Research
Our fellowship places high value on research and scholarship and encourages fellow development in this area. Our faculty have a very diverse portfolio of research interests and our program is designed for fellows to seamlessly find mentorship and sponsorship as successful physician-scientists.
Our team’s focuses are broad:
- Clinical trial and outcomes research
- Childbirth injury
- Genitourinary microbiome
- Healthy equity and access to care
- Patient-centered outcomes
We work collaboratively with numerous other departments within the University of Chicago campus. Faculty are NIH- and AHRQ-funded. We are also part of the nationally prestigious Pelvic Floor Disorders Network. Our department also has numerous opportunities to collaborate in the basic sciences. For example, the Ovarian Cancer Research Laboratory is directed by our chairman, Dr. Ernst Lengyel and encourages multidisciplinary research across specialties and subspecialities.
Fellows are encouraged to begin their research careers early on in the program. Chart reviews or retrospective studies are highly encouraged within the first few months of the fellowship. Fellows will be guided in all of the steps of research including:
- Concept proposals
- IRB submission
- Data collection and analysis
- Manuscript drafting and submission
Ultimately, all fellows will submit a thesis that they will aim to present at a national meeting. In accordance with ABOG requirements, fellows have 12 one-month blocks devoted to research distributed throughout the three-year fellowship. Funding is broad and includes intramural resources through the university, as well as external funding through organizations such as AUGS and SGS.
The fellowship program will provide each fellow with SPSS statistical software. The fellows will also have access to our section’s network drive, which houses educational videos, presentations and numerous other educational resources. Similarly, the University of Chicago library has in-person access and hours as well as 24 hour, 7-day per week remote access to provide access to bibliographic and full-text databases including MEDLINE, CINAHL, Biological Abstracts, The Cochrane Database, and many full-text collections. The division is supported by two research coordinators and statisticians.
Scientific Meetings
Fellows are expected to attend and present their projects at several scientific meetings annually. The American Urogynecologic Society annual meeting is a must! Similarly, we encourage participation (and presentation) at the Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine, & Urogenital Reconstruction, Society of Gynecologic Surgeons, American Urologic Association, International Urogynecological Association, and the American College of Obstetrician & Gynecologists. We feel that participation in these meetings is essential in learning the science of our field and making important connections with colleagues on a national level. This opens the doors for lifelong learning and collaboration.