We are excited to launch the new Department of ObGyn internal website! This site will help our​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ team share announcements, events, and resources in a single location.

We welcome your feedback as we continue to develop and optimize the content. Please send questions and suggestions to Marisa Wetmore and Elizabeth Seif.

Okeoma Mmeje, MD, MPH, and her work to build a more inclusive environment for our patients, was featured in President Ono's January 2023 monthly message to the faculty, students & staff at the University of Michigan.

Tune in around 5:38 to see Dr. Mmeje!

A new American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) study from Lindsay Admon, MD, MSc, and team measures rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) screening during the perinatal period among people experiencing physical violence in the United States.

January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. More than 9 of 10 cases of cervical cancer are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) but almost all cervical cancer can be prevented by the HPV vaccine. Listen to Elizabeth Campbell, MD, talk about HPV and what men and women need to know about cancer, vaccines, and sexually transmitted infections.

In their new study, Dr. Lawrence & team evaluate obstetric doctors’ perspectives on the benefits of and barriers to the implementation of home blood pressure monitoring among pregnant women in Ghana.

In December and January, our Department hosted 3 final-year MFM fellows from the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana; they are soon to become the first cohort of MFM-trained OBGYNs in Accra, Ghana!

Drs. Alex Boateng, Perez Sepenu, and Jeff Agyapong each were invited for 4-week observerships in the MFM division. They participated in MFM didactics and departmental conferences and observed in MFM clinics, the antepartum service, and the fetal diagnostic center. A big thank you to Elizabeth Langen, MD, our MFM faculty, fellows, residents, and Jennifer Jones for welcoming them into clinical learning...and snowy Michigan holiday traditions!  

Dr. Jeff Osei Agyapong shared a few words of gratitude: "The teaching was so rich and I cannot wait to share all that I’ve learned here with the team back home. It is definitely going to make a big impact on our MFM practice. It was especially exciting to see all the amazing procedures and have the experts in the field walk me through the steps. Thank you all so much for making me feel so welcome, teaching me, and showing me a good time in and outside the hospital. It was an honor getting to know you all. Go Blue!" 

A recently published study by Gynecologic Oncology Fellow, Alli Straubhar, MD, evaluated the impact of a tailored opioid prescription calculator on meeting individual patient opioid needs while avoiding opioid over-prescriptions.

To My OB/GYN Family,

Black History Month is a time for us to focus on the unique and lasting contributions of the Black community. I encourage you to join me in recognizing and celebrating these achievements and more through the many Black History Month events on campus and in our broader community.  

While Black History Month is a wonderful cause for celebration, it must also be a call to proactively and collaboratively build a culture that embraces diversity. Within the month of February and beyond let's engage across our differences and learn more about each other while working to build a culture where all are welcome and all belong.  

Courtney Townsel, MD, MSc

Associate Chair for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

We are thrilled to announce that Helen Morgan, MD, has accepted the position of Associate Chair of Faculty Development and Faculty Life. In her new role, Dr. Morgan will focus on promotion, professional development, wellness, onboarding of new faculty, and annual evaluations.

Dr. Morgan brings a wealth of leadership experience to this work, having served as a Michigan Medicine Wellness Faculty Associate, Chair of APGO Undergraduate Medical Education committee, Director of Residency Preparation Courses, and Co-Investigator of the APGO Reimagining Residency grant.

She has experience implementing systems-level interventions for burnout and wellness, including the Care Giver Boost Initiative. She is committed to helping our faculty and staff grow professionally and build community. Over the next few months, Dr. Morgan will be reaching out to learn and listen as she works with the department members and leadership to create a vision and plan.  

Congratulations to Lindsay Admon, MD, MSc, on her election to the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs (SACUA)! SACUA is the executive arm of the University (Faculty) Senate and the Senate Assembly.

On behalf of members of the Faculty Senate, SACUA advises and consults with the President, Provost, and other executive officers of the University on matters of policy and University concern that impact faculty interests.

Please join us in celebrating Kati Shanks and Maeve Sullivan on their recent completion of the GME Foundations Series! The curriculum covered 15 essential GME administration topics that were presented over the course of an academic year.

To complete the certification, participants are required to interview a senior-level faculty member, asking them a set of questions to learn about their residency training and how it differs from today. Kati interviewed Dr. Johnson and Maeve interviewed Dr. Randolph. Their achievement will be recognized at the 2022/2023 GME Awards ceremony.

More than 20 University of Michigan Health faculty members, fellows, residents, and staff will share their research posters and present at various courses or forums at SMFM 2023!

John DeLancey, MD, has been named a Research Scout by the University of Michigan Office of Research. The Research Scouts represent the breadth of Michigan Medicine research and are from 17 Medical School departments and all three tracks—education, research, and clinical! Scouts have $150,000 and one year to invest in other Medical School researchers’ early-stage scientific ideas, technologies, methods, and tools that they find disruptive, novel, and visionary.

"U-M has long been a launching pad for junior faculty with unusual ideas who need a collaborative environment in which to pursue ideas whose importance has not yet been recognized. The Scout program is an exciting effort to help these early investigators with novel ideas to prove the worth of their vision. I’m excited to be a part of this effort."

Samantha Schon, MD, is now board certified in obesity medicine!

This additional training and certification will be used to support patients in the multidisciplinary clinic for obesity and reproduction (MICOR), which treated over 160 new patients during its first year! 

Marie Bangura, MD, Urogyn Fellow, was just awarded a Partnership Development Grant through the University of Michigan's Global REACH program for her project “Enhancing FMPRS (Urogynecology) Training in Ghana.”

Payton Schmidt, MD, and Emma Lawrence, MD, MS, are the UM faculty mentors on the grant, and Dr. Gabriel Ganyaglo is the Ghanaian urogyn partner.

Carrie Bell, MD, and Mina Farahzad, MD, PhD, were inducted into the GHHS on January 23, 2023. The Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) recognizes students, residents, and faculty who are exemplars of compassionate patient care and who serve as role models, mentors, and leaders in medicine.

Current GHHS members in our department include Drs. Halley Crissman, Cindy Lee, Versha Pleasant, Samantha Kempner, and Anita Malone.

University of Michigan physicians, scientists, and medical students came to the annual Women’s Health Leadership Board Meeting on December 8, 2022, to pitch their research projects and promising ideas to a crowd of colleagues, university leaders, and women’s health advocates and donors.

The annual event welcomes U-M researchers seeking funding for their projects to present to attendees, who then vote on which project will receive support from the Women’s Health Innovation Fund.

Each presenter received $20,000 from the Women’s Health Innovation Fund, and attendees voted to select the winner of an additional $10,000. This year’s winners were third-year U-M medical student, Joshua Goyert, and Molly Stout, MD, MS.

Faculty are invited to join a virtual Town Hall to provide input and suggestions for the central DEI 2.0 plan. 

Date: February 2, 2023

Time: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Location: Virtual (Zoom)

Please join us for the 2023 Pelvic Floor Research Group Day! Our keynote "Biomechanics of the Pregnant Cervix" will be given by Kristin M. Myers, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Columbia University.

Date: February 22, 2023

Time: 8:20 am - 4:30 pm

Location: Rackham Amphitheatre (4th Floor)

Questions? Visit the PFRG Day website or contact pfrg@umich.edu.

The Big House 5K was founded by the Michigan Athletic Department in 2014. In the years since they have raised over $1.2 million in support of local non-profit organizations serving the Washtenaw County community. Join us for the 10th Anniversary celebration of the Big House 5K!

Date: April 16th, 2023

Time: 8:00 am

Location: Big House

OBGYN Staff at the Big House

Last month, our staff got together for a tour of the Big House.

Kudos to Emma Keer for kicking the football through the goal!

Lunar New Year

Lunar New Year is a celebration of the arrival of spring and the beginning of a new year on the lunisolar calendar.

This year, the onWHARD team hosted lunch to recognize and celebrate The Year of the Rabbit.

CRM Holiday Party

The Center for Reproductive Medicine (CRM) team gathered for a Holiday Celebration last month.

A special thank you to Molly Moravek, MD, for hosting and to all who attended!  

Birthday Celebrations

Our faculty celebrated Helen Morgan, MD's birthday at the recent APGO Faculty Development meeting, "Current and Future Leadership in OBGYN Medical Student Education," in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Inequity Inbox

The Inequity Inbox launched in November 2022 and we have had 4 submissions so far. We are grateful for this feedback and are actively working on improvements. Stay tuned!

We strongly encourage you to continue using the Inequity Inbox!

Transgender-Inclusive Care Guide

Check out the new Michigan Medicine Transgender-Affirming Language and Care guide!

This document is intended to provide basic guidance to staff and providers for interacting with transgender patients in a patient-centered way.

The guide also includes a MiChart tipsheet with information on including your patient’s personal preferences.

2023 Religious Holidays Calendar

To better support our community, the University of Michigan School of Information, the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and the Office of the Provost have implemented an online collection of information sheets on major holidays and cultural events.

Many of the holidays listed are linked to Fact Sheets prepared by a U-M School of Information Project Team with input and review from religious leaders and community organizations. We hope that you find this resource to be helpful. Public feedback is welcome; please email DEIHolidayFacts@umich.edu.

Get moving and earn swag this winter with Active U! Join the Gyn-O-Mites team by Feb. 6th and try out the 3-course dinner curated by Tammy Moorey, our Active U team leader:

• Potato Croquettes
• Rigatoni with Chicken and Zucchini from Healthy Pasta: The Sexy, Skinny, and Smart Way to Eat Your Favorite Food: A Cookbook
• Fresh Iced Orange Cookies

Interested in becoming certified as bilingual through Michigan Medicine Interpreter Services? Please reach out to Interpreter Services.

Volunteers are needed to help plan for Health Equity Month (April) and Black Maternal Health Week (1st week in April)​. Please reach out to Courtney Townsel or Emily Rivkin if you are interested in planning a great series of events!