UB Medical School Names Chair of Gynecology and Obstetrics

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Vanessa M. Barnabei, MD, PhD, the Patrick and Margaret McMahon Endowed Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and director of General Obstetrics and Gynecology at The Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, has been named the

new chair of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Barnabei (pronounced Barnaby), who also will serve as medical director of Women's Health Services at Kaleida Health, will join UB on October 1.

The hiring of Barnabei brings to eight the number of new chairs recruited by Michael E. Cain, MD, UB vice president for health sciences and dean of the UB medical school, in the past four years. These national hires, Cain says, are a critical piece of his strategic vision for the medical school's future.

According to Cain, Barnabei rapidly emerged as the top candidate following a comprehensive national search, possessing all the skills needed to advance the UB department and expand its basic and clinical research programs in service of UB's 2020 strategic goals. Under Barnabei, Cain says, the department will enhance the excellence of its graduate medical education and mentored research training programs. She will help develop and align a comprehensive clinical program at Great Lakes Health, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, and the community.

Barnabei has been an investigator on some of the most important clinical trials examining the effects of hormone therapy on postmenopausal women, including the Women's Health Initiative, the Heart and Estrogen/Progestin Replacement Study (HERS) and the Postmenopausal Estrogen/Progestin Interventions (PEPI) trial. Her research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences and industry. Her early research focused on the genetics of the X chromosome as well as perinatal genetics.

Certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Barnabei also is a certified menopause clinician. She provides obstetrical care in the low-risk setting and manages the gynecological care of women of all ages, with expertise in the care of the midlife woman and vulvar disorders.

Barnabei has held leadership positions at both George Washington University and The Medical College of Wisconsin in areas of women's health and menopause. In recent years, she has been involved in hospital- and community-based activities aimed at lowering the infant mortality rate in inner-city African American children.

A native of Vineland, New Jersey, Barnabei received her PhD in biology and her MD from the University of Virginia. She did her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Medical Center in Chicago. She served as an assistant professor and associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at George Washington University in Washington, DC. In 2010, Barnabei received the Outstanding Faculty Award from The Medical College of Wisconsin. She holds leadership positions in the North American Menopause Society and the Central Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.