Following the unprecedented events of the past year, including the COVID pandemic, social unrest, and national turmoil, this year’s spring makes way for renewed optimism. The vaccine roll-out is accelerating but we must continue to be vigilant about social distancing and masking. The faculty and residents continue to serve on the front lines caring for pregnant patients, delivering babies, managing acute gynecologic issues, and performing emergency surgeries. Their service to our community and the teamwork with nursing and staff has been extraordinary! But it is now time to focus on our emotional well-being and the impact of the past year’s events on ourselves, our families, and our community. Despite the many hardships endured over the past year, our faculty and residents have been fully engaged, mindful, and have reached out to others with caring actions.
Our new Interns will arrive mid-June. Their academic year will start with a Boot Camp in our OB/GYN Simulation Center. We are delighted to welcome:
- Yara El Helou, MD, from Universite Saint-Joseph
- Kamilah Evans, MD, from New York Medical College
- Danielle Hollenbeck-Pringle, MD, MPH from the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
- Megan Konigkramer, MD, from George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences
- Avani Patel, MD, from Tulane University School of Medicine
- Kavya Shivashankar, MD, from Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
- Hannah Wavering, MD, from University of Illinois at Chicago
We are also delighted to welcome:
- Tayrn Heyman, MBBS, from New York Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, will be joining our Department as a first year fellow in our Maternal Fetal Medicine Fellowship Program. She will join our other MFM fellows, Dr. Gian Diaz-Rodriguez (3rd year) and Dr. Jessica George (2nd year).
The Department has built upon our existing educational programs and expanded our subspecialty fellowship programs. I would like to acknowledge our educational leadership which includes:
- Tamika Alexander, Director, OB/Gyn Residency Program
- Catherine Ford, Assistant Director, OB/Gyn Residency Program
- Catherine Wheatley, Director, OB/Gyn Clerkship (3rd Year medical students)
- Alexis Braverman, Director, Electives/Selectives (4th Year medical students)
- Catalin Buhimschi, Director, Maternal Fetal Medicine Fellowship
- Gelila Goba, Director, Global Women’s Health Fellowship
But it “takes a community” to make our educational programs great and at University of Illinois at Chicago, the Department of OB/Gyn has outstanding faculty, residents, and staff, all of whom contribute to our educational mission.
Please Join me in congratulating our faculty who were peer-recognized regionally and nationally for their excellence in patient care:
- Catalin Buhimschi, MD, MMS, 2021 Castle Connolly Regional Top Doctors® and 2021 Chicago Magazine Top Doctors®
- William Kobak, MD, 2021 Castle Connolly Regional Top Doctors® and 2021 Chicago Magazine Top Doctors®
- Humberto Scoccia, MD, 2021 Castle Connolly Regional Top Doctors® and 2021 Chicago Magazine Top Doctors®
- Mary Stephenson, MD, MSc, 2021 Castle Connolly Regional Top Doctors® and 2021 Chicago Magazine Top Doctors®
Our diverse faculty and staff are committed to moving the Department forward through their hard work and passion for excellence in patient care, education, and research. Feel Free to stop by my office to discuss the exciting changes taking place in our thriving Department.
Best regards,
Mary Stephenson, MD, MSc, FRCSC, FACOG, FRCOG (hon)
Theresa S. Falcon-Cullinan Professor & Department Head
University of Illinois at Chicago
Phone: (312) 996-7006
[email protected]