OBGyn in the News

A report on the rising number of women dying in childbirth in New York State cites Vanessa M.Barnabei, MD, PhD, professor and chair of obstetrics and gynecology, as a member of the Maternal Mortality Advisory Council. State government has organized the Council to examine the problem.

In a story about a local woman who died in childbirth and how the U.S. ranks in maternal mortality, Vanessa M. Barnabei, MD, PhD, professor and chair of obstetrics and gynecology and president and CEO of UBMD Obstetrics and Gynecology, said: “When you look at where the U.S. ranks in terms of other industrialized countries, given the amount of money that we spend on health care, how big that part of the budget is, we rank really poorly compared to those other countries.”

An article about sexual health questions women may be hesitant to ask their OB-GYNs interviews Vanessa M. Barnabei, MD, PhD, professor and chair of obstetrics and gynecology, who discussed vaginal health, why some women skip having a Pap smear and painful sex. “I see so many women who wait too long to come in with this problem,” she says. “The faster you seek help, the faster your doctor can offer a simple solution.”

The New York State Legislature is expected to vote on the Reproductive Health Act (RHA) on January 22. Vanessa M. Barnabei, MD, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, said the law was needed to “decriminalize” abortion in the state. She explained that the current law still has language where an abortion provider could be charged criminally for the procedure. Additionally, she said that the RHA also contains important provisions for contraceptives and would establish a maternal death review process.

A front-page article about a South Buffalo family with seven children, including a set of twins, and is now expecting triplets interviews Paul Ogburn, MD, clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology, about how unusual it is for a woman to give birth to twins and then triplets. "It's certainly not highly likely, but if there's a tendency to have multiple ovulations, it may be more likely for someone who's had twins to have triplets," he said.

An article in the Buffalo News reports UB spinoff Cytocybernetics, a past 43North winner, has received a $250,000 Small Business Innovation Research award from the National Institute of Mental Health to support its expansion into neuronal drug development. The co-founders of Cytocybernetics are Glenna C. Bett, PhD, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and Randall L. Rasmusson, PhD, professor of physiology and biophysics. Bett is company CEO and Rasmusson is company president.

There are concerns that the region could face a shortage of obstetrician-gynecologists in coming years. Vanessa M. Barnabei, MD, PhD, professor and chair of obstetrics and gynecology, comments about what is being done to boost the number of younger physicians in the specialty. “Most of our graduates have stayed in the immediate area, Erie County for the most part and a couple in Niagara County. But I know there are shortages in Niagara County and only a few OB-GYNs in Orleans (County),” she said. “Many of the babies there are delivered by family practice providers.”

A story on WBFO offers a glimpse into how students in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences are learning about treating patients in the LGBT community, and interviews Lisa Jane Jacobsen, associate dean of medical curriculum and clinical associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and students Mary Leeman and Helia Zand. “We try to teach them to be respectful of different beliefs, religions, cultures, ethnicities, opinions, and that they don’t have to agree with everybody, but that they certainly have to be respectful and help people,” Jacobsen said.

First-year medical students discuss the Health in the Neighborhood course at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and their experiences learning about health care disparities directly from those who are experiencing them in Buffalo. “In order to the learn from the community, it is important to engage as listeners and learners,” said Linda F. Pessar, MD, founder of the course and professor emeritus of psychiatry. The story focused on the national attention it’s drawing from the American Medical Association. “It’s important to have an organization like the AMA be involved in what we’re doing because they have a lot of influence,” said Lisa Jane Jacobsen, MD, associate dean of medical curriculum.

News articles report that Cytocybernetics, a UB spinoff co-founded by two Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences faculty, has been awarded $1.5 million by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which will support hiring and development. The company was founded by Glenna C. Bett, PhD, vice chair for research and associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and Randall L. Rasmusson, PhD, professor of physiology and biophysics.

This story reports on a new DNA test for Down syndrome that is quicker than current testing and produces a much smaller percentage of false positive results. Vanessa M. Barnebei, MD, PhD, professor and chair of obstetrics and gynecology, said a 40-year-old pregnant woman has roughly a one in 100 chance of a Down syndrome delivery. ”This patient is at increased risk, based on this combination of markers that we assessed and then we would have to call the patient, counsel her about the risk, what that means and then offer her additional testing,” Barnebei said.

Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul visited Glenna C. Bett, PhD, and Kate Rittenhouse-Olson, PhD, to celebrate the United Nation’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Day. Bett’s company has developed a system that screens drugs in their early development stages to determine whether they may cause deadly side effects. Olson’s company is developing an antibody that shows promise as a weapon against cancer cells. 

Incontinence and overactive bladder issues are uncomfortable topics, so much so that many primary care doctors don’t raise the issue with patients during visits, and many patients wouldn’t dream of bringing up the subject themselves.

Health & Tech, a regular feature highlighting life sciences and high-tech companies throughout the region, reports on Cytocybernetics, a company founded by Glenna C. Bett, PhD, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and Randall L. Rasmusson, PhD, professor of physiology and biophysics, that has developed a technology they say can cut the time and money needed to bring new drugs to market.

Judges at the 43North business plan competition were impressed with the science behind Cytocybernetics, one of the winners of $500,000 in the competition for startups. The company — created by Glenna C. Bett, PhD, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and Randall L. Rasmusson, PhD, professor of physiology and biophysics — is developing biotechnology that could halve the time and money needed to bring new drugs to the market.