Happy Holidays and Goodbye to 2020!!

As we enter the new calendar year, I want to thank you for all you have done and accomplished during this most unusual time.

Despite it all, you continue to excel across our tripartite mission. I sincerely appreciate the hard work and sacrifice that everyone has made during the pandemic.

With a light shining in the future, please continue to take care of yourselves and your families.

Here’s hoping 2021 brings healing, joy, peace, and in-person parties!

Best,

Dee E. Fenner, MD

Dr. Monica Rosen is opening a new Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology (PAG) clinic at West Ann Arbor Health Center.

Dr. Rosen completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology and a fellowship in Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on abnormal uterine bleeding in teens, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), and bleeding disorders.

Dr. Rosen will begin seeing patients in January 2021 and is now accepting referrals!

"If we are going to achieve these goals, the health care system will need to be intentional about reducing racial disparities. That will require listening to women of color and community organizations that can provide direction on how to improve the care that is provided," said Dr. Elizabeth Langen.

A newly published study by Dr. Emma Lawrence and team outlines the impact of global partnerships in developing gynecologic oncology sub-specialty training programs in Africa, with a focus on the Michigan-Ghana partnership.

This article, written in collaboration between our Ghanaian gynecology oncology partners and University of Michigan faculty and staff, highlights the value of global partnerships:

The 2020 Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Preparation Courses, co-directed by Drs. Anita Malone and Helen Morgan were a resounding success. Eleven students completed the 8-week course in the spring, and the course received a perfect 5/5 course evaluation.

Thank you to all of the faculty, staff, and residents who volunteered their time for the students, and a special congratulation to the course Most Valuable Teaching Award recipients, Drs. Samantha Kempner and Aimee Rolston.

In his new publication - Medicaid sterilization consent forms: variation in rejection and payment consequences - Dr. Colin Russell, MPH, and his coauthors examine variation in Medicaid sterilization consent forms.

The team found that ensuring greater transparency and consistency in the Title XIX sterilization consent process within and between states is a key step to ensuring equitable access to postpartum sterilization.

Last year, Drs. Helen Morgan, Lauren Owens, and colleagues sent a survey on parenting to all physician faculty at our institution. Over 1,000 respondents shared their perspectives. In December 2020, the team published the results of their parenting survey in JAMA Network Open.

They reported differences in how Michigan Medicine faculty physicians perceive that parenting affects promotion for male and female physicians, and gender differences in how comfortable faculty feel discussing work-family integration with leadership.

Our Ghanaian partners, Lemi Belay, Tesfaye Hurisa, and Ferid Abbas, successfully completed their fellowship in family planning and passed their written and oral boards.

Dr. Rosalyn Maben-Feaster, MPH was selected from a competitive group of applicants to join the AMA Health Systems Science (HSS) Academy as a faculty member for the HSS Scholars Program.

The Academy welcomed its third cohort of HSS scholars with a kick-off meeting on December 4, 2020. Forty scholars from 37 institutions, joined by scholars from previous cohorts, convened virtually to learn more about the implementation of HSS curricula in undergraduate and graduate medical education.

Dr. Maben-Feaster, who will serve as a mentor for 5 scholars over the coming year, brings invaluable experience from her role as the Director of Health Systems Science at the University of Michigan Medical School. She herself is a graduate of this program which she completed with the first cohort of scholars in 2018.

Please congratulate Professor Kayte Spector-Bagdady, JD, MBe, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, who has been named as an Associate Director of the Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine (CBSSM) at the University of Michigan.

Prof. Spector has been a member of the Center since joining the University of Michigan as a CBSSM research fellow. A lawyer and bioethicist by training, her NIH-funded research focuses on the ethics and regulation of secondary research use of health data and human biospecimens. Prof. Spector is a member of Michigan Medicine’s Adult and Pediatric ethics committees and is also a faculty ethicist for CBSSM’s clinical ethics service. She established the CBSSM research ethics service as well as committee in 2018. Prof. Spector also teaches the Responsible Conduct of Research for K Awardees through MICHR.

Prof. Spector has a history of bioethics service and leadership both at the institutional and national level. She is a founding member of the U-M Human Data and Biospecimen Release Committee and helped design Michigan Medicine’s new data and specimen commercialization policy. She is also a member of the Michigan Medicine COVID-19 Trials Prioritization Committee and currently serves on President Schlissel and Provost Collins’s COVID-19 Faculty Council.

At the national level, Prof. Spector is on the Board of Directors for the American Society for Bioethics & Humanities and was named as a 2019 Health Law Scholar by the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics. Prior to joining U-M, she was Associate Director for President Obama’s Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues.

Dr. Alex Friedman Peahl, MSc was recognized for her work making exceptional contributions right here in Southeast Michigan! Check out Dr. Peahl’s interview at the Dec. 4 virtual breakfast ceremony:

Melisa Scott, CNM, was the winner of the 2020 Individual HOPE Award for for her role in improving outcomes for Black mothers and babies by implementing programs and resources for this patient population! Melisa was the winner in the Individual Finalists, Children’s, Women’s, and Psychiatry Services category.

The HOPE Award was developed by Scott Newport who was inspired by those who allowed his son, Evan, to have a happy childhood while he was a patient at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. This award acknowledges those who work hand-in-hand with patients and families across the entire health system.

Dr. Molly Moravek, MPH has been invited to join the editorial board of Human Reproduction, one of the top reproductive health journals in the world!

Dr. Moravek was selected to serve as an Associate Editor based on the quality of her past review reports for the journal, as well as her expertise in the field and personal research interests.

The Michigan Medicine Department of OBGYN Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee is looking forward to seeing everyone at Grand Rounds on January 7th. This session will be a journal article discussion facilitated by Denise Williams. Below please find two articles for your review. We encourage everyone to attend, even if you are unable to read the articles in advance.

This year’s 2021 MLK Symposium features two speakers, Gloria House, poet, essayist, educator, and human rights activist, and Malik Yakini, co-founder and Executive Director of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network (DBCFSN).

U-M students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend lectures, exhibitions, workshops, and community service projects, throughout campus from January through March. View the full calendar of events.

Mark your calendars for the 2021 Annual Norman F. Miller University of Michigan Alumni Society Meeting. Next year's meeting will be held on Friday, September 24, 2021. Stay tuned for more details!

Dr. Margaret Punch's mom taught her to sew a long time ago. She started with very basic costuming in the high school theater and started making Halloween costumes for her daughters - princess costumes - when they were 3 and 5. They are now 28 and 30! Dr. Punch has also made costumes for the Burns Park Players, a local group of parents that put on a musical every year to raise money for the support of theater arts programs in the local community & schools, for over 20 years now.

With her kids grown and flown, Dr. Punch started making Halloween costumes for children of friends and colleagues. In 2018, she made a costume for Jaxson whose mom Aamira Bellamy is a friend and member of the Michigan Medicine development team. He wanted to be a cartoon character whose costume didn’t come in his size.

In 2019, Dr. Punch made a fuzzy Elmo costume for Dr. Versha Pleasant's son, a puppy for another resident’s son, and held a Halloween gathering at her home. This year Zuri Pleasant wanted to be a children’s television character named Blippi. It turned out that Target sold all the accessories as a kit and mom Versha was able to locate the proper shirt, pants, and shoes so her sewing skills were not tested.

Instead, Dr. Punch helped Aamira make her son Jaxson’s dream of becoming Freddie the Falcon come true. Freddie is the Atlanta Falcon’s mascot and when the idea seemed overwhelming, they were able to break it down into manageable parts and once Aamira scavenged a perfect Falcons jersey off eBay, Dr. Punch was able to craft a headpiece on a baseball hat and a lot of felt feathers so Jaxson as Freddie could take flight! She also crafted another Elmo for a little boy that did double duty for his October birthday celebration and Halloween. Unfortunately, Dr. Punch was unable to make the resident Halloween gathering a tradition (yet), due to the pandemic.

With half a yard of good pre-washed cotton, she can make 4 masks in a matter of an hour or two!

Active U, MHealthy’s free 12-week physical activity challenge, is designed for every fitness and activity level and encourages you to get moving at least 120 minutes per week. Join thousands of your colleagues virtually for motivation and support to get (and stay) active.

Plan to join the OBGYN Department team, The Gyno-Mites, for fitness, camaraderie, and fun photo ops! Look for an email from your Active-U team captains soon with more details.

Despite the pandemic, the Department of OBGYN Wellness Committee managed to spread a little cheer this holiday season!

While 2020 certainly has had its challenges, there have been good things happening to us too! The Wellness Committee came together to share positive things that have happened over the course of the year – personal and professional!

To try to end this challenging year with a bit of fun and festivity, the Wellness Committee organized a (safe and socially distanced) holiday gift exchange for staff!