Obstetrics & Gynecology

New and Noteworthy

Honors, Awards, Presentations and Publications

Dana Chase, MD, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, is serving as a member of the GOG Partners Investigator Council and serves on NRG Oncology’s Cancer Prevention & Control Committee as well as the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Committee.

Christina Han, MD, Associate Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, is serving on the Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review COVID committee for the State of California and the COVID-19 in Pregnancy task force with the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.

Carolyn Haunschild, MD, Health Sciences Assistant Clinical Professor, has been appointed to serve on the Western Association of Gynecologic Oncology (WAGO) 2023 program committee.

Beth Karlan, MD, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, was invited to serve as the Chair of the Scientific Session for Precision Oncology Across the Care Continuum from Prevention to Survivorship at the American Cancer Society Jiler Professors and Fellows Conference. Dr. Karlan also gave the Patricia Heppes Parker Endowed Lecture in Ovarian Cancer at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Sandra Orsulic, PhD, Professor-in-Residence of Obstetrics and Gynecology, was awarded a $1.2 million (direct costs) grant from the Department of Veterans Administration for her project "BCCMA: Overcoming chemoresistance in ovarian cancer: Identification and validation of biomarkers and targetable drivers of platinum resistance." Dr. Orsulic and her team will test the hypotheses that salient image features are associated with distinct molecular pathways underlying platinum resistance (PtR) and that identification, validation, and integration of such features with existing clinicopathological and -omic data will aid in predicting PtR and identifying alternative treatment options.

Andrea Rapkin, MD, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, presented “Baseline Participant Characteristics in a Multicenter Randomized Clinical Trial of Vestibulodynia” at the ISSWSH Annual Meeting.

Ritu Salani, MD, MBA, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, received a GOG Foundation Scholar Award. Dr. Salani is the Secretary-Treasurer Elect of the International Gynecologic Cancer Society and also serves as the NCI Cervical Cancer Task Force Chair.

Neil S. Silverman, MD, Professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology gave the following recent presentations:

  • OB/GYN Departmental Lecture: “(Not Just Monkeypox): Pandemics, Pox, and Pregnancy an Historical Update.” Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, PA 
  • National Providers’ Webinar Series: “Pregnant Patients and Vaccines: Guidance for Frontline Health Teams.” National Healthy Start Association, Washington DC 
  • OBGYN Grand Rounds: “(Not Just Monkeypox): Pandemics, Pox, and Pregnancy An Historical Update.” Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 
  • OBGYN Grand Rounds: “MPX as a Model: An Historical View of Pandemics and Pregnancy.” Christiana Hospital, Newark, DE 
  • Grand Rounds, Department of Pediatrics: “Group B Streptococcal Early Onset Disease Prevention: Discussing the Newest ACOG Guidelines.” UCLA School of Medicine.

Aparna Sridhar, MD, MPH, Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, has been appointed to ACOG’s 2023-2024 CREOG Examination Committee. Dr. Sridhar was also invited to give the oration “Preventative Obstetrics and Gynecology: Role of Contraception in Women’s Reproductive Health” for the UPCON conference in Uttar Pradesh, India.

Christopher Tarnay, MD, Health Sciences Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, led a writing group for the American Urogynecologic Society authoring a position statement(Link is external) on guidance for responsible adoption of innovation and technology.

UCLA Obstetrics and Gynecology in the media >(Link opens in new window)

Recent Publications

Afshar Y, Ma F, Quach A, Jeong A, Sunshine HL, Freitas V, Jami-Alahmadi Y, Helaers R, Li X, Pellegrini M, Wohlschlegel JA, Romanoski CE, Vikkula M, Iruela-Arispe ML. Transcriptional drifts associated with environmental changes in endothelial cells. Elife. 2023 Mar 27;12:e81370. doi: 10.7554/eLife.81370. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36971339. 

Mei JY, Channick RN, Afshar Y. Pregnancy and Pulmonary Hypertension: From Preconception and Risk Stratification Through Pregnancy and Postpartum. Heart Fail Clin. 2023 Jan;19(1):75-87. doi: 10.1016/j.hfc.2022.08.019. PMID: 36435575.

Altendahl M, Mok T, Adimkpayah E, Goldstein J, Lin J, Afshar Y. Vascular malperfusion and abruption are prevalent in placentas from pregnancies with congenital heart disease and not associated with cardiovascular risk. Sci Rep. 2023 Jan 25;13(1):1439. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-28011-6. PMID: 36697426; PMCID: PMC9876959.

Łaniewski P, Cui H, Mahnert ND, Mourad J, Borst MP, Willmott L, Chase DM, Roe DJ, Herbst-Kralovetz MM. Protein biomarkers in cervicovaginal lavages for detection of endometrial cancer. Biomark Res. 2022 Dec 2;10(1):88. doi: 10.1186/s40364-022-00438-5. PMID: 36461062; PMCID: PMC9717501.

Korotkaya Y, Chen AY, Steward R, Chan EY, Schmidt EO, Gipson JD. Evaluating the frequency of crisis pregnancy center visits among a population of patients seeking abortions in Los Angeles. Contraception. 2023 Mar 17:110024. doi: 10.1016/j.contraception.2023.110024. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36934955.

Dumesic DA, Winnett C, Lu, G, Grogan TR, Abbott DH, Naik R, Chazenbalk GD. Randomized Clinical Trial: Effect of Low-Dose Flutamide on Abdominal Adipogenic Function in Normal-Weight Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Women. Fertil Steril. 2023;119:116-126. PMID: 36400597. This NIH sponsored research represents a 10-year prospective double-blind randomized clinical study of the effects of an anti-androgen treatment vs placebo on endocrine-metabolic outcomes of PCOS women.

Phung MT, Webb PM, DeFazio A, Fereday S, Lee AW, Bowtell DDL, Fasching PA, Goode EL, Goodman MT, Karlan BY, Lester J, Matsuo K, Modugno F, Brenton JD, Van Gorp T, Pharoah PDP, Schildkraut JM, McLean K, Meza R, Mukherjee B, Richardson J, Grout B, Chase A, McKinnon Deurloo C, Terry KL, Hanley GE, Pike MC, Berchuck A, Ramus SJ, Pearce CL; Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium. Lifestyle and personal factors associated with having macroscopic residual disease after ovarian cancer primary cytoreductive surgery. Gynecol Oncol. 2023 Jan;168:68-75. doi: 10.1016/j.ygyno.2022.10.018. Epub 2022 Nov 17. PMID: 36401943. 

Davidson TM, Lebreton CL, Hendricksen AEW, Atkinson HJ, Larson MC, Oberg AL, Provencher DM, Glaspy JA, Karlan BY, Slamon DJ, Konecny GE, Ray-Coquard IL. Results of TRIO-15, a multicenter, open-label, phase II study of the efficacy and safety of ganitumab in patients with recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer. Gynecol Oncol. 2023 Mar;170:221-228. doi: 10.1016/j.ygyno.2023.01.021. Epub 2023 Jan 27. PMID: 36709663. 

Köbel M, Kang EY, Weir A, Rambau PF, Lee CH, Nelson GS, Ghatage P, Meagher NS, Riggan MJ, Karlan BY, Kelemen LE, Kommoss S, Le ND, Martin SG, Menon U, Modugno F, Pharoah PD, Schildkraut JM, Sieh W, Staebler A, Sundfeldt K, Swerdlow AJ, Ramus SJ, Brenton JD. p53 and ovarian carcinoma survival: an Ovarian Tumor Tissue Analysis consortium study. J Pathol Clin Res. 2023 Mar 22. doi: 10.1002/cjp2.311. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36948887. 

Armstrong A, Kroener L, Miller J, Nguyen A, Kwan L, Quinn M, The Nature of Embryonic Mosaicism across Female Age Spectrum: An Analysis of 21,345 PGT-A cycles, F&S Reports (2023), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xfre.2023.03.008.

Richardson MT, Recouvreux MS, Karlan BY, Walts AE, Orsulic S. Ciliated Cells in Ovarian Cancer Decrease with Increasing Tumor Grade and Disease Progression. Cells. 2022 Dec 11;11(24):4009. doi: 10.3390/cells11244009. PMID: 36552773; PMCID: PMC9776429.

Gertych A, Walts AE, Cheng K, Liu M, John J, Lester J, Karlan BY, Orsulic S. Dynamic Changes in the Extracellular Matrix in Primary, Metastatic, and Recurrent Ovarian Cancers. Cells. 2022 Nov 25;11(23):3769. doi: 10.3390/cells11233769. PMID: 36497028; PMCID: PMC9736731. 

Malapelle U, Orsulic S. Editorial: Molecular pathology and computational image analyses in gynecologic malignancies. Front Oncol. 2022 Nov 21;12:1082220. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.1082220. PMID: 36479087; PMCID: PMC9720375.

Weir A, Kang EY, Meagher NS, Nelson GS, Ghatage P, Lee CH, Riggan MJ, Gentry-Maharaj A, Ryan A, Singh N, Widschwendter M, Alsop J, Anglesio MS, Beckmann MW, Berger J, Bisinotto C, Boros J, Brand AH, Brenton JD, Brooks-Wilson A, Carney ME, Cunningham JM, Cushing-Haugen KL, Cybulski C, Elishaev E, Erber R, Fereday S, Fischer A, Paz-Ares L, Gayarre J, Gilks BC, Grube M, Harnett PR, Harris HR, Hartmann A, Hein A, Hendley J, Hernandez BY, Heublein S, Huang Y, Huzarski T, Jakubowska A, Jimenez-Linan M, Kennedy CJ, Kommoss FKF, Koziak JM, Kraemer B, Le ND, Lesnock J, Lester J, Lubiński J, Menkiszak J, Ney B, Olawaiye A, Orsulic S, Osorio A, Robles-Díaz L, Ruebner M, Shah M, Sharma R, Shvetsov YB, Steed H, Talhouk A, Taylor SE, Traficante N, Vierkant RA, Wang C, Wilkens LR, Winham SJ, Benitez J, Berchuck A, Bowtell DD, Candido Dos Reis FJ, Cook LS, DeFazio A; AOCs group; Doherty JA, Fasching PA, García MJ, Goode EL, Goodman MT, Gronwald J, Huntsman DG, Karlan BY, Kommoss S, Modugno F, Schildkraut JM, Sinn HP, Staebler A, Kelemen LE, Ford CE, Menon U, Pharoah PDP, Köbel M, Ramus SJ. Increased FOXJ1 protein expression is associated with improved overall survival in high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma: an Ovarian Tumor Tissue Analysis Consortium Study. Br J Cancer. 2023 Jan;128(1):137-147. doi: 10.1038/s41416-022-02014-y. Epub 2022 Nov 2. PMID: 36323878; PMCID: PMC9814937.

Kang EY, Weir A, Meagher NS, Farrington K, Nelson GS, Ghatage P, Lee CH, Riggan MJ, Bolithon A, Popovic G, Leung B, Tang K, Lambie N, Millstein J, Alsop J, Anglesio MS, Ataseven B, Barlow E, Beckmann MW, Berger J, Bisinotto C, Bösmüller H, Boros J, Brand AH, Brooks-Wilson A, Brucker SY, Carney ME, Casablanca Y, Cazorla-Jiménez A, Cohen PA, Conrads TP, Cook LS, Coulson P, Courtney-Brooks M, Cramer DW, Crowe P, Cunningham JM, Cybulski C, Darcy KM, El-Bahrawy MA, Elishaev E, Erber R, Farrell R, Fereday S, Fischer A, García MJ, Gayther SA, Gentry-Maharaj A, Gilks CB; AOCS Group; Grube M, Harnett PR, Harrington SP, Harter P, Hartmann A, Hecht JL, Heikaus S, Hein A, Heitz F, Hendley J, Hernandez BY, Polo SH, Heublein S, Hirasawa A, Høgdall E, Høgdall CK, Horlings HM, Huntsman DG, Huzarski T, Jewell A, Jimenez-Linan M, Jones ME, Kaufmann SH, Kennedy CJ, Khabele D, Kommoss FKF, Kruitwagen RFPM, Lambrechts D, Le ND, Lener M, Lester J, Leung Y, Linder A, Loverix L, Lubiński J, Madan R, Maxwell GL, Modugno F, Neuhausen SL, Olawaiye A, Olbrecht S, Orsulic S, Palacios J, Pearce CL, Pike MC, Quinn CM, Mohan GR, Rodríguez-Antona C, Ruebner M, Ryan A, Salfinger SG, Sasamoto N, Schildkraut JM, Schoemaker MJ, Shah M, Sharma R, Shvetsov YB, Singh N, Sonke GS, Steele L, Stewart CJR, Sundfeldt K, Swerdlow AJ, Talhouk A, Tan A, Taylor SE, Terry KL, Tołoczko A, Traficante N, Van de Vijver KK, van der Aa MA, Van Gorp T, Van Nieuwenhuysen E, van-Wagensveld L, Vergote I, Vierkant RA, Wang C, Wilkens LR, Winham SJ, Wu AH, Benitez J, Berchuck A, Candido Dos Reis FJ, DeFazio A, Fasching PA, Goode EL, Goodman MT, Gronwald J, Karlan BY, Kommoss S, Menon U, Sinn HP, Staebler A, Brenton JD, Bowtell DD, Pharoah PDP, Ramus SJ, Köbel M. CCNE1 and survival of patients with tubo-ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma: An Ovarian Tumor Tissue Analysis consortium study. Cancer. 2023 Mar 1;129(5):697-713. doi: 10.1002/cncr.34582. Epub 2022 Dec 26. PMID: 36572991; PMCID: PMC10107112. 

Erin T. Carey, Elizabeth J. Geller, Andrea Rapkin, Debbie Farb, Haley Cutting, Jasmyn Akaninwor, Christopher Stirling, Andrey Bortsov, Steven McNulty, Peter Merrill, Pearl Zakroysky, Jesse DeLaRosa, Sheng Luo & Andrea G. Nackley (2022) Rationale and design of a multicenter randomized clinical trial of vestibulodynia: understanding pathophysiology and determining appropriate treatments (vestibulodynia: UPDATe), Annals of Medicine, 54:1, 2884-2896, DOI: 10.1080/07853890.2022.2132531.

Oughourlian, Talia C.; Tun, Guistinna; Antony, Kevin M.; Gupta, Arpana; Mays, Vickie M.; Mayer, Emeran A.; Rapkin, Andrea J.; Labus, Jennifer S. Symptom-associated alterations in functional connectivity in primary and secondary provoked vestibulodynia. PAIN 164(3):p 653-665, March 2023. | DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002754

Abu-Rustum N, Yashar C, Arend R, Barber E, Bradley K, Brooks R, Campos SM, Chino J, Chon HS, Chu C, Crispens MA, Damast S, Fisher CM, Frederick P, Gaffney DK, Giuntoli R, Han E, Holmes J, Howitt BE, Lea J, Mariani A, Mutch D, Nagel C, Nekhlyudov L, Podoll M, Salani R, Schorge J, Siedel J, Sisodia R, Soliman P, Ueda S, Urban R, Wethington SL, Wyse E, Zanotti K, McMillian NR, Aggarwal S. Uterine Neoplasms, Version 1.2023, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2023 Feb;21(2):181-209. doi: 10.6004/jnccn.2023.0006. PMID: 36791750. 

Haight PJ, Barrington DA, Graves SM, Piver RN, Baek J, Ardizzone M, Akinduro JA, Busho AC, Fadoju D, Pandit R, Stephens R, Strowder LM, Tadepalli S, VanNoy B, Sriram B, McLaughlin EM, Lightfoot MDS, Bixel KL, Cohn DE, Cosgrove CM, O'Malley D, Salani R, Nagel CI, Backes FJ. Safety and feasibility of same-day discharge following minimally invasive hysterectomy in the morbidly obese patient population. Gynecol Oncol. 2023 Mar;170:203-209. doi: 10.1016/j.ygyno.2023.01.013. Epub 2023 Jan 27. PMID: 36709661.

Lightfoot MDS, Felix AS, Calo CA, Hosmer-Quint JT, Taylor KL, Brown MB, Salani R, Copeland LJ, O'Malley DM, Bixel KL, Cohn DE, Fowler JM, Backes FJ, Cosgrove CM. Less is more: clinical utility of postoperative laboratory testing following minimally invasive hysterectomy for endometrial cancer. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2023 Jan;228(1):59.e1-59.e13. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2022.07.056. Epub 2022 Aug 2. PMID: 35931127.

Kassir E, Holliman K, Negi M, Duong HL, Tandel MD, Kwan L, Lee G, Silverman NS, Rao RR, Han CS. Risk Factors for Measles Nonimmunity in Rubella-Immune Pregnant Patients. Am J Perinatol. 2022 May 31. doi: 10.1055/a-1799-5714. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35292945. 

VanHise K, Dellapiana G, Silverman NS. Intra-amniotic instillation of indocyanine green in uncertain cases of preterm rupture of membranes. Am J Obstet Gynecol MFM. 2022 Jul;4(4):100638. doi: 10.1016/j.ajogmf.2022.100638. Epub 2022 Apr 7. PMID: 35398582. 

Gong, Ping, Pelletier, Myriam, Silverman, Neil, Kuhlman, Kathleen and Wallerstein, Robert. "Challenges in genetic counseling for congenital anomalies of the kidneys and urinary tract (CAKUT) spectrum" Case Reports in Perinatal Medicine, vol. 11, no. 1, 2022, pp. 20210063. doi: 10.1515/crpm-2021-0063

Jenny Y. Mei, Neil S. Silverman. Group B Streptococcus in Pregnancy. Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics of North America, 2023. ISSN 0889-8545 doi: 10.1016/j.ogc.2023.02.009.

Sridhar A, Burrows J, Nameth C, Yue Ming H. Realtime, Remote and Recorded: Medical Student Experiences with Smart Glasses in Obstetrical Simulation. Accepted for publication.