Profile: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Chair — Carl V. Smith, M.D., The Distinguished Chris J. and Marie A. Olson Professor of Clinical Investigation in Obstetrics and Gynecology; president, Olson Center for Women’s Health Advisory Committee

Department Leadership:
Teresa Berg, M.D. – The McGoogan Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology; director, maternal-fetal medicine; medical director – Prenatal Diagnostic Center; medical director, obstetrics University Tower

Steve Remmenga, M.D. – vice chairman; director, gynecologic oncology; The McClure L. Smith M.D. Professor of Gynecological Oncology

Sonja Kinney, M.D. – medical director, Olson Center for Women’s Health outpatient clinics; director, general obstetrics & gynecology

John Davis, Ph.D. – director, research and development, Olson Center for Women’s Health

Jennifer Griffin, M.D. – program director, residency

Laura Cudzilo, M.D. – associate program director, residency

Karen Carlson, M.D. – director, M3 clerkship and M4 elective curriculum

Katherine Finney, M.D. – assistant director, M3 clerkship and M4 elective curriculum

N. Jean Amoura, M.D. – director, resident research

Rick Blum – administrator; director, Olson Center outpatient clinics

Mitzi Johnson – clinic manager, Olson Center outpatient clinics

Mary Wettengel – associate clinic manager, Olson Center outpatient clinics

Lana Molczyk – director, Olson Women’s Health Resource Center

Kim Albaugh – lead, Prenatal Diagnostic Center

Department emphasis:
·         Accredited four-year residency program;
·         Third-year (core) student clerkship;
·         Robust, collaborative women’s health research enterprise;
·         Service to the underserved;
·         Entrepreneurial, integrated faculty-resident clinical practice;
·         An environment to attract and retain the best health care professionals.

Ob/gyn by the numbers:
·         16 residents, 4 per year selected from more than 200 applications
·         19 M.D. faculty
·         4 Ph.D. faculty
·         10 advanced practice providers (6 have faculty appointments)
·         71 adjunct faculty
·         17 non-ob/gyn faculty physicians and advanced practice providers see patients in the Olson Center
·         8 affiliate hospitals (Nebraska Medicine, VA Medical Center, Methodist Hospital, Children’s Hospital & Medical Center, Saint Elizabeth Regional Medical Center-Lincoln, Community Memorial Hospital-Syracuse, Mary Lanning Healthcare-Hastings, Cass County Memorial Hospital-Atlantic, Iowa)
·         3 Nebraska Medicine clinic sites
·         7 outreach clinic sites
·         65,000 patient visits projected for FY15
·         1,600 deliveries projected for FY15
·         625 gynecologic surgical cases projected for FY15
·         13 UNMC administrative staff
·         4 research laboratories, 14 research staff & trainees
·         66 Nebraska Medicine (clinic) staff

New Faculty:
·         Kristin Rooney, M.D., urogynecology.  Joined us from Methodist Hospital on July 1, 2014.
·         Calida Gardner, CNM – new midwife faculty member. Joined us from Lincoln private practice, Nov. 1, 2014.
·         M. Rohan Fernando, Ph.D. – newest research faculty member; was previously in the private sector, joined us Oct. 1, 2014.

Research Highlights:
·         Our mission is to advance knowledge of women’s health and cancer while training the next generation of scientists, and facilitating collaborative interactions among clinicians and basic scientists.
·         Specifically, we focus on understanding female fertility and the menopause, as well as understanding the devastating nature of ovarian, uterine and cervical cancers.
·         It is our hope that discoveries associated with these scientific pursuits will translate to innovative approaches to improve women’s health and ultimately improved care for women.
·         We have four basic science research laboratories, which are funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Veterans Affairs, The National Institute for Food and Agriculture, the University of Nebraska Foundation, the State of Nebraska, and the Olson Center for Women’s Health.
·         Our group has attracted $14.5 million in research funding since the opening of the Durham Research Center.
·         We have published 18 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals in the past two years.
·         The heads of these labs and the research they conduct include:
o   John S. Davis, Ph.D., signal transduction pathways that govern cell proliferation;
o   Shyamal K. Roy, Ph.D., follicle morphogenesis during perinatal development;
o   Cheng Wang, Ph.D., ovarian cancer;
o   M. Rohan Fernando, Ph.D., development of molecular diagnostic techniques.
·         Clinical Research – We are members of the NRG/Gynecologic Oncology Group, which is affiliated with the National Cancer Institute. We strive to aggressively pursue novel clinical therapies for our cancer patients.
o   Kerry Rodabaugh, M.D., is the principal investigator for the GOG contract.        
·         Resident Research – Each resident is required to pursue a research project during their four years of residency. Our physician faculty play prominent roles in resident research by serving as faculty advisors.

For more information on the department, click here.