The Chapel Hill Connection

Fall/Winter 2008
The Chapel Hill Connection
Keeping you in touch with the Ross Residency Alumni Society
Dr. Fowler Honored
Dr. Wesley C. Fowler, Jr., Palumbo Distinguished Professor
of Obstetrics and Gynecology, has been honored with an
endowed fellowship bearing his name.
Page 2
Annual Meeting:
April 18, 2009
Featuring Guest Lecturer Dr. Alan H. DeCherney
Our second combined William Droegemueller
Resident Clinical Studies Day and Annual Ross Alumni
Society meeting will be held on April 18, 2009. Our
featured speaker will be Alan DeCherney, MD, noted
Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility expert,
former chairman and current Chief of Reproductive
Biology and Medicine Branch of the National Institute
of Child Health and Human Department.
Editor’s Corner
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving
and welcome to the holiday season. Hard
to believe it is already December! We hope
this message finds all of you and your
families well.
We are happy to bring you the Fall/Winter
edition of “The Chapel Hill Connection”, the
official newsletter of the Ross Residency
Alumni Society. It has been a full few
months since our last edition, with some
bittersweet experiences for the Ross
membership and Department. We marked
the passing of long-time mentors and dear
friends Bob Cefalo and Bill White this past
year.
We took Dr. Cefalo’s advice to
“boldly move forward” and held our first
combined Residency Research Day / Ross
Annual meeting in April to great reviews.
Continued on Page 6
The Chapel Hill Connection
Fall/Winter 2008
Continued from page 1
The Wesley C. Fowler, Jr. Fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology celebrates the leadership and
contributions of Dr. Fowler, who has served as the director of the department’s oncology division since
its inception in 1982. A North Carolinian who attended UNC for both undergrad and medical school,
Dr. Fowler has dedicated his career to patient care and the treatment of women’s cancers. With a
particular interest in training new physicians, the Fowler Fellowship will continue his commitment to
teaching by supporting the academic development of future fellows and enhancing UNC’s renowned
fellowship program. Former fellows, family and friends honored fowler with news of the Fellowship
creation during this spring’s Fowler Society Dinner at SGO in Tampa. More than $300,000 has been
raised toward this effort with a goal of $500,000. For more information or to make a gift to the Fowler
Fellowship Fund, please contact
Kelly Moore, Director of Development
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
3009 Old Clinic, Campus Box 7570
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7570
(919) 843-4923
Dr. Fowler surrounded by
current and former gyn onc
fellows during the Fowler
Society Dinner at the SGO
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The Chapel Hill Connection
Fall/Winter 2008
Meet our New Faculty Members
Elisabeth E. Dinkins, FNP
Instructor in the Division of Advanced
Laparoscopy & Pelvic Pain
Ms. Dinkins joined us from Emory University. She
completed her Masters in Nursing in 1995 at
Emory.
Michael Armstrong, MD
Associate Professor in Women’s Primary
Healthcare Division
Dr. Armstrong joined us from Medical University
of South Carolina in Charleston. He completed his
residency in OB/GYN at University of Virginia in
2002.
William H. Goodnight, III, MD
Assistant Professor in Maternal Fetal Medicine
Dr. Goodnight joined us from Medical
University of South Carolina in Charleston
where he completed his fellowship this year.
Elizabeth Geller, MD
Assistant Professor in Urogynecology &
Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery
Dr. Geller completed her fellowship here at the
University of North Carolina.
Alison M. Stuebe,MD
Assistant Professor in Maternal Fetal Medicine
Dr. Stuebe joined us from Brigham & Women’s
where she completed her fellowship in 2008.
The Center for Women's Health Research is pleased to announce the appointment of
Wendy R. Brewster, MD, PhD, as our new Director.
Dr. Brewster was chosen from an impressive field of candidates for the position after a yearlong national search by a
committee of multi-disciplinary faculty under the guidance of Dr. Etta Pisano, Vice Dean for Academic Affairs in the UNC
School of Medicine.
She will be moving to Chapel Hill from the University of California-Irvine College of Medicine, where she has been
employed since 1995. Dr. Brewster will be appointed to the UNC faculty as an Associate Professor in the Division of
Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
After graduating from UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Dr. Brewster completed a residency in obstetrics and
gynecology at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. A fellowship in gynecologic oncology at UC-Irvine followed, during which
she also completed a doctorate in epidemiology.
She will undertake clinical and teaching responsibilities at UNC in November as an Associate Professor in Obstetrics &
Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, School of Medicine, with a joint appointment in Epidemiology at the School of Public Health.
Dr. Brewster has been characterized as a "powerful ally" for patients battling early stage invasive cancers. She is passionately committed to finding better
methods of early detection and discovering under-lying causes and will continue her research efforts at UNC.
"With her clinical experience as a gynecologic oncologist, doctorate in epidemiology, and expertise in health services research, she is the perfect fit for the
Center," said Dr. John Thorp, Jr., Interim Director. "We are fortunate to have such a renowned and dynamic individual take the helm as the Center prepares
for new challenges ahead."
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The Chapel Hill Connection
Fall/Winter 2008
2008-09 Fellows
The Robert C. Cefalo / Watson A. Bowes
Distinguished Professorship in MaternalFetal Medicine
Advanced Laparoscopy & Pelvic Pain
Amanda Yunker, DO
Medical School: University of North Texas Health
Sciences Center
Residency: University of Oklahoma Health Science
Center
Gynecologic Oncology
Rabbie Hanna, MD
Medical School: Al-Nahrain College of Med, Iraq
Residency: Wayne State University
Emma Rossi, MD
Medical School: University of Queensland, Australia
Residency: Univ of Chicago (Gen Surgery) 2003-04;
Northwestern Univ (OB/GYN) 2004-08
Maternal Fetal Medicine
This Professorship has been established through the generous
support of alumni, colleagues, family and friends. More than
$400,000 has been raised in gifts and pledges, making this
fund eligible for $167,000 in matching dollars from the State
of North Carolina. The Cefalo Bowes Professorship
celebrates the careers and contributions of two of our
department’s finest. This fund will honor Bob and Watty
with a combined endowed professorship that will provide
salary and research support to recruit or retain a renowned
faculty member in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine,
continuing their service to medicine and commitment to
training new physicians. We hope to complete funding of
this project by early spring and formally name the chair at
that time.
Arthur Baker, MD
Medical School: Medical University of South Carolina
Residency: University of North Carolina
Sina Haeri, MD
Medical School: St. Matthews Univ School of
Medicine
Residency: Washington Hospital Center
Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility
Ursula Balthazar, MD
Medical School: Loyola University
Residency: University of North Carolina
For more information or to make a gift to the
Cefalo Bowes Professorship, please contact:
Urogynecology & Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery
Kelly Moore, Director of Development
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
3009 Old Clinic, Campus Box 7570
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7570
Brent Parnell, MD
Medical School: University of Alabama
Residency: Greenville University Medical Center
(919) 843-4923
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The Chapel Hill Connection
Fall/Winter 2008
2008-09 PGY 1s
Elizabeth Bleeker, MD
Hometown: Pittsford, NY
Medical School: Vanderbilt University
Did 966-5096 = 911?
Introducing Our New Residency Training
Coordinator
Kelly Hankins, MD
Whether you were calling Marge Riddle,
Kim (formerly Oliver) Schneider, Dianne
Lee or Juli Kidd – as a resident calling
6-5096 could have qualified as an
emergency call.
Hometown: St. Louis, MO
Medical School: University of North
Carolina
Darci Hansen, MD
The number is the same – the voice has
changed. In August 2008, Kim Marks
joined the Medical Education Division as
the new Residency Training Coordinator.
Kim worked in the Maternal Fetal
Medicine division for 2 years before
accepting the Coordinator job.
Hometown: Albuquerque, NM
Medical School: Texas A & M
University System HSC College of Med
Amantia Kennedy, MD
Hometown: Lubbock, TX
Medical School: Texas Tech University
Kim can be reached
at the old familiar
number and will be
just as willing to help
you out if you need
her.
Elizabeth Lutz, MD
Hometown: Canton, MS
Medical School: Emory University
Emergency status of
the call is optional.
Nell Pollard, MD
Hometown: Winston-Salem, NC
Medical School: University of North
Carolina
Kim’s email is: kim_marks@med.unc.edu
Lori Wittman, MD
Hometown: Buffalo, NY
Medical School: SUNY Buffalo
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The Chapel Hill Connection
Fall/Winter 2008
Editors Corner Continued from Page 1
In June we welcomed not only a stellar group of new first year residents and new fellows, featured in this
newsletter, but we also welcomed many new faculty members to virtually every division of the Department. All
this and the recruitment of a new director for the Center for Women’s Health Research have made for much
positive movement and growth on the part of the Department.
On the educational front, we continue to see record interest in our residency program with over 600 applications
received from medical students from across the country applying to our residency program. Bearing in mind that
we have 7 spots to offer, this indeed supports the tremendous on-going interest in our residency-training program.
Also on the educational front, the active advocacy efforts of the department over the past 4 years at the medical
school level have at long last proved successful with the restoration of the OB/GYN clerkship back to 6 weeks,
effective July, 2009. All in all, good news!
We look forward to our second annual combined William Droegemueller Residency Research Day / Annual Ross
Meeting on April 18, 2008. What a great opportunity to reconnect with classmates, to hear what is going on in the
Department, and to hear from a nationally recognized speaker. This year our featured guest speaker will be Dr.
Alan H. DeCherney, Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility expert, former department chair, and current Chief
of the Reproductive Biology and Medicine Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development (NICHD). Again, many successful OB/GYN residency alumni groups across the country have found
that this combination of departmental Residency Research Day with annual program alumi meetings is just the
right formula to keep their groups engaging, growing, and thriving!
The line-up for the weekend will include a reception at the Clarke-Pearsons’ home on Friday evening, April 17.
Saturday, April 18th will feature the Residency Research Day presentations in the morning with the keynote
presentation by Dr. DeCherney. Saturday afternoon’s CME activities will include presentations from many of our
departmental faculty as well as from Dr. DeCherney with CME credits available for all of Saturday’s activities,
morning and afternoon. The meeting will be followed by an evening of dining and musical fun.
We wish you the very happiest of holiday seasons and we hope this finds you and your families well and thriving.
We look forward to seeing you in April and, as always, we would love to hear from you!
AnnaMarie Connolly & Jennifer Davis
Upcoming Events:
April 18, 2009 William Droegemueller Resident Clinical Studies Day
& Annual Ross Alumni Society Meeting – Chapel Hill, NC
In registration material, members will receive information about the Franklin Hotel
located right in the heart of Chapel Hill.
May 4, 2009 Ross reception at the 2009 Annual ACOG meeting –
Chicago, IL
Time and location will be announced.
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The Chapel Hill Connection
Fall/Winter 2008
Thorp Family with long history at UNC
by Tom Hughes, Managing Editor, UNC Health Care Public Affairs & Marketing
Most people who follow the news coming out of
UNC-Chapel Hill are very well aware by now that
the University’s new Chancellor is Holden Thorp.
He has also published widely in his field of science,
holds 19 patents, is an accomplished jazz musician
and even maintains a blog about his experiences as
Chancellor.
Much less well known is the fact Holden’s cousin,
John Thorp, is a distinguished professor in his own
right in the UNC School of Medicine, and that both
Holden and John are related to four other men
named Thorp who all earned degrees from the UNC
School of Medicine and went on to become
practicing physicians in the Thorp
family’s hometown, Rocky Mount,
N.C.
John Thorp is a practicing physician and researcher
in UNC’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
and a co-founder of the UNC Center for Women’s
Health Research. The center describes him as “a
maternal-fetal medicine specialist with unlimited
intellectual curiosity and a passion for answering
practical research questions. He has made
important contributions to women’s health care on
research topics ranging from episiotomy and pelvic
floor rehabilitation, to substance
use intervention in pregnancy and
3-dimensional sonography.”
The first of these was Adam Tredwell
Thorp, who earned his CMED
(Certificate of Medicine) degree at
UNC way back in 1919. He was
followed next by Lewis Sumner
Thorp Jr., who received his CMED in 1950 and
practiced medicine in Rocky Mount until his death
in 2005. Adam Tredwell Thorp Jr. earned his M.D.
in 1956. One year later, James Horace Merriam
Thorp received his M.D. Then in 1973, James Thorp
helped found Nash OB-GYN in Rocky Mount, a
practice that is still in business today.
Those of us on UNC Health
Care’s news team have worked
with John Thorp on several big
stories. For example, in 2005 he
was a co-author of a systematic
review of episiotomy studies in
The Journal of the American Medical Association,
and we put out a news release about that. That
study concluded that the routine use of episiotomy
during childbirth was not supported by the medical
literature and might even do more harm than good.
So, both Holden Thorp and John Thorp are
continuing in the tradition of their family’s long
history at UNC. Holden Thorp’s accomplishments
are so numerous and varied that I won’t attempt to
list them all here. It is worth noting, though, that
Holden Thorp received his Bachelor of Science
degree with highest honors in chemistry from UNC
in 1986. He earned a doctorate in chemistry from
the California Institute of Technology in 1989, was a
postdoctoral associate at Yale University and started
his faculty career at N.C. State University as an
assistant professor of chemistry. He joined the UNC
faculty in 1993.
And earlier this year, he was co-author of another
study, published in The New England Journal of
Medicine that showed infusions of magnesium
sulfate — Epsom salts, in other words — could help
prevent preterm birth. We put out both a news
release and a video about that.
Through it all, John Thorp has been a delight for us
to work with, and we hope that his
accomplishments will be remembered as well along
with those of his cousin.
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Fall/Winter 2008
The Chapel Hill Connection
Photo Courtesy of Robert Strauss, MD
Officers
President AnnaMarie Connolly, MD
Secretary/Treasurer John Thorp, Jr., MD
Executive Committee Clay Harrell, MD
Thad McDonald, MD
Mark Salley, MD
Hale Stephenson, MD
Ellen Wells, MD
Administration Jennifer Davis
Jennifer_Davis@med.unc.edu
(919) 966-9600
Communications Juli Kidd
jkidd@med.unc.edu
(919) 843-4927
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The Ross Residency Alumni Society
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
3009 Old Clinic Building
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7570