Learn More about the Annual Women’s Health Conference
Senior Vice President for Health Affairs and Dean
Meharry Medical College School of Medicine
In her role as Senior Vice President for Health Affairs, Dr. Mallett is responsible for the quality of health care provided at Meharry and for the maintenance of the health service affiliations that help the College provide exemplary training for its students, residents and fellows. As Dean of the School of Medicine, she serves as the chief academic and administrative officer of the medical school and oversee sits academic programs, research efforts, curriculum, student affairs and fiscal management. Dr. Mallett is also responsible for the academic component of residency programs.
Dr. Mallett has been recognized nationally and internationally for her work in the treatment of urinary incontinence and genital organ prolapse as well as her efforts to reduce health disparities. She joins Meharry from the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso where she served as founding chair and professor since March 2011. Prior to this position, she held faculty positions at Northwestern University, Wayne State University and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, serving in roles including Urogynecology Fellowship Director, Residency Director, Director of Health Care Excellence and Safety, Practice Plan Director and Department Chair.
In addition to her impressive work as a researcher and educator, Dr. Mallett has made amazing strides in bettering health for people of Hispanic origin. Fluent in medical Spanish, she recently worked to develop a new medical school and health science center on the Texas/Mexico border aimed at addressing the critical physician shortage in El Paso and the surrounding community.
Dr. Mallett obtained her bachelor’s degree in Biology from Barnard University and received her M.D. from Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine. She also holds a master’s degree in Medical Management from Carnegie Mellon University. She is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, and has authored nearly 100 articles, book chapters and abstracts.
Resident Research and Alumni Day is an annual event in which residents present their research results within their residency in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. We invite our Obstetrics and Gynecology alumni to attend this significant day to support our current residents.
Richard Legro, MD – “Preconception Interventions in Infertile Women: Do They Work?”
Interim Chair and Vice Chair of Research, Penn State Health Obstetrics and Gynecology
Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine
Dr. Richard S. Legro is Professor and Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Penn State University College of Medicine in Hershey, PA and Co-Director of the Hub Resource Capacity Core at the Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute.
His research and clinical practice are primarily focused on polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) – diagnosis, treatment, and genetic/environmental causes as well as on improving infertility diagnosis and treatment. He has been continuously funded by the NIH for over twenty years as a principal investigator. He has designed and led multiple multi-center trials in the U.S. and China that have appeared in high impact journals. These trials have broadened the scope of infertility trials from stopping when the patient conceives to follow mothers and fetus up and through live birth and to capture all treatment and pregnancy-related adverse events in mother and infant. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles in medical journals. He has been elected and served as a member of the Executive Board and Chair of the Publications Committee of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine and is currently Secretary-Treasurer of the Endocrine Society.
He serves as a subspecialty board oral examiner for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He is an Associate Editor for Fertility and Sterility and Human Reproduction Update and the Co-Editor in Chief of Seminars in Reproductive Medicine. He has consulted for the NIH, the FDA, the WHO, and been selected for the Thousand Talents Program in China. He has received many awards including as Best and Top Doctor, has been inducted as a Fellow Ad Eundem to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in the UK and received the 2017 Excellence in Clinical Research Award from the FUNDACIÓN IVI in Spain.
Catherine Ferguson, MD
Associate Professor of Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Kern Institute for Transformation of Medical Education
Director of the Quality and Patient Safety Pathway for MCW Medical Students
Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education and Academic Affairs
Designated Institutional Official
Professor of Integrated Medical Science, Division of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine
Florida Atlantic University
Lee A. Learman, MD, PhD, has been Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education and Academic Affairs since October 12, 2015 at the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, Florida Atlantic University (FAU). He is the Designated Institutional Official who is responsible for all residency and fellowship programs sponsored by the college as well as the recruitment of founding program directors for planned GME programs. The Academic Affairs role will comprise development and execution of College’s faculty development strategy, leadership for medical education scholarship and ongoing accreditation with LCME standards.
Dr. Learman comes to FAU from Indiana University, where he has served as the Clarence E. Ehrlich Professor and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology since 2008. He received his MD and a PhD in Social Psychology at Harvard Medical School in a program supported by the MacArthur Foundation to create a cadre of physician-social scientists in academic medicine. After completing his OBGYN residency at UCLA, Learman spent 14 years on the faculty at the UC San Francisco, where he was a Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, OBGYN Residency Program Director, Director of Curricular Affairs for the Office of Graduate Medical Education, and Chair of the Scholarship Committee for the UCSF Academy of Medical Educators.
Dr. Learman is engaged in a variety of national service roles. He is an oral examiner for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, a former member of the ACGME Residency Review Committee for Obstetrics and Gynecology, and a former member of the USMLE Management Committee. He serves as faculty, advisor and Advisory Committee Chair for a national faculty development program in OBGYN – the APGO Academic Scholars and Leaders Program, and is the past Chair of the Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology. He is President of the Society of Academic Specialists in General Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Learman is the author of over 70 peer-reviewed publications including several contributions to the AAMC MedEdPORTAL. His scholarly work spans topics in gynecology, obstetrics and medical education including curriculum development and evaluation, learner assessment, and professionalism in the learning environment. He provides peer review service to over 15 journals including Academic Medicine, has served on the editorial board of Obstetrics & Gynecology, and is Editor-in-Chief (Gynecology) of the Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey.
Learn more about the E. James Aiman, MD, Endowed Lectureship
Karen J Marcdante, MD
Professor of Pediatric Critical Care
Director of PCCM Fellowship
Medical College of Wisconsin
Come and listen to our panelists tell their stories about the barriers trans and gender non-conforming patients may face while seeking health care, and ways to show compassion and provide quality care. This program is designed for our clinical faculty and students but is open to all.
Senior Scientist
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Hackensack University Medical Center
Adjunct Professor of Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience
Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School
Dr. Illsley moved to Hackensack University Medical Center in 2012, following positions at the U.K. Medical Research Council’s Clinical Research Centre in London, the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California San Francisco and the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School. His research focuses on the human placenta, its mechanisms of maternal to fetal transport, metabolism and role in the regulation of fetal growth. He has studied diabetic pregnancy, fetal growth restriction, preeclampsia and pregnancies subject to chronic hypoxia. He has published more than 80 articles in scientific journals on these topics. He has been awarded multiple research grants, primarily from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), with continuous funding since 1988. Dr. Illsley has been instrumental in developing and promoting the NIH Human Placenta Project, a 10-year effort to devise real-time methods for examining placental function.
Dr. Illsley is a leader in his field, helping to found both the Placenta Association of the Americas for which he served as the first President (2001-2011) and the International Federation of Placenta Associations for which he is completing a five-year term as President. He has served on several journal editorial boards and on the Council of the Society for Gynecologic Investigation and Perinatal Research Society. He was a charter member of the NIH Human Embryology and Development Study Section and continues to serve on multiple NIH study sections, reviewing research in perinatal medicine. Dr. Illsley has now put this experience and expertise to use in a new role, leading investigations for the Center for Abnormal Placentation. In collaboration with Dr. Zamudio and Dr. Al-Khan, he is developing new research to investigate the molecular biology that underlies placental invasion into the uterus in both normal and abnormal pregnancies. He is particularly interested in abnormally invasive placenta (placenta accreta) and preeclampsia.
Resident and Fellow Research and Alumni Day is an annual event where our residents and graduating fellow present their clinical, translational science, and educational research results within their residency and fellowship in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
William M. Leininger, MD, FACOG – “Advocacy Beyond the Statehouse”
Assistant Professor, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Fellow, Physicians for Reproductive Health
Dr. William M. Leininger, MD, FACOG (CAPT, MC, USN [Ret]), currently practices as a board certified, Obstetrician/Gynecologist at Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD). He served on the hospital’s Graduate Medical Education Executive Committee, and is an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD. He has previously served as the Obstetrics and Gynecology Specialty Advisor to the Surgeon General of the Navy (2012-2015), and was a Residency Program Director for Obstetrics and Gynecology at Naval Medical Center San Diego (2007-2012).
Dr. Leininger graduated from Williams College with a BA in Biology in 1986, and then spent a year teaching high school math and science at the Landon School in Bethesda, MD (his alma mater). He next attended the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and graduated in 1991, and subsequently completed his residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at NMCSD in 1997. In addition to San Diego, he practiced at the Naval hospitals in Bethesda, MD, Portsmouth, VA, Camp Pendleton, CA, and Keflavik, Iceland.
During his 26 years in the Navy, he deployed to the Persian Gulf and Kuwait, and served in humanitarian operations in Somalia (Operation Restore Hope), Guatemala, and Indonesia (Operation Tsunami Relief). During his career, he also worked on numerous policy issues, patient safety strategies, and medical education improvements, covering topics such as updates to the armed services’ abortion policy, developing care guidelines for transgender service personnel, decreasing cesarean section rates, preventing unplanned pregnancies, delivering healthcare for pregnant and deployed servicewomen, and promoting the core competency of professionalism.
Dr. Leininger is married to a Marine Corps veteran and a former volunteer fire fighter, and his wife is now a Senior GIS Analyst/Cartographer for the North County Dispatch JPA, providing support to the Fire and EMS Services in northern San Diego County. They live in Escondido, CA, and have three rescued German Shepherds.
Time | Activity |
---|---|
7:00am | REGISTRATION & BREAKFAST |
7:45am | WELCOME |
8:00am | Amanda Johnson, MD, MFM Fellow “Altered neural calcium signaling in HCMV infection is mitigated with viral kinase inhibition” Mentor: Scott Terhune, PhD |
8:15am | Kathryn Carnahan, MD, R3 Association Between Continuity of Care and Health Care Utilization in an OB/GYN Resident Clinic Mentor: Jessica Francis, MD |
8:30am | Talia Coney, MD, R3 Maternal Outcomes of Pregnancies Complicated by Life-Limiting Conditions Mentor: Anna Palatnik, MD |
8:45am | Justin Harold, MD, R3 “All That Glitters isn’t Node: Failed Sentinel Lymph Node Mapping with Indocyanine Green in Women with Endometrial Cancer” Mentor: William Bradley, MD |
9:00am | BREAK |
9:15am | Sarah Hirsch, DO R3 Desire for Psychosocial Support and Barriers to Counseling in Couples with Infertility Mentor: Abbey Kruper, PsyD |
9:30am | Isabel Nellen, DO, R3 Adiponectic in Visceral and Omental Fat in Middle Aged Women with a History of Infertility Mentor: Kate Schoyer, MD |
9:45am | Cindy Vu, MD, R3 Medical Students and the Influence of Gender in Obstetrics and Gynecology Education: A Possible Case of Gender-Bias? Mentor: Rahmouna Farez, MD & Kristina Kaljo, PhD |
10:00am | BREAK |
10:15am | The Roland S. Cron Lecture: William Leininger, MD, FACOG “Advocacy Beyond the Statehouse” |
11:30pm | LUNCH |
Professor and Chair, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, University of Calgary, Tom Baker Cancer Centre
Dr. Gregg Nelson obtained his MD and PhD degrees at the University of Calgary in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and subsequently continued on to complete his sub-specialization in Gynecologic Oncology at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre. He joined the Section of Gynecologic Oncology at TBCC in July 2010, and was the local Gyn Tumour Team lead and Chair of the Provincial Gynecologic Oncology Tumour Team from 2011-2018. He is currently Chair of Gynecologic Oncology and is Professor in the Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Oncology at the Cumming School of Medicine.
Dr. Nelson’s principal research interests are the development and study of enhanced recovery protocols in cancer surgery and interventions to improve HPV vaccination in First Nations populations. He holds the position of Surgical Lead, ERAS Alberta and he also leads the international group that published the ERAS® Guidelines for Gynecologic/Oncology Surgery. Recently he has been appointed the Secretary of the ERAS® Society Executive Committee based in Sweden. He leads the EHVINA study – Enhancing HPV Vaccination In First Nations Populations in Alberta – a $1,250,000 project funded by Alberta Innovates/Alberta Cancer Prevention Legacy Fund.
Dr. Nelson has over 100 peer-reviewed publications and has presented numerous times internationally. He currently serves on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Gynecological Cancer.
Learn more about the E. James Aiman, MD, Endowed Lectureship