July 2008                      
The new academic year is already under way, and we are excited about a number of new people and new programs.  We are extremely proud of our new interns.  Scott Sullivan and his team had another outstanding recruitment, where we matched 5 of our top 7 choices.  We look forward to great things from Caroline Billingsley, Brad Campbell, Leah Lamale-Smith, Jennifer Loehle, and Erin Swanson.
    
We also welcome our incoming fellows.  Our new fellow in Maternal Fetal Medicine is Tameeka Law, who joins us after a two-year military (US Navy) commitment at the Beaufort Naval Hospital.  David Soper will mentor his first fellow in Infectious Disease; Wendy Lazenby, a former MUSC student, has just finished her residency at the University of Hawaii and is starting a 3-year combined Ob-Gyn/Internal Medicine fellowship.  Similarly, Steve Swift will mentor his first fellow in Urogynecology.  Brett Lebed will start a combined fellowship in Urogynecology/Ob-Gyn.  We look forward to this collaboration with the Department of Urology.

Joining our faculty, Angela Dempsey is another former MUSC student who has completed her residency at the University of Colorado and finished her Master's in Public Health at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York.  Dr. Dempsey will practice in the generalist division with a primary focus in family planning.  She has already received a grant even before she has started.  Wow!
   
I would like to personally welcome all of these new folks to the department.  We are deeply committed to fostering our people because they hold the key to our success.  At the same time, we are optimistic that they will enhance our programs and services for our patients as well as the community.  Thus, we look forward to another great year as we meet our ever-important mission of excellence in clinical care, research, and education.


J. Peter VanDorsten, M. D.
Professor and Chair
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology