Research Summary
I am a Clinical Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Director of the Women’s Cancer Care Program at UCSF. My clinical expertise focuses on the gynecologic issues for women who have had breast cancer or are at high risk for breast cancer. I teach residents and medical students in a weekly clinic and lecture locally, nationally and internationally regarding these issues. I have become a nationally recognized expert in this field and helped author the American College of Gynecology (ACOG) Technical Bulletin on this subject. I provide clinical consultations for patients regionally and nationally. Many of my surgical procedures involve joint procedures with breast and plastics teams for women who need a gynecologic surgery as part of their breast cancer treatment.
I am a member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Survivorship Panel and the sub-committee chair for the panel on sexual functioning. My clinical research focuses on quality of life and menopausal issues for women with or at high risk for breast cancer. I am currently a co-investigator in the PROSper trial, a prospective study looking at quality of life, cardiac and bone outcomes in BRCA mutation carriers who either undergo or do not undergo risk reducing oophorectomy. I have been the co-investigator of a Phase 2 Trial evaluating safety and efficacy of vaginal Estring and Testosterone cream for the treatment of vaginal dryness for women on aromatase inhibitors. I have previously conducted studies looking at the use of Chinese herbs to treat hot flashes and menopausal symptoms.
Education
University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, B.S., 1979-83, Biochemistry/Zoology
University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, M.D., 1985-89, Medicine
University of California, San Francisco, 1989-1993, Residency/ObGyn