The ������ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology has announced the launch of the ������ Rural Obstetrics and Gynecology Fellowship, a two-year training program designed to prepare OB/GYN physicians to serve in rural and critical access hospital settings. The fellowship aims to equip participants with the clinical skills, knowledge, and support necessary to thrive in underserved and under-resourced communities, where access to maternity care is often limited.

The fellowship is structured to be 50% clinical and 50% non-clinical. Clinical activities will include office-based prenatal care and gynecology, gynecologic surgery, and labor and delivery coverage at a single rural critical access healthcare site—either�������� Rockingham���ǰ��������� Lenoir. The 50% non-clinical time is individualized for the fellow’s career development goals including opportunities for training in quality, healthcare finances, leadership, and/or research.

Dr. Kavita Arora, MD, MBE, MS,��director of the Division of General Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Midwifery, will serve as the inaugural fellowship director. This true community-academic partnership also includes a leadership team �Ǵ���Steve Eblin, MBAPresident and CEO of ������ Health Rockingham; Crystal Hayden, DNP, RN, FACHE, CEO of ������ Health Lenoir; and��Dr. Sachin Gupta, MD Chief Medical Officer for ������ Physicians Network. Together, this team brings a powerful combination of clinical, administrative, and strategic expertise to support fellows and the communities they will serve.

Noor Dasouki Abu-Alnadi, MD, MS and Alexandria Kraus, MD, MMSc have been awarded one of the SOM education pillar grants to pilot myTIP for medical students. The innovative project, “Tap, Rate, Reflect: EPA in Action,” aims to transform how medical students receive feedback during their clinical training by piloting myTIPreport, a mobile tool that supports real-time, competency-based assessments using Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs).

“What’s cool is that Mytip is already used for residents and fellows at ������ and across the state so this evaluation tool will be expanded to all ������ students rotating at any branch campus too,” said Dr. Abu-Alnadi.

The project will launch in the OBGYN clerkship across all ������ campuses, empowering students to actively seek feedback, reflect on their performance, and track their progress toward clinical readiness. Early pilots showed promising results, with students reporting improved skills, greater comfort with feedback, and a strong preference for a digital platform.

Catalin Mateas (M4), alongside Dr. Reilly Bealer (PGY-2), Dr. Shilpa Darivemula (GOGM Fellow), and Dr. Alexandria Kraus (MFM), has been awarded the Academy of Educators’ Kathleen Rao Scholarship Grant for their innovative project proposal,��Designing and Evaluating a Hands-On Evidence-Based Workshop on Menstrual Health and Menstrual Advocacy for Medical Students.

The full project team includes:
Catalin Mateas (M4), Dr. Reilly Bealer (PGY-2), Dr. Shilpa Darivemula, MD, MSCR (GOGM Fellow), Dr. Alexandria Kraus, MD, MMSc (MFM), Dr. Marcella Willis-Gray (Urogynecology), and Dr. Grace Trompeter, MD, MSPH (GOGM Fellow).

The project addresses a critical gap in clinical education: menstrual equity. Despite the prevalence of vaginal bleeding across the reproductive life course, menstrual health needs are often under-recognized in medical training. To bridge this gap, the team will conduct a menstrual health needs assessment and develop a practical, evidence-based workshop for preclinical students at the ������.

The initiative aims to evaluate the current state of menstrual health education (MHE) at ������ through a needs assessment survey, deliver an interactive workshop to address identified gaps, and assess the impact of the intervention through post-workshop evaluations during the OB/GYN clerkship.

“I was thrilled that our proposal was accepted! Given the current climate, it feels more important than ever to ensure all physicians in training understand menstrual health and menstrual equity. We are grateful to have the opportunity to create this pilot workshop,”��said Dr. Shilpa Darivemula.

Olivia Lara, MD, MS, from the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, has been awarded a K12 Career Development Award through the . She is one of nine investigators selected as 2025 TraCS Scholars.

Dr. Lara’s project, “The Impact of the Microbiome and Immunotherapy on the Treatment and Progression of Endometrial Cancer,” is supported by the program and guided by her primary mentor, Victoria Bae-Jump, MD, PhD.

The TraCS K12 program provides salary and research support for early stage researchers who are seeking to launch independently-funded careers in clinical/translational research. Scholars receive structured training to develop leadership and mentoring skills, and to conduct research focused on addressing challenges and inefficiencies in clinical and translational science.

Chapel Hill, NC

, a nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating applied research at North Carolina’s public universities, announced the funding following a rigorous multi-month review process. The selected projects span a wide range of fields from agriculture technology to the medical field, and all have demonstrated proof of concept and commercial potential.��

Dr. Stringer’s project addresses a critical gap in maternal healthcare. His team has developed a low-cost ultrasound device that connects to smartphones and tablets, enabling primary care providers and nurses in underserved areas to perform prenatal scans with minimal training. The images can then be analyzed using artificial intelligence, reducing the need for specialized radiologists and expanding access to early and essential prenatal diagnostics.

“More than 2 million American women live in counties without adequate access to prenatal care,” according to . The NCInnovation grant will support the continued development and potential commercialization of this technology, helping to bridge the gap between academic research and real-world impact.��

Tsevat, who researches gynecological pain, noted that some physicians use a combination of these methods by applying a topical to numb the area first before going in with a syringe.

“That results in overload of the circulation for one twin and��a depletion in blood flow and circulation for the other twin,” explained Dr. William Goodnight, who specializes in maternal-fetal medicine at ������ Health. ��“The survival is pretty poor if it’s untreated.”

Our ObGyn Resident Speakers with Dr. Neal-Perry and Dr. Swisher

Faculty and residents from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine – Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, attended and presented at the 40th Annual William Droegemueller Departmental Research Day on May 14th, 2025.��

The School of Medicine had seven resident speakers present inside Kenan Center at Kenan-Flagler Business School:

• Lauren Ahlschlager, MD
  • ABSTRACT- Exploring Urogyn Deserts: A Geostatistical Analysis of Access to Urogynecology Care in the U.S.
• Janina Baldino, MD
  • ABSTRACT- DRAGS – Patient Perspectives on Fertility Counseling in Gender-Affirming
• Tressa Ellett, MD
  • ABSTRACT- Short interpregnancy interval birth rates and Title X clinic access: A North Carolina county analysis
• Ayanna Garland, MD
  • ABSTRACT- Factors Associated with Perceived Medical Discrimination amongst Pregnant Black Patients
• Leslie Peralta, MD
  • ABSTRACT- Pre-Treatment Albumin as a Predictor of Chemotherapy Disruption among Women with Ovarian Cancer
• Natalie Satterfield, MD
  • ABSTRACT- Umbilical artery doppler and its association with stillbirth: Findings from a Zambian cohort
• Beatriz Vega, MD
  • ABSTRACT- Risk factors for Preterm Birth following Open Myelomeningocele Repair
• Kevin Tam, MD was away and will be presenting his work next year at the 2026 Ob/Gyn Resident Research Day.

The Keynote Speaker for the 2025 Resident Research Day was Dr. Elizabeth Swisher, a clinician scientist, Professor of Gynecologic Oncology, and Adjunct Professor in Medical Genetics at the University of Washington. She is Deputy Director of the Fred Hutchinson/University of Washington/Seattle Children’s Cancer Consortium and co-leads the Breast and Ovary Cancer Program. The primary focus of Dr. Swisher’s lab is the molecular genetics of ovarian cancer with a view towards improving both prevention and therapeutics. She has been closely involved in the therapeutic development of PARP inhibitors and has a clinical focus on genetics and clinical trials. She has also focused on improving our understanding of genetic risk of ovarian cancers with a goal to increase access to genetic testing and reducing the number of women who die of hereditary ovarian cancer.

Continuing the theme of academic excellence, a poster session was held, allowing other doctors to showcase the research they have been working on.

• John Chawezi Chapola, PhD Candidate – Crafting Effective HPV Screening Result Short Message Service text: Perspectives and Recommendations from Women in Malawi
• Katie Mollan, PhD Candidate – Effectiveness of Levonorgestrel Implant and Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate Injectable for Women Living with HIV on Dolutegravir-based Antiretroviral Therapy
• Cordelia Muir, MD Candidate – Crisis Pregnancy Centers in North Carolina: Geographic Distribution, Social Media Presence, and Access to Care
• Hannaneh Mirmozaffari, MD Candidate – Defining Phenotype of Severe Preeclampsia

Dr. Katherine Tucker, Associate Vice Chair of Wellness and Assistant Professor of Gynecologic Oncology, proudly represented the ������ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2025 Annual Wellness Meeting. Held in Seattle, this premier conference brought together leading experts from across the country to advance the field through research, education, wellness, and collaboration.

Kat Tucker at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2025 Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer.

Dr. Kat Tucker’s participation underscores our commitment to staying at the forefront of gynecologic oncology and contributing to the ongoing dialogue shaping patient care and outcomes.​

To learn more about the highlights from the meeting, including wellness initiatives and key presentations, visit the SGO’s official recap:��

Dr. Vanessa Miller, an epidemiologist and research instructor who also teaches Biostatistics for Healthcare Professionals at the ������ Gillings School of Global Public Health

Now in its second year, the course includes six afternoon seminars spread over eight months. Topics range from basic statistical principles to advanced techniques such as linear and logistic regression and time-to-event analysis using Stata. The curriculum combines foundational instruction with hands-on workshops that allow participants to immediately apply new concepts to real-world OBGYN datasets.

Assignments throughout the course are designed to help learners build toward a complete abstract and, ultimately, a manuscript for submission to a peer-reviewed journal. Originally focused on OBGYN fellows, the program has expanded to include Advanced Practice Providers (APPs), broadening its impact across the department. Participants are encouraged to collaborate with departmental research mentors to develop research questions, manage datasets, perform analyses, and effectively communicate their findings. To support these efforts, the department provides access to statistical software licenses and relevant textbooks.

The inaugural cohort completed the course in June 2024, with seven fellows fulfilling all requirements. Several have since presented their work at national and international conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals. The current cohort shared interim results in April and is preparing to submit final capstone papers in May for faculty review.

Paige Anderson	Maternal postpartum cardiovascular and hypertension screening at newborn visits & Its impact on postpartum outcomes and care utilization	��
Glenn Boyles	Trends in utilization of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for advanced stage endometrial cancer in the United States	��
Adam Elwood	Partner support of abortion in unwanted pregnancies	��
Bertie Geng	Assessing Patient Understanding of Prolapse Handout at Different Reading Levels	��
Claire Jensen	Metformin use in pregnancy decreases neonatal fat free mass	��
Rachel Jensen	Long-acting reversible contraception and permanent contraception following Federal and State abortion policy changes	��
Caroline Kwon	Myofascial pelvic pain: prevalence and treatment trends in a tertiary pelvic pain clinic	��
Grace Trompeter	Association between unexpected pregnancy outcomes and postpartum contraceptive method choice and utilization	��
Chelsey Cranes	Oncologic and obstetric outcomes in patients receiving fertility sparing treatment for endometrial intraepithelial hyperplasia and low-grade endometrial cancer	��

The course is led by Dr. Vanessa Miller, an epidemiologist and research instructor who also teaches Biostatistics for Healthcare Professionals at the ������ Gillings School of Global Public Health. In addition to teaching, she provides statistical consulting and supports departmental research through involvement in study design, data analysis, and results communication.