OBGYN Researchers

• Adekanmbi, Victor

  
  Adekanmbi, Victor MD, PhD
  Assistant Professor
  
  

  RESEARCH

• Berenson, Abbey
  

  Abbey Berenson MD, PhD
  Professor
  Obstetrics and Gynecology

  Our research has focused over the past 25 years on a variety of issues related to women’s health across the lifespan. Currently, we are focusing on issues related to cancer prevention and family planning.  Research
• Garces, Nadia
  

  Nadia Garces MA
  Research Coordinator
  Obstetrics and Gynecology

  Nadia was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley. She has a degree of Medical Assistant and 15 years of experience with nonprofits, and three years working with our school-based program. Helping others in the community is her passion and calling. As a research coordinator, she works closely with the team to make sure we are successfully implementing strategies for our CPRIT project, “School-Based Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Program.” Nadia works with school nurses, parent educators, and principals from the Middle School that she oversees and vendor (Pro-Care) coordinating monthly vaccine clinics. She is responsible for data collection, data input, documenting the students who started the first dose or finished the second and third doses of their mandatory vaccines and HPV. Nadia also works on parent education and helps the Project Manager with Spanish presentations for parents. In addition, she assists the Program Director, coordinates events, and creates flyers for the school nurses and staff in charge of the school website to have that information ready for parents. Nadia is also responsible for record reconciliation and making phone calls to parents of students pending vaccines to verify whether they are up to date and give them information about vaccines and our upcoming events.

• Guo, Fangjian

  Fangjian Guo MD, PhD
  Assistant Professor
  
  

  RESEARCH

• Quintanilla, Martin
  

  Martin Quintanilla
  Data Coordinator
  Obstetrics and Gynecology

  Martin Quintanilla has a bachelor’s in Health Medical Management. He is the new Data coordinator for the RGV team, based out of Galveston. His duties consist of reconciling the students’ records who have had vaccines into the system and ensuring we have the correct and most updated information on each record. He also assists in helping with the teams’ goal to help vaccinate the students and keep them up to date. He helps assist the Project’s team by working at the school districts. He helps the Project Manager with the dissemination and implementation of the Project at the different middle schools. Martin is responsible for scheduling meetings, educational sessions, and events, recruiting and follow-up with students, conducting investigations and making process recommendations for the school districts. Additionally, he helps with project tasks, including project coordination and completing study-related data collection and documentation, e.g., policies and procedures for team members.

• Rodriguez, Ana M.
  

  Ana M. Rodriguez MD, MPH
  Associate Professor
  Obstetrics and Gynecology

  Dr. Rodriguez is currently a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Division of Gynecology, and Section of Minimally Invasive Gynecology & Research and a Public Health Practitioner. In addition to significant clinical and educational contributions to our institution and upholding a busy clinical and surgical practice, she is making meaningful contributions in the area of gynecological cancer prevention. Specifically, her research and clinical practice focus on the prevention and treatment of pre-cancerous cervical lesions due to the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and endometrial cancer precursors. Her emerging leadership in gynecological cancer prevention, particularly HPV-related diseases and cancer, along with the study of health disparities, is highlighted by her current efforts in developing and implementing HPV vaccination programs serving predominantly high-risk populations in Texas. Dr. Rodriguez is the Program Director of the “School‐Based Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Program in the Rio Grande Valley” initially implemented in Starr County in 2016. At least 1,896 students were vaccinated against HPV through the initial school-based program. To date, this model is expanding into other counties in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV), including Jim Hogg, Zapata, Starr, and Hidalgo. This is the first school-based HPV vaccination program in the RGV area and one of the first in Texas targeting the recommended age group for HPV vaccination and including both females and males. In addition, Dr. Rodriguez is a collaborator of the project “Improving Cervical Cancer Screening and Prevention in the Lower Rio Grande Valley through Public Outreach, Patient Navigation, and Telementoring.” She also co‐directs the teleECHO clinics for this project.

  Dr. Rodriguez, well-funded research portfolio includes grants from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging, in addition to grants from UTMB’s Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program, the Raul Tijerina, Jr. Foundation and MD Anderson’s HPV Vaccination Initiative.

  Dr. Rodriguez is a member of many national and international scientific societies and professional organizations, including the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology, American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists, International Papillomavirus Society, and International Gynecologic Cancer Society. She is also a member of the Sealy Institute for Vaccine Sciences at UTMB, which is part of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center (WHO CC) for vaccine research, evaluation, and training. Research

• Vincent, Kathleen
  

  Kathleen Vincent, MD
  Professor
  Obstetrics and Gynecology

  Our research focuses on application of biomedical engineering technologies to women’s health research.  I utilize imaging from the cellular level to whole body imaging for the study of maternal-fetal health, obesity, benign gynecologic disorders, bacterial vaginosis, and vaginal drug delivery.  Additionally, I collaborate with women’s health researchers to bring novel technologies into their field of research.   Research