Summer 2008

Ob/GYN Quarterly Newletters

Physician Biographies

Richard S. Bercik, MD

Richard S. Bercik, MD

After attending Georgetown University , where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated cum luade, Dr. Bercik obtained his medical degree from UMDNJ–New Jersey Medical School, and then completed his Obstetrics and Gynecology residency at New York University–Bellevue Medical Center in New York City. Dr. Bercik remained at NYU–Bellevue as a faculty member instructing residents and fellows in advanced gynecologic surgery, incontinence evaluation and management, and pelvic reconstructive procedures. He was the Director of Gynecology and Chief of Service of OB/GYN at Bellevue, and Co–Director of the Urogynecology/Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery service prior to coming to Yale. At both NYU and Yale Dr. Bercik has received numerous teaching awards, including the distinguished Nathan Kase Faculty Award.

Dr. Bercik has extensive experience with vaginal, laparoscopic, and abdominal reconstructive procedures for conditions including urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, and vaginal fistulae. He has served as a referee for NIH grant evaluation, and he is actively involved in research of new modalities to treat urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. Dr. Bercik’s clinical interests are developing less invasive and more reliable treatments for pelvic organ prolapse, alternatives to hysterectomy, vaginal hysterectomy as an alternative to abdominal hysterectomy, and office–based procedures for urinary incontinence. Dr. Bercik is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Board–Certified.

Kathleen Connell, MD

Kathleen Connell, MD

Dr. Connell earned her medical degree, completed residency training and served as Administrative Chief Resident in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn. She completed a comprehensive three–year Fellowship in Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center in New York. She was recruited to Yale as an Assistant Professor and is the Director of Research for the Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery. She is a National Institutes of Health Scholar in the Women’s Reproductive Health Research Program. Her research focuses on molecular and cellular etiologies of pelvic organ prolapse and she has presented her work at national and international meetings. Dr. Connell is certified by The American Board of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and specializes in minimally invasive/laparoscopic, abdominal and vaginal reconstructive surgical treatments for pelvic organ prolapse and incontinence.

Edmund F. Funai, MD

Edmund F. Funai, MD

Dr. Funai is a cum laude graduate (’88) of the University of Notre Dame, and was awarded an academic scholarship to New York Medical College (’92), where he was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha. He completed his residency in Obstetrics & Gynecology at Lenox Hill Hospital (’96) in Manhattan and Fellowship in Maternal–Fetal Medicine at NYU School of Medicine (’98).

Following two years in the NYU Maternal–Fetal Medicine Faculty Practice, he was named Director of Obstetrics at Bellevue Hospital, NYU’s major affiliate hospital. There, he was named Chairman of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation’s Regional Perinatal Care Task Force.

He has served on or chaired numerous committees such New York State Task Force on Maternal Mortality, ACOG Committees on Underserved Women and Quality Assurance, and assisted with HANYS/ACOG Perinatal Corticosteroids Demonstration Project.

Dr. Funai came to Yale in July of 2002, having authored more than 80 abstracts, 52 articles, and nearly 20 book chapters. His research interests include hypertension in pregnancy and patient safety. He currently serves as the Chief of Obstetrics and Associate Chair for Clinical Affairs at Yale. He has been named to numerous “Best Doctors” lists, including those published by Castle–Connelly. His work on patient safety was most recently recognized by the Society For Maternal–Medicine, who presented him with the “Award For Reseach Excellence” at the 2008 annual meeting.

Marsha K. Guess, MD, MS

Marsha K. Guess, MD, MS

Dr. Guess earned her medical degree, completed her residency training and served as Administrative Chief Resident in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine. She completed a comprehensive three–year fellowship in Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center (AECOM) in New York. As an Assistant Professor at AECOM, she held dual appointments in the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Urology. She was selected as a scholar in the K30 Clinical Research Training Program and received her Master in Science degree focusing on translational research in pelvic floor dysfunction. She was recruited to Yale where she continues to engage in translational research on cellular mechanisms involved in pelvic organ prolapse. Dr. Guess is certified by The American Board of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and specializes in vaginal, minimally invasive/ laparoscopic and abdominal reconstructive surgery.

Gabor Huszar, MD

Gabor Huszar, MD

Gabor Huszar, M.D. is a Senior Research Scientist, and Director of Male Infertility, and of the Sperm Physiology Laboratory in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences. His scientific goal has been the development of concepts in the laboratory that are directly applicable to fertility–related patient care. Dr. Huszar’s recent contributions have focused on male fertility and the objective biochemical markers of sperm maturity and function. His laboratory has elucidated the relationship between sperm maturity, genetic integrity and sperm plasma membrane structure. This research has led to the test of sperm maturity and fertility, and to the ICSI sperm selection method mediated by hyaluronic acid binding, that eliminates sperm of arrested maturity with chromosomal aneuploidies and fragmented DNA. Dr. Huszar has been member of the Editorial Board of several Journals, served on an NIH study section, and was elected to the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and to the Connecticut Academy of Sciences and Engineering. Dr. Huszar has contributed over 150 peer reviewed articles, journal reviews and book chapters. He and his research fellows have presented research reports at many national and international scientific meetings.

Pinar H. Kodaman, MD, PhD

Pinar H. Kodaman, MD, PhD

Dr. Kodaman first came to New Haven as an undergraduate in 1990. While pursuing studies in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, she began research in reproductive biology in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology under the guidance of Dr. Harold Behrman. After graduating from Yale University summa cum laude with distinction in her major, Pinar started medical school at Yale and soon joined the combined MD/PhD program and continued her research on the role of oxidative stress in ovarian function. In 2001, she graduated from medical school and also obtained a graduate degree in Pharmacology. She stayed on as an Ob/Gyn resident at Yale New Haven Hospital, graduating in 2004. She was the recipient of the Meehan–Miller, Irving Friedman, and the American Association of Gynecological Laparoscopists awards. Pinar then was recruited into our fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. Having spent the last 18 years at Yale, she will continue on in our department, joining the faculty as a Women’s Reproductive Heath Research (WRHR) Scholar and Assistant Professor. Pinar has multiple original research and peer–reviewed publications and has written extensively on various topics, including tubal factor infertility, endometriosis, endometrial disorders, PCOS, and Asherman’s syndrome. Her current research interests include endometrial angiogenesis and endothelial dysfunction.

Dr. Kodaman’s clinical interests include PCOS, reproductive surgery and infertility. Additionally, she has a particular interest in endometrial ablation.

Lubna Pal, MBBS, MRCOG, MSc

Lubna Pal, MBBS, MRCOG, MSc

After graduating from Dow Medical College in Pakistan, Dr. Pal received postgraduate training in the United Kingdom, followed by a Fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility at the Massachusetts General Hospital, a residency in Obstetrics & Gynecology at Yale–New Haven Hospital, and a second Fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, New York. Following completion of her Fellowship, Dr. Pal joined the faculty of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where she received an NIH Mentored Clinical Researcher Award and a Master’s degree in Clinical Research Methods. Her research has focused on multisystem implications of reproductive aging, with a specific focus on bone health. In addition menopause, perimenopause and diminished ovarian reserve, Dr. Pal’s clinical interests include reproductive endocrinopathies including PCOS, central reproductive disturbances attributable to hypothalamic and pituitary disorders, obesity related reproductive dysfunction, and low bone density.

Dr. Pal is Board Certified in both Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility. She joins us as Director of the Reproductive Aging and Bone Health Program, and she is available for appointments immediately at the Yale Reproductive Endocrinology Long Wharf practice site in the areas of infertility, menopause, bone density, and reproductive endocrinology.

Christian Pettker, MD

Christian Pettker, MD

Dr. Pettker graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University (1995) and subsequently gained experience in teaching at Eton College in England under an Annenberg Fellowship. He received his medical degree from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (2000) and completed his Ob/Gyn residency at New York-Presbyterian Hospital (Columbia University) (2004). Following this, he joined Yale as a fellow in Maternal–Fetal Medicine (2007) and is now on the faculty as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Pettker has received multiple teach awards during residency and fellowship. His academic interests include clinical and outcomes-based research, perinatal epidemiology, and patient safety.

Beth W. Rackow, MD

Beth W. Rackow, MD

Dr. Rackow earned her M.D. at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and then completed her residency in Obstetrics & Gynecology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where she received the Excellence in Vaginal Surgery Award. During her fellowship training in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Yale, Dr. Rackow published 10 peer–reviewed papers and book chapters. She has also played a significant role in resident education and was just recently awarded our most coveted C. Lee Buxton Faculty Teaching Award. Dr. Rackow will continue to be involved in resident and medical student education as the Director of the Ob/Gyn Endoscopic Training Program and as the Director of the Sub–internship in REI.

Dr. Rackow’s clinical interests include reproductive surgery, uterine myomas, abnormal uterine bleeding, and Müllerian anomalies. She has special expertise in pediatric & adolescent gynecology, office cryoablation procedures, and treatment of uterine fibroids.

Cherrilyn Richmond, MS, APRN, WHNP

Cherrilyn Richmond, MS, APRN, WHNP

Ms. Richmond obtained her MS from the Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner and Family Nurse Practitioner Program at Columbia University in New York. She worked at the New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Medical College of Cornell University as a Nurse Practitioner in the Department of Urology. She specializes in pelvic floor muscle rehabilitation, electrical stimulation, and behavioral modification therapies for pelvic relaxation and urinary incontinence. Ms. Richmond also treats patients with various urogynecologic and gynecologic conditions. She has received the National Collegiate Nursing Award (NCNA), the Empire Minority Honor Scholarship, and the Chi Eta Phi Mentor Program Award. Ms. Richmond was previously one of three new graduates, out of hundreds of applicants, accepted as an RN at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston for the Clinical Entry Nurse Residency Program.

Peter E. Schwartz, MD

Peter E. Schwartz, MD

Dr. Peter E. Schwartz was the first Director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at Yale University which he established in 1979 and he was responsible for creating the Fellowship Training Program in 1980. Dr. Schwartz has an extremely active clinical practice in Gynecologic Oncology and participates in gynecologic oncology research. His research has included the identification of estrogen and progestin receptors in ovarian cancer, which led to the first clinical trial using anti–estrogens for management of women with advanced or recurrent ovarian cancer. Dr. Schwartz has been one of the leaders in the field for the management of the rare germ cell ovarian malignancies. Dr. Schwartz’s major clinical cancer activities have focused on the management of the common ovarian cancers and giving chemotherapy before surgery to women with extremely advanced ovarian cancers. He established the Yale Early Detection Program for Ovarian Cancer in 1990. Dr. Schwartz has been very active in developing therapies for the clinical management of uncommon forms of uterine cancer. He has published over 190 articles in peer reviewed medical journals and over 100 reviews, chapter and editorials in medical journals. He currently serves on the editorial boards of six medical journals. Dr. Schwartz has been President of the New Haven Obstetrics and Gynecology Society, the New England Association of Gynecologic Oncologists and the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists.