Happy Holidays!

I am wishing each of you a happy holiday season filled with love, laughter, and joy. As the year ends, it is important for us to count our blessings and remember that there are many less fortunate. A special thanks to those working the holidays, caring for our patients and being away from family and friends.

Let the warmth and peace of the season carry you into 2020!


Dee E. Fenner, MD
OBGYN Ranks 14th in FY19 NIH Ratings, Up From 24th in FY18!
In FY19, the OBGYN Department had 8 committed NIH grants and received $4,190,485 of NIH funding. The last time we were ranked above #15 was almost 10 years ago in 2010!

Congratulations to our research faculty and staff!
Dr. Hansen & Team Begin New Clinical Trial
Dr. Jean Hansen and her co-investigators, Dr. Kevin Reynolds, Dr. Karen McLean and Dr. Shitanshu Uppal, are set to begin a new clinical trial:

“A Phase III, Randomized, Multi-Center, Double-Blind, Global Study to Determine the Efficacy and Safety of Durvalumab in Combination with Chemoradiotherapy Compared to Chemoradiotherapy alone for Treatment in Women with Locally Cervical Cancer (CALLA)"

Collaborating closely with colleagues in radiation oncology, the team recently completed the site initiation visit and will likely activate the study and open for accrual in January 2020.
Dr. Klumpner Announced as Recipient of 2019 Investigator Award
Thomas Klumpner, MD, received a 2019 Investigator Award from Precision Health. His team was awarded $300,000 over two years to pursue their research:

“Developing an Early Warning System for Treatment of Postpartum Hemorrhage Using Time-Series Machine Learning Models”

Women's Health Leadership Board Disseminates Five Grants for Research and Programs in Women's Health
In 2018, Michigan Medicine launched the Women’s Health Leadership Board. The board, under the leadership of Dr. Dee Fenner, is made up of about 30 passionate advocates and donors for women’s health. 

One of the Board's goals has been to fund raise for the Women's Health Innovation Fund to support research and unique programs in women’s health. The funds are disseminated annually through a peer-review competition program.

This year, 20 applications were received and 5 projects were selected for funding. On December 11th, the Women's Health Leadership Board met to hear the winners' research presentations and disseminate the awards.

All five of the following projects received funding of various amounts:

  • Sarah Compton, M.D. - Changes in unmet need and consistent contraception-use patterns after Planned Parenthood of Michigan lost Title X Funding 
  • Susan Ernst, M.D. - Self testing to improve cervical cancer screening for women with disabilities
  • Courtney Townsel, M.D. - Natasure Device: novel non-invasive approach to reduce preterm birth
  • Emma Lawrence, M.D. - The Patient Perspective on Preeclampsia: An Analysis of Attitudes, Knowledge and Experiences of Postpartum Woman in Ghana
  • Melisa Scott, CNM. - Centering Pregnancy program

Additionally, the Board voted to give out an extra $10,000 to one of the projects. They chose Dr. Susan Ernst’s project on self-testing to improve cervical cancer screen for women with disabilities. 
Missed the event?
Check out the video and photos below!
New ORSP & Department Deadline Policies
Beginning January 2020, ORSP is instituting a new 2-day deadline policy. Grants submitted after this date are “at risk” of not being submitted. In response, our department is instituting a new 3-day deadline policy to ensure no faculty’s grant proposals are at risk of not being submitted:

All grants must be finalized by 8am 3 days before the sponsor deadline. This deadline policy applies to all external sponsors – federal, foundation, subcontracts, grants.gov submissions, proposals requiring institutional signature, and proposals not requiring institutional signature. 

It is incumbent that the department do its part to meet these deadlines as ORSP has indicated if the rates don’t improve the next step will be a “hard deadline,” in which case grants received after their deadline won’t be submitted. 

Please contact Melissa Schon if you have any questions regarding these deadlines or new policies.
Provider Profile Updates - We're Getting There!
We greatly appreciate you taking the time to review your current provider profile and complete the Faculty Profile Update Form!
Melissa Schon Honored with Camille Mrozowski Award for Service Excellence in Research
On Wednesday, December 4th, Melissa Schon was awarded Camille Mrozowski Award for Service Excellence in Research. This award recognizes Melissa’s exceptional job performance, her deep commitment to the success of the research mission and the goals of the OBGYN faculty as she helps ease the administrative burdens through the challenges and hurdles of the submission process.

Through her sincerity, warmth and high standards of integrity, Melissa has built excellent relationships with the faculty and staff in OBGYN. Her dedication to the individual, departmental and institutional research is apparent in her enthusiasm and willingness to go above and beyond, no task is too small or too big for her. Melissa advises department leadership and faculty on issues related to research, providing accurate data to inform her recommendations. Melissa attends training workshops, develops and implements new strategies and acts as a representative on many committees. She also collaborates with other departments and shares her processes with them.

Like Camille Mrozowski, Melissa Schon is beloved for her personal warmth, an unshakable positive attitude, her integrity, sincerity and deep commitment to supporting the research mission.
Dr. Chi Selected as Patient Safety & Quality Leadership Scholar
Dr. Alice Chi was selected to participate in the Patient Safety and Quality Leadership Scholars Program for 2020.

During this 5-month program Dr. Chi will utilize a quality project to practice the principles and methods for improving the quality and safety of patient care in addition to developing skills in quality and safety leadership, teaching and scholarship.

Congratulations, Dr. Chi!
New OBGYN Staff Members:

  • Emily Rivkin, Project Intermediate Manager 
  • Caroline Foster, Research Lab Specialist Associate
  • Rachel Riddle, Administrative Assistant Senior

Pelvic Floor Research Group (PFRG) Day
Join the Pelvic Floor Research Group for their annual PFRG Day! This year's keynote speaker is Dr. Charles W. Nager, MD, University of California, San Diego Health.

Date: Wednesday February 5th
Time: 8:20am - 4pm (Breakfast at 7:30am)
Location: Rackham Amphitheatre, Rackham Building

RSVP to pfrg@umich.edu by Thursday, January 31st.
Admin Holiday Sock Exchange and Dessert Bar
OBGYN administrative staff gathered to celebrate the holidays and welcome new team members on Thursday, December 19th.

The team said goodbye to 2019 by sharing desserts and exchanging festive socks!
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