Medscape

Peter S. Bernstein is Associate Professor of Clinical Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women's Health in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women's Health at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. He also serves as the Director of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Department's ambulatory teaching site, Comprehensive Family Care Center, as well as the Director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine for Montefiore Medical Group, Montefiore's network of ambulatory offices.

After completing college and medical school at Yale University, Dr. Bernstein did his residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital. He then completed a fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1997 and obtained his master's degree in public health at Columbia University in 1998. He is Board-certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and in Maternal-Fetal Medicine.

Dr. Bernstein has received funding from the March of Dimes (1998) for the development of a curriculum to teach residents about providing preconception care. He has also published on interventions to improve the delivery of preconception care. Dr. Bernstein's work reflects his interest in biochemical markers of preterm labor. He has conducted several research studies involving the use of cervicovaginal beta-hCG as a predictor of preterm delivery and successful induction of labor at term. His current area of interest involves the use of computer information systems to improve the quality of prenatal and obstetric care.

Paul Blumenthal is Associate Professor in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Johns Hopkins University. He serves as Director of Contraceptive Research and Programs at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. He is also Director of the Cervical Cancer Prevention Project, of the JHPIEGO Corporation, an affiliate of The John Hopkins University and funded by a grant through the Alliance for Cervical Cancer Prevention by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Dr. Blumenthal is committed to the development and implementation of innovative approaches to reproductive health issues in both the domestic and international arenas. His current research focuses on safety and efficacy studies of contraceptive methods, medical abortion regimens, alternative surgical abortion techniques, and on the development of technologies for cervical cancer prevention and detection. He has contributed more than 40 original articles to the published literature in these fields and many books, chapters, and invited articles.

While maintaining an active practice in obstetrics and gynecology in the United States, Dr. Blumenthal also works in developing countries and has served as a consultant, special advisor, and technical advisor on reproductive health training, service delivery, and research issues for such agencies as the World Health Organization, the United States Agency for International Contraceptive Research and Development, JHPIEGO, Family Health International, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Ipas, and others.

Paul D. Blumenthal, MD, MPH, has disclosed that he has received grants for clinical research from Barr Laboratories and Berlex. Dr. Blumenthal has also disclosed that he receives grants for educational activities from Barr Laboratories and Organon Inc.

William Camann is an internationally recognized authority on obstetric anesthesia and pain control during childbirth. Dr. Camann has spoken to audiences around the world on the topic of labor pain and its relief. He has conducted many original research studies on the topic of pain relief and has authored numerous articles, book chapters, reviews, and professional publications related to obstetric anesthesia. He is the author of the book Easy Labor: Every Woman's Guide to Choosing Less Pain and More Joy During Childbirth (Random House/Ballantine Books, 2006, www.easylabor.net). Dr. Camann has received many awards in recognition of his teaching efforts and academic accomplishments. He served as the 2005-2006 President of the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP) and is Director of Obstetric Anesthesia at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Camann is Associate Professor of Anesthesia at Harvard Medical School, Boston.

William Reid Camann, MD, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Lorraine Dennerstein is Foundation Director of the Office for Gender and Health, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry, and Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne, Australia. She previously established and directed the Key Centre for Women's Health at the University of Melbourne from 1988-1996. In 1995 Prof. Dennerstein was appointed Personal Chair at The University of Melbourne. She was also the Foundation Director of the Department of Psychological Medicine at the Mercy Hospital for Women from 1988-1993.

From 1986 to 1989, Prof. Dennerstein was President of the International Society of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynaecology. She is a member of the editorial committees of a number of international journals and is the author/editor of 22 books and more than 300 journal articles and book chapters.

Major research projects have focused on phases in women's lives when hormonal, social, and psychological changes occur simultaneously: menstrual cycle, pregnancy and postpartum, and menopause. Currently, Prof. Dennerstein is focusing her entire research effort as chief investigator of a decade-long population-based study of Australian women's experiences of the menopausal transition. Major and unique aspects of this investigation have been the study of well-being, sexuality, symptoms, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and bone density and their relation to a range of variables, including those associated with hormones, age, stress, lifestyle, and other health experiences. Prof. Dennerstein has just completed a number of projects for major international agencies. These include: Commonwealth Awards for Excellence program (Commonwealth Secretariat); a report on Women and Occupational Health (World Health Organization); and a report on Women, Bioethics and Human Rights (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization [UNESCO]).

Prof. Dennerstein's contribution to medical education and to research in women's health was recognized with the award of the Order of Australia in 1994.

Lorraine Dennerstein, AO, MBBS, PhD, DPM, FRANZCP, has disclosed that she receives grants for educational activities from, and has served as an advisor or consultant to, Pfizer and Procter & Gamble. Dr. Dennerstein has also disclosed that she receives grants for clinical research from Wyeth.

Victoria L. Handa is an assistant professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics and the Director of Urogynecology at Johns Hopkins University. She received her undergraduate degree at Princeton University and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Dr. Handa completed residency training at the University of California San Francisco and trained in urogynecology at the University of California Irvine. She currently directs the Johns Hopkins Advanced Training Program in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery. Prior to her appointment at Johns Hopkins, she was on the faculty at Duke University (1991-1993) and the University of California Davis (1995-2000).

Her clinical practice is in the area of urogynecology and pelvic floor disorders, including pelvic organ prolapse, urinary and anal incontinence, and other disorders of the lower urinary and genital tract. Her areas of research include the causes of pelvic floor disorders, the natural history of these disorders, and treatment outcomes, including the impact of treatment on quality of life and sexual function.

Victoria L. Handa, MD, FACOG, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Peter Kovacs graduated in 1994 from the Albert Szentgyorgyi School of Medicine in Szeged, Hungary. In 1995, Dr. Kovacs began his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. Having completed the residency, he began a fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1999. This summer Dr. Kovacs will return to Hungary to join the largest private in vitro fertilization center, The Kaali Institute-IVF Center in Budapest. He will be one of the reproductive endocrinologists at this center, which performs over 2000 IVF cycles annually.

In addition to his clinical responsibilities, Dr. Kovacs will head coordination of the clinical research at the center. His own research interest is twofold. Presently, he is conducting basic research on the effect of type I diabetes and insulin on the reproductive axis. His other is interest is in vitro fertilization, and he is investigating different ovarian stimulation protocols mainly for poor responder patients.

Peter Kovacs, MD, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Susan A. New has worked in the area of nutrition and bone health since 1989, after completing her MSc in Human Nutrition & Metabolism at the University of Aberdeen. Dr. New combined her expertise in the area of exercise physiology from her first degree in Sports Science, which she gained with Distinction, to seek funding for projects in the area of diet, physical activity, and skeletal health. She was awarded the 1991 UK Nutritional Consultative Panel PhD Scholarship, which she carried out under the supervision of Professor David Reid (University of Aberdeen) and Dr. Simon Robins (Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen). Papers on this work were published in the top nutrition journal, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, in June 1997 and in January 2000, and she received the Young Investigators Award at the 1st World Congress of Osteoporosis held in Holland (May 1996).

Dr. New moved to the University of Surrey in January 1996 to take up the position of Lecturer in Nutrition within the School of Biomedical & Life Sciences. Her research has continued to grow with great strength, and she currently holds (with Professor David Reid) the largest dataset currently available worldwide on nutrition, genetics, and perimenopausal bone loss (~ 4000 subjects). She has a number of other studies running at Surrey, including work on bone health in children, young women, and elite gymnasts. She recently received a second Young Investigators Award at the 7th UK Osteoporosis Conference held in Bath (April 2000) for her work on British gymnasts and was an invited plenary speaker at the 4th International Symposium on Nutritional Aspects of Osteoporosis held in Switzerland (May 2000).

Dr. New is the Honorary Communications Officer of the UK Nutrition Society and is the first nutritionist under the age of 35 years to hold an Officer's position. She is a Member of the Scientific Advisory Council of the National Osteoporosis Society and a Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the British Nutrition Foundation. She is also an Honorary Research Fellow of the Rowett Research Institute and a Registered Public Health Nutritionist.

Susan A. New, BA, MSc, PhD, RPhNutr, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Kathleen Pritchard is one of Sunnybrook's best-known academic physicians. Apart from her ongoing clinical and administrative duties as head of Clinical Trials & Epidemiology at the Toronto-Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Centre, she has maintained a productive program of research in the field of breast cancer. Her research interests include the assessment of adjuvant and hormonal therapy for breast cancer in multicenter clinical trials, the role of predictive and prognostic factors in breast cancer, menopausal symptoms and their effect on quality of life in women with a diagnosis of breast cancer, and the role of hormone replacement therapy in women with a diagnosis of breast cancer.

Dr. Pritchard also serves as Clinical Director, Ontario Clinical Oncology Group (OCOG), Co-Chair, Breast Cancer Site Group, National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group (NCIC CTG), and Chair, Management Committee, Canadian Breast Cancer Research Initiative (CBCRI). She also holds the position of Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Behavioural Science at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Pritchard sits on advisory groups for a number of major multicenter clinical trials and is widely published in the major international medical journals. She is a listed member in the International Who's Who of Professionals - Millennium Edition, 2001-2002, and "Best Doctors in America." In 1996, Dr. Pritchard was granted the Department of Medicine Research Award, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Other distinctive awards she has received are the Toronto Women's Breast Cancer Foundation Research Award, 1987-88, and the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Scholar, 1978-1984.

Currently Dr. Pritchard is Principal Investigator and Co-investigator, holding peer-reviewed grants from the National Cancer Institute of Canada, Medical Research Council of Canada, and the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Initiative.

Kathleen I. Pritchard, MD, FRCPC, has disclosed the following relationships: She has served as a consultant for Aventis, AstraZeneca, Roche, Pharmacia Inc., Ortho Biotech, Pfizer, YM BioSciences, and Biomira; has received research funding either directly through per-case funding for studies or indirectly through the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group, Pharmacia Inc., AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Aventis, Amgen, Ortho Biotech, and Pfizer; has received honoraria from Aventis, AstraZeneca, Pharmacia Inc., and Pfizer; has given paid expert testimony for Aventis and AstraZeneca; and has been an Advisory Board member for Aventis, AstraZeneca, Ortho Biotech, Roche, and Pharmacia Inc.

Yolanda R. Smith is Assistant Professor in the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Assistant Research Investigator in the Reproductive Sciences Program at the University of Michigan. She received her bachelor's degree from Duke University (1985) and her doctor of medicine degree from Wake Forest University (1989). Dr. Smith served her internship in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Brigham and Women's Hospital (1989-1990) and completed her residency at the University of Michigan (1990-1993). She received her fellowship training in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Johns Hopkins University (1993-1995), before returning to Ann Arbor of join the faculty of the University of Michigan.

In 2001 Dr. Smith became the Research Director for the University of Michigan Center of Excellence in Women's Health. Dr. Smith will be completing her Master of Science Degree in Clinical Research Design and Statistical Analysis at the University of Michigan in 2003. Dr. Smith's research interests include neuroendocrinology and pediatric/adolescent gynecology. Her research endeavors include studying the neuronal effects of hormones in women with neuroimaging techniques, such as PET. This work has included studying the effects of estrogen on the maintenance of cognitive function and mood, as well as regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis.

Yolanda R. Smith, MD, MS, has disclosed that she has received grants for clinical research from Pfizer.

Karen Smith-McCune received her BSc in Biochemistry from McGill University, Quebec, Canada, Diploma in History and Philosophy of Science from Cambridge University, Cambridge, England, PhD from Rockefeller University, New York, NY, and her MD from Stanford University, Stanford, California. She completed residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at University of California-San Francisco (UCSF) and returned to the lab for a 3-year postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. J. M. Bishop at UCSF. She is Director of the Dysplasia Clinic at UCSF/Mount Zion and runs a basic research lab investigating the pathophysiology of cervical cancer. She is a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and a member of the American Association for Cancer Research and the American Society of Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology. She serves on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Cervical Cancer Screening panel. Her research goals are to translate the molecular signatures of cervical cancer into new diagnostics and therapies that can be disseminated to underscreened populations.

Karen Smith-McCune, MD, PhD, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.