but practical precision medicine tools for prostate and other cancers. Building on strong biological fundamentals and detailed understandings of the disease, De Sarkar Lab (DeTAnomics Lab) is developing novel therapeutic strategies and working to co-develop new genomic assays and computational genomics tools to help us tackle the most lethal types of prostate and other cancers. DeTAnomics Lab adopts long-read genomic sequencing techniques to better understand cancer genome, transcriptome, and epigenome. In the lab, DeTAnomics lab explores the complex interplay between the genome and epigenome to uncover new insights that can lead to the development of more effective therapeutics and biomarkers. Currently, DeSarkar and his team are working on developing a practical strategy to degrade BRCA2 in tumor cells so as to confer DNA-damaging mediated therapy benefits to a wider pool of patients.

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