Hello OBGYN Family,

The ice is melting, COVID numbers are dropping, and the sun is starting to shine. We look to spring for renewal! So as we end February, let us celebrate Black History month not just once a year, but every day in our actions and deeds.

Thank you all for the hard work, sacrifices, and dedication to our patients, learners, and each other.

Moving forward together!

Dee E. Fenner, MD

In recognition of International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the Office of the Vice President for Research partnered with the Public Engagement and Impact Team to produce five videos and podcasts in which women in research from across the University of Michigan - including our own Erica Marsh, MD, MSCI, FACOG - discuss their work and careers.

A new study by Timothy Johnson, MD, finds that obstetric capacity strengthening in Ghana results in wide geographic distribution and retention of certified Obstetrician-Gynecologists.

Thank you to Cindy Lee, MD, and Daniel Miranian, MD, for all of their hard work over this past year.

The results of this study can ultimately motivate the development of behavioral recommendations to enhance survival among patients with ovarian cancer.

This study seeks to evaluate the association between hysterectomy and ovarian cancer and to understand how hormone therapy (HT) use and endometriosis affect this association.

More than 25 Michigan Medicine faculty members, fellows, and residents – led by our OBGYN team – shared their cutting-edge research and advancements in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine 42nd Annual Pregnancy Meeting.

Largely due to intersecting forms of stigma and unmet needs for gender affirmation, transgender and nonbinary people have significantly worse mental health outcomes, compared to the general population. Peers have been identified as a critical aspect of gender affirmation, with peer-delivered interventions offering a promising scalable mechanism for addressing mental health disparities.

With this five-year NIH/NIMHD K23 grant, Daphna Stroumsa, MD, MPH, aims to leverage a community-engaged approach to identify desired elements of peer support interventions and to develop and test an intervention to improve mental health outcomes among transgender and nonbinary people seeking gender-affirming care.

Dr. Stroumsa's mentorship team includes Rob Stephenson (primary mentor), Paul Pfeiffer (primary mentor), Amy Schulz (mentor), Kristi Gamarel (mentor), and Erica Marsh (advisor).

Congratulations to Jean Siedel, DO, on selection to the editorial board for Gynecologic Oncology Reports, and to Sarah Till, MD, MPH, for appointment to the editorial board of the Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology. Go Blue!

Elizabeth Campbell, MD, has accepted the role of MPLAN Assistant Medical Director for Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital.

Dr. Campbell brings to this position enthusiasm, a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach to leadership, and a commitment to enhancing VVWH patient and family experiences. She is excited about the opportunity to work with her MPLAN partners, Jourdie Triebwasser, MD, MA, and Anne Marie Piehl, MSN, RN, CNM. As a team, they will drive the delivery of safe, high-quality, timely, efficient, patient-centered care within VVWH and in collaboration with other units and hospital leaders.

Thank you to Roger Smith, MD, for his leadership as a Co-Medical Director with Cos Van De Ven, MD, and by Jourdie Triebwasser, MD, MA.

Jean Siedel, DO, is the principal investigator (PI) on two new clinical trials:

Sara Till, MD, MPH, was recently elected as a board member of the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists (AAGL) Pelvic Pain Special Interest Group. The AAGL is the largest association promoting minimally invasive gynecologic surgery among surgeons worldwide.

Congratulations to Luke Burns, MD, Anne Marie Opipari, MD, Nicholas Raja, MD, Colin Russell, MD, MPH, and Katie Zurales, MD, MBA, on being honored by the Galen’s Medical Society with Bronze Beeper Awards.

The Bronze Beeper is awarded to the top 12-15 best resident teachers by Univesity of Michigan medical students. This is a record number for our department! A big thank you to our residents for all that you do for medical education.

Our Department will be well represented at the CREOG/APGO Annual Meeting in Orlando this year (March 9-12th).

We are proud to have 18 presentations from Michigan Medicine, including 1 general session, 2 concurrent sessions, 7 breakout sessions, 1 discussion den, and 7 oral abstracts, including many from our residents and students!

This year, ACOG will hold the inaugural Betsey, Lucy, and Anarcha Memorial Lecture.

Date: March 1, 2022

Time: 7:00 pm

ACOG members Gina Northington, MD, PhD; Allison Bryant, MD, MPH; and Ashanda Saint Jean, MD, will participate in a live roundtable discussion moderated by former Department of OBGYN learner, Jennifer Villavicencio, MD, MPP. The panelists will discuss how they employ justice in medicine, understand and incorporate the historical underpinnings of modern obstetrics and gynecology in their practice, and use their knowledge of the field’s history to move towards more inclusive, person-centered, respectful health care.

Please join us for the 2022 Pelvic Floor Research Group (PFRG) Day! Our keynote - "Novel insights and approaches to pelvic floor imaging and analysis from the University of Pittsburgh" - will be delivered by Steven Abramowitch, Ph.D.

Date: March 2, 2022

Time: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm

Location: Zoom

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person attendance will be limited. We invite you to join us virtually. We hope to see you there!

Tune in to the NICHD virtual meeting to hear our own Suzie As-Sanie, MD, share her expertise on the neurobiology of pelvic pain to enhance clinical care.

Date:  March 2, 2022

Time: 1:00 - 5:00 pm

Location: Virtual

Please join in on our upcoming OBGYN DEI Grand Rounds, “Microaggressions: A Deep Dive Part 2,” presented by Latisha Cunningham of Leadership and Diversity Consulting. Please join live if you are able, as this session will not be recorded due to the personal nature of the presentation and the ensuing discussion.

Date: March 3rd

Time: 7:45 - 8:30 am

Location: Zoom

Register for the free 40th Annual Women of Color Task Force Career Conference by 12pm on March 1st!

Date: March 4th

Time: 8:30 am - 4:00 pm

Location: Virtual

The keynote speaker for this year's virtual event is Social Justice Leader and Movement Strategist, Tamika D. Mallory, an internationally recognized activist who is well known as the co-founder of Until Freedom, and one of four co-chairs for the 2017 Women's March on Washington. Ms. Mallory will be discussing the conference theme: "The Time is Now!". President of Mallory Consulting, a strategic planning firm, and a former board member of The Gathering for Justice, Tamika has landed on the 2017 Time 100 Pioneers list and Fortune's 2017 list of the World's Greatest Leaders. She is a prominent voice of civil rights, social justice, and the new wave of feminism.

All conference information, including the schedule, speaker details, and workshop descriptions, is available online at myumi.ch/G1kyz.

Join us at Michigan Medicine’s Women’s Health Luncheon with guest speaker Kim Barnes Arico, U-M women’s basketball head coach, remarks from Valerie Jarrett, CEO, Obama Foundation, and the Inaugural Women’s Health Hero, Maxine Frankel.

Date: April 27th, 2022

Time: 11:00 am

Location: Daxton Hotel, Birmingham, Michigan.

Help support innovative research and advances in care for all women.

Mark your calendars! The 2022 Norman F. Miller University of Michigan Alumni Society Annual Meeting will be held on Friday, October 14th. The theme will be “Reproductive Health in 2022: The Health Care Provider’s Role in Access to Care, Health Policy and Patient Advocacy.”

A variety of presentations and group discussions regarding current challenges and opportunities encountered by women’s health care providers and patients will be planned. The classes of 2002, 2007, 2012, and 2017 will be honored.

Alumni are also welcome to join the Department of ObGyn for a tailgate prior to the UM v Penn State football game on Saturday, October 15th. Additional information and registration materials will be sent in July. We hope to see you there!

The annual Vital Voices Faculty and Staff Engagement Survey is coming soon! Michigan Medicine will launch the 2022 survey on Monday, March 14, and it will run through Friday, March 25.

This year’s survey seeks feedback on a variety of topics including safety, communication, inclusion, teamwork, and more. The survey should take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete and will be made available through direct emails from Press Ganey (appearing as “Michigan Medicine Engagement Survey”).