A Commitment to Compassionate, Mom-Centered Care
I wanted my work—both academic and clinical—to benefit others. OB-GYN and women’s health broadly offers the opportunity to do tremendous good for mothers and their newborns and is one of the few fields in which the physician can fully resolve certain conditions through medical management with surgery. When care is driven by academic insight and delivered in a compassionate manner, you can significantly impact the lives of these women and children for the better.
One of the key things I learned from my mentor, Antonina Mitrofanova, was the value of understanding every facet of the work you do. As a physician, I constantly interact with the business side of health care and research methodologies, so I wanted to learn from the experts in those areas. That led me to pursue a Ph.D. in Biomedical Informatics and an executive MBA in healthcare management—fields that, while distinct, are essential to delivering care.
Theology was a more personal pursuit. For me, seeking truth in science and service inevitably led to seeking truth in the divine. I earned a Doctor of Divinity degree to deepen my understanding of compassion, which is the foundation of everything I strive to do as a physician and human being.
As for how I found the time—that’s a great question. Online learning and computational research certainly helped. When in-person attendance was required, I made arrangements as best I could. It really came down to willpower, dedication, and the incredible support of people like Mitrofanova, who made accommodations for my hectic schedule. I’m incredibly grateful.
One that stands out is my research on preterm prelabor rupture of membranes—a serious condition where a woman’s water breaks too early, putting the baby at risk for infection. Our study was the first prospective one to show that using azithromycin compared to erythromycin significantly reduced the risk of maternal and neonatal infections while maintaining the same time to delivery.
Our findings were later validated by other studies and helped shift the standard of care nationwide. Our work has impacted thousands of patients across the country—and probably the world.
I have a twin brother who is a fashion designer and regional visual manager for Adidas. He has to be adept with people (like a physician), skilled at working with tools and sewing (like a surgeon), and be able to make predictions in the field of fashion and marketing (like a scientist). We always laugh about the similarly dissimilar lives we live, and he is my greatest friend and blessing.
Working with Mitrofanova was the single greatest educational experience of my entire career.
Her mentorship shaped the kind of physician and academian I strive to be. It is no surprise that she has received all the accolades she has. (Most recently, Dr. Mitrofanova was honored by the Biden administration for her groundbreaking cancer research.)
