Obstetrics & Gynecology

New and Noteworthy

New and Noteworthy 

Learn about our faculty and trainees who have recently been recognized for excellence in clinical care, research, teaching and leadership.

Honors, Awards and Appointments

Christina Han, MD, professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology, was appointed to the Women’s Interprofessional Network Advisory Group for American Diabetes Association. Dr. Han was also elected to serve as Surgical Sciences Representative on the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine Faculty Executive Committee for a three-year term until September 2027.

Lisa Nicholas, MD, associate clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology, received the Women in Medicine Award from the National Medical Association Council on Concerns of Women Physicians. 

Amy Rosenman MD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, received the Jack Robertson Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Urogynecologic Society. 

Neil Silverman, MD, professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology and director of the Infections in Pregnancy Program at UCLA Health, has been appointed to the ACOG District 9 public health committee which focuses on infectious diseases and vaccines.

Departmental Awards

The following are recipients of departmental awards for the 2023-2024 academic year. 

Prisca Diala, MD, 2nd year resident, Larry Evertson Award presented by OVMC-UCLA

Alexander Gould, MD, 3rd year resident, Excellence in Ambulatory Care

Carla Janzen, MD, PhD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, Outstanding Medical Student Teaching Award for Faculty, UCLA Department of OB/GYN and Outstanding Resident Teaching Award for Faculty

Nuha Khalfay, MD, recent medical student graduate, William J. Dignam Award for Excellence in Obstetrics and Gynecology

Alexandra Mardock, MD, 4th year resident, Outstanding Medical Student Educator Award

Lakshmi Ramachandran, MD and Michael Richardson, MD, recently graduated residents, Outstanding Resident Research Award

Society Awards

The following are recipients of society awards for the end of the 2023-2024 academic year. 

Kathleen Chung, MD, received the AAGL Excellence in Minimally Invasive Gynecology

Michelle Han, MD, assistant professor, CREOG National Faculty Award for Excellence in Resident Education

Demetra Hufnagel, MD, 4th year resident, AUGS Resident Award for Excellence in Urogynecology Society Awards for Faculty and SGO Outstanding Resident in Gynecologic Oncology

Alexandra Mardock, MD, 4th year resident, SMFM Resident Award for Excellence in Obstetrics

Rachel Martel, MD, 4th year resident, received the SREI Resident Award in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility

Sukrant Mehta, MD, assistant clinical professor, APGO Humanism in Teaching Award and APGO Excellence in Teaching Award

Monica Stretten, MD, 3rd year resident, Ryan Program Resident Award for Excellence in Family Planning

Grants

Aparna Sridhar, MD, MPH, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, received a $5,000 grant from the UCLA Academic Senate Council on Research for her project “Due for PAP: A Peer Ambassador Program for medical students during obstetrics and gynecology clerkship.”

Marta Epeldegui, PhD, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology received $393,566 from the National Institutes of Health for her project titled “Mucosal B-cell aging in PLWH.”

Sanaz Memarzadeh, MD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and molecular and medical pharmacology, received $3,421,978 from the National Cancer Institute for her project titled “Targeting alternative isoform variation for TCR discovery in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.” 

Lisa Nicholas, MD, associate clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology, received $579,891 from the Department of Health and Human Services for her project titled “Educing birthing disparities and perinatal risk through safety-net perinatal medical homes that prevent and address the physical and psychosocial impact of maternal stress.” 

Sandra Orsulic, MD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and pathology and laboratory, received $459,569 from the Department of Defense for her project titled “Restoring humanin for ovarian cancer prevention.”

Alexandra Smick, MD, gynecologic oncology fellow, was awarded a research grant for her project "Spatial-molecular atlas of a precancer niche in the fallopian tube" from the UCLA Center for Reproductive Science, Health and Education. Dr. Smick also received the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center 2024 May Fellowship Award of $30,000 for her project, “Mechanisms to prevent peritoneal cancer cell engraftment.” 

Presentations

Neil Silverman, MD, professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology and director of the Infections in Pregnancy Program at UCLA, presented the following:

  • “Delivering Protection: Maternal Vaccinations for RSV in Pharmacy and Obstetric Practice” at the California Immunization Coalition’s Emerging Conversation series. (September 2024)
  • “Preparing for Respiratory Virus Season” at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine National MFM Fellows’ Lecture Series. (July 2024)
  • “Perinatal Prevention of RSV Illness in Infants: New Tools in the Clinical Toolbox" at the California Immunization Coalition Annual Summit in Sacramento, CA. (June 2024)
  • “Identifying and Managing Congenital Infections” at the University of Hawaii, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology MFM Fellows Lecture Series. (June 2024)
  • “Updating Antibiotic Usage in Obstetrics: The How and Why” at the UCLA Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Departmental Grand Rounds. (June 2024)
  • “Measles and Pregnancy: What Maternal-Fetal Medicine Subspecialists Need to Know” for the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine on the SMFM National Podcast Series. (April 2024)

Carla Janzen, MD, PhD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, presented the following:

  • “Cord Blood Gases of the Newborn” at the UCLA OB/GYN Residency Program Lecture.
  • “The Placenta” and “Preterm Birth” at the UCLA DGSOM First Year Scientific Foundations of Medicine Lecture.
  • “Complications of Pregnancy: Preterm Birth” And “Complications of Pregnancy: Cardiovascular Disease” at the UCLA DGSOM First Year Scientific Foundations of Medicine Large Group.
  • “Connect the Dots, Reproduction” at the UCLA DGSOM First Year Scientific Foundations of Medicine Lecture.
  • “Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes” at the UCLA DGSOM First Year Scientific Foundations of Medicine Case Based Learning (CBL) Lecture.

Aparna Sridhar, MD, MPH, professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology, presented the following:

  • “Hypertensive Disorder of pregnancy” at ACOG SAFOG Virtual Education Seminar. (July 2024)
  • Webinar on World Population Day, hosted by FOGSI India (July 2024)
  • Faculty – Summer Health Professionals Education Program (July 2024)
  • “Artificial Intelligence in Sexual and Reproductive Health” at WISDOM, National FOGSI Conference in Kolkatta, India. (June 2024)
  • “Effective Scientific Writing: E- Presentation Universitas” in Gadjah Mada, Indonesia. (June 2024)
  • “Medical management of Abnormal Uterine Bleeding” at the Asia Oceana Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology annual meeting in Busan South Korea as a part of the ACOG Session. (May 2024)
  • “FIGO’s Family Planning Vision: Enabling Reproductive Health and Choices” and “Role of Digital Technology and Social Medical in Contraception and Reproductive Health” at ESCRH meeting, in Bilbao Spain. (May 2024)

Recent Publications

Abu-Rustum, N. R., Yashar, C. M., Arend, R., Barber, E., Bradley, K., Brooks, R., Campos, S. M., Chino, J., Chon, H. S., Crispens, M. A., Damast, S., Fisher, C. M., Frederick, P., Gaffney, D. K., Gaillard, S., Giuntoli, R., II, Glaser, S., Holmes, J., Howitt, B. E., Kendra, K., … Ritu, S. (2024). Vulvar Cancer, Version 3.2024, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology. Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network : JNCCN, 22(2), 117–135. https://doi.org/10.6004/jnccn.2024.0013

Aliabadi, A. R., Wilailak, S., McNally, O., Berek, J. S., Sridhar, A., FIGO Committee on Contraception, & FIGO Committee on Women's Cancer (2024). Contraceptive strategies for reducing the risk of reproductive cancers. International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, 166(1), 141–151. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.15567

Badell, M. L., Prabhu, M., Dionne, J., Tita, A. T. N., Silverman, N. S., & SMFM Publications Committee (2024). Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Consult Series #69: Hepatitis B in pregnancy: updated guidelines. American journal of obstetrics and gynecology, 230(4), B2–B11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2023.12.023

Dellapiana, G., Mok, T., Platt, L. D., Silverman, N. S., Han, C. S., & Esakoff, T. F. (2024). Sensitivity of antenatal ultrasound in diagnosing posterior placenta accreta spectrum disorders. Journal of perinatal medicine, 52(3), 288–293. https://doi.org/10.1515/jpm-2023-0491

Dumesic, D. A., Turcu, A. F., Liu, H., Grogan, T. R., Abbott, D. H., Lu, G., Dharanipragada, D., & Chazenbalk, G. D. (2023). Interplay of Cortisol, Testosterone, and Abdominal Fat Mass in Normal-weight Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Journal of the Endocrine Society, 7(8), bvad079. https://doi.org/10.1210/jendso/bvad079

Liu, X., Janzen, C., Zhu, Y., Seamans, M., Fei, Z., Nianogo, R., & Chen, L. (2024). Prevalence of maternal hyperglycemic subtypes by race/ethnicity and associations between these subtypes with adverse pregnancy outcomes: Findings from a large retrospective multi-ethnic cohort in the United States. Diabetes research and clinical practice, 209, 111576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diabres.2024.111576

Liu, X., Nianogo, R. A., Janzen, C., Fei, Z., Seamans, M. J., Wen, R., Li, X., & Chen, L. (2024). Association Between Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and Hypertension: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies With a Quantitative Bias Analysis of Uncontrolled Confounding. Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. : 1979), 81(6), 1257–1268. https://doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.123.22418

Mei, J.Y., Xu, L., Nguyen, T.A. (2024)Smartwatch detection of new-onset monomorphic ventricular tachycardia in pregnancy. BMJ Case Reports, 17 (2). https://casereports.bmj.com/content/17/2/e258807

Mei, J. Y., Murali, A., Nitka, A., Kang, S. H., Saitta, S. C., & Han, C. S. (2024). Fetal and neonatal outcomes after "atypical findings" on cell-free fetal DNA screening. American journal of obstetrics & gynecology MFM, 6(8), 101410. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajogmf.2024.101410

Meng, Q., Del Rosario, I., Sung, K., Janzen, C., Devaskar, S. U., Carpenter, C. L., & Ritz, B. (2024). Maternal dietary patterns and placental outcomes among pregnant women in Los Angeles. Placenta, 145, 72–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.placenta.2023.12.002

Meng, Q., Liu, J., Shen, J., Del Rosario, I., Janzen, C., Devaskar, S. U., Lakey, P. S. J., Shiraiwa, M., Weichenthal, S., Zhu, Y., Oroumiyeh, F., Banerjee, S., Paulson, S. E., Jerrett, M., Paul, K. C., & Ritz, B. (2024). Ambient exposure to fine particulate matter with oxidative potential affects oxidative stress biomarkers in pregnancy. American journal of epidemiology, kwae152. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwae152

Meng, Q., Mitra, S., Del Rosario, I., Jerrett, M., Janzen, C., Devaskar, S. U., & Ritz, B. (2024). Urinary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites and their association with oxidative stress among pregnant women in Los Angeles. Environmental health : a global access science source, 23(1), 68. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-024-01107-w

Mok, T., Nguyen, A. V., Kwan, L., Steinberg, I., Vallera, C., Silverman, N. S., & Rao, R. (2024). Prophylactic Unfractionated Heparin in Antepartum Hospitalizations: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Obstetrics and gynecology, 144(1), 118–125. https://doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0000000000005599

Orimoloye, H. T., He, D., Li, T., Janzen, C., Barjaktarevic, I., Wang, X., Hansen, J., & Heck, J. E. (2024). Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and pregnancy complications and birth outcomes: A population-based cohort study in Denmark. PloS one, 19(1), e0296434. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0296434

Salani, R., McCormack, M., Kim, Y. M., Ghamande, S., Hall, S. L., Lorusso, D., Barraclough, L., Gilbert, L., Guzman Ramirez, A., Lu, C. H., Sabatier, R., Colombo, N., Hu, Y., Krishnan, V., Molinero, L., Feng, Y., Kim, N., Castro, M., Lin, Y. G., & Monk, B. J. (2024). A non-comparative, randomized, phase II trial of atezolizumab or atezolizumab plus tiragolumab for programmed death-ligand 1-positive recurrent cervical cancer (SKYSCRAPER-04). International journal of gynecological cancer : official journal of the International Gynecological Cancer Society, 34(8), 1140–1148. https://doi.org/10.1136/ijgc-2024-005588

Sant, V. R., Zhou, H., Zhou, M. M., Adams, A. L., Ryan, D. S., Case, S. K., Seo, Y. J., Haigh, P. I., Janzen, C., & Yeh, M. W. (2024). Fertility and pregnancy outcomes in primary hyperparathyroidism: Observations from a large insured population. The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism, dgae409. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgae409

Sinnott, J. A., Torkashvand, E., Meade, C. E., Salani, R., Vetter, M. H., Hall, B., Skolnick, R., Bixel, K. L., Cohn, D. E., Cosgrove, C. M., Copeland, L. J., Hebert, C., & Felix, A. S. (2024). Changes in prospectively collected patient-reported outcomes among women with incident endometrial cancer. Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice, 10.1007/s11764-024-01536-z. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-024-01536-z

Sobhani, N. C., Goemans, S., Nguyen, A., Chambers, M. E., Richley, M., Gabby, L. C., Field, N., Han, C. S., & Ramos, G. A. (2024). Continuous glucose monitoring in pregnancies with type 1 diabetes: small increases in time-in-range improve maternal and perinatal outcomes. American journal of obstetrics and gynecology, S0002-9378(24)00024-3. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2024.01.010

Szamreta, E. A., Mulvihill, E., Aguinaga, K., Amos, K., Zannit, H., & Salani, R. (2023). Information needs during cancer care: Qualitative research with locally advanced cervical cancer patients in Brazil, China, Germany, & the US. Gynecologic oncology reports, 51, 101321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gore.2023.101321

Tripathi, V., RamaRao, S., Kabra, R., Raney, L., Temba, A., Wickstrom, J., & Sridhar, A. (2024). Strengthening the family planning component of maternal health care: A new call to action to seize the opportunity provided by universal health coverage and primary healthcare frameworks. International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, 166(2), 479–482. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.15732