Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship
Gyn/onc fellow Annelise Wilhite, M.D., is shown using the da Vinci Surgical System.
Learn more about residencies and fellowships at the University of South Alabama and life on the Gulf Coast.
We offer a remarkable experience for our fellows and are looking for candidates who want to grow from that experience into physicians who make a difference in the world.
USA Health is the only academic medical center in lower Alabama and includes Children’s & Women’s Hospital; University Hospital with a Level I trauma, stroke and burn center; and the Mitchell Cancer Institute, a freestanding cancer and research center. Here we serve a remarkably diverse patient base, and we seek fellows with diverse backgrounds interested in health disparities, cancer prevention and/or quality-based research.
Fellows will receive education and training in patient care, radical surgery, and inpatient and outpatient management of acute gynecologic oncology conditions. This includes training in critical care, radical pelvic surgery and reconstruction, robotic surgery for Gyn cancers, and acute management of medical and surgical emergencies. Didactics include weekly grand rounds, monthly morbidity and mortality conferences, journal club, and weekly didactic presentations resulting in well-trained and well-prepared Gyn oncologists.
Participation in research and teaching experiences prepares those who are interested in sub-specialty training and academic medicine. Our funded, dedicated Gynecologic Oncology Basic and Translational Research Laboratory sets us apart from many other programs in terms of depth of research and prolific publication activity.
Our fellows have the opportunity to work directly with an array of sub-specialty experts and will benefit from close contact with faculty who provide both clinical supervision and expertise, as well as rewarding mentorship. We see a high volume of Gyn oncology patients, many of them high acuity. Our service area includes some of the sickest and most disenfranchised patients in the developed world, an issue we work diligently to alleviate.
Fellowship is not all about work, and we pride ourselves on building friendships within the large University of South Alabama family. Mobile is a wonderful place to live with many cultural and recreational opportunities that provide a wide variety of activities. It’s a port city full of arts, sports, universities, festivities and beach access. Mobile prides itself on being the birthplace of Mardi Gras.
After enjoying three years of training in Mobile, you can leave our fellowship program ready to serve patients anywhere in the world, whether you choose a sophisticated urban environment or mission work in a low-resource setting.
While fellows work closely with attending staff, they govern many aspects of the program as they set schedules, select research projects, and choose elective rotations, all while developing their leadership skills. We are always looking for new initiatives and programs to make the lives of our fellows and our patients better and more fulfilling.
We invite you to consider becoming part of the USA Health team.
- Provide exceptional medical, surgical and clinical training for physicians specializing
in gynecologic oncology.
- Provide an environment that promotes inquiry, scholarship and quality across the patient-care
continuum.
- Promote lifelong learning throughout fellowship and beyond by supporting faculty and graduate development.
The Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship Program is a three-year program designed to provide the fellow with the education, training and clinical skills necessary to pursue an academic career in Gynecologic Oncology. Teaching facilities include the USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute, USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital and USA Health University Hospital.
All fellows are required to participate in research and teaching to prepare for sub-specialty training and a career in academic medicine. Fellows are expected to present research at regional and national conferences and to prepare manuscripts for publication.
Gynecologic Oncology Faculty
Jennifer Y. Pierce, M.D., M.P.H.
Professor
Fellowship Program Director
Program Leader, Cancer Control and Prevention, Mitchell Cancer Institute
Abraham A. Mitchell Clinical Cancer Research Scholar
Jennifer Scalici, M.D.
Professor
Division Director, Gynecologic Oncology
Director of Gyn Oncology Lab, Mitchell Cancer Institute
We offer a fully integrated, three-year gynecologic oncology program. The first year consists of research on site at the USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute. Fellows will report to the gynecologic oncology lab daily to participate in all aspects of ongoing translational research projects. Lab meetings are held weekly, and fellows will participate in all didactic activities.
During years two and three, fellows will alternate between one week of inpatient rotations including rounds, surgeries and consultations at USA Health hospitals and one week of outpatient rotation at faculty clinics at MCI. Both experiences will include protected didactic time and fellows’ continuity clinic on Fridays at MCI.
Years two and three also include short specialty rotations related to gynecologic oncology and three hours of research per week. Specialty rotations include four weeks in palliative care and four weeks in outpatient radiation oncology at MCI, including patient visits, consultations, simulation, radiation treatment planning and brachytherapy insertion. Additional 1-2 week elective rotations can be arranged in colorectal surgery, urology, critical care and pathology. All clinical fellows will participate in a fellows' continuity clinic weekly.
Fellows have formal education through clinical teaching, tumor boards, didactic lectures and other educational conferences. In addition, fellows have access to both online and hardbound textbooks, journals, UpToDate, the SGO online educational series, and self-study educational time.
Fellows assume progressive responsibility during the fellowship by serving as resident teachers and mentors. All cases are performed by residents and fellows with attending supervision. Fellows supervise the residents and help instruct them on the care of patients postoperatively and with complex medical problems. The gynecologic oncology outpatient clinics add more than 800 new patients per year to the GYN oncology practice, yielding 800 to 900 surgical cases per year.
MCI houses the only gynecologic oncology program in a 150-mile radius serving a catchment area of approximately 4 million people across 53 counties in three states. This allows fellows and residents to be exposed to a wide variety of patients and clinical cases.
Fellows will conduct basic science and translational research in the Gynecologic Oncology Basic and Translational Research Laboratory at the Mitchell Cancer Institute. The main MCI location consists of a 125,000-square-foot comprehensive oncology care and research center.
Three core basic science programs are emphasized: DNA damage and repair, drug discovery, and cancer metabolism. Shared resources include animal facilities, flow cytometry, genomics, proteomics, cell imaging, histology and electron microscopy, among others.
Fellows and faculty also have access to the University of South Alabama Translational Science Resource Center, which provides support for translational research including bioinformatics and statistical support and partners in the UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS). Fellows will have a wide breadth of research support and collaboration. The laboratory receives intramural and extramural funding to study racial disparities and cancer outcomes related to socioeconomic, molecular and other factors.
- April 11, 2023: Oral Cancer Awareness Month emphasizes importance of regular screenings
- April 5, 2023: Healthy Living with USA Health: Oral Cancer Awareness
- March 9, 2023: Cancering Show – Precision Medicine for Cancer with Dr. Nate Jones
- Feb. 20, 2023: Pierce presents talk on HPV, cervical cancer
- Jan. 19, 2023: GO Teal and White to raise awareness about cervical cancer
- Jan. 6, 2023: Scalici to present on ovarian carcinogenesis
- Nov. 2, 2022: Cancering Show – Making Surviving Count with Tamika Felder
- Oct. 7, 2022: USA Health to present culinary medicine research at international meeting
- Aug. 22, 2022: Oncologist-created podcast aims to ‘demystify’ cancer care
- Sept. 7, 2022: Healthy Living: 15th Annual GO Run for Gynecologic Oncology
- Aug. 30, 2022: Three-time cancer survivor inspired to change life to stay cancer-free
- July 12, 2022: Medical Moment: HPV Vaccine and Back-to-School Prep
- May 18, 2022: MCI researchers study rare gynecologic melanomas
- May 11, 2022: Women’s Health Week 2022: Dr. Nate Jones
- Feb. 7, 2022: Now online: Read the new issue of USA Health magazine
- Jan. 15, 2022: Guest opinion: Let’s eradicate cervical cancer once and for all
- Dec. 10, 2021: Scalici awarded 2021 Mayer Mitchell Award for Excellence in Cancer Research
- Nov. 3, 2021: Mitchell Cancer Institute’s colon cancer research featured in national journal
- Nov. 2021: Podcast: Racial inequities in immunotherapy trials with Katherine Grette and Nathaniel Jones
- May 12, 2021: Investigating Low Survival Rates in Patients With Vulvar/Vaginal Melanomas
- May 12, 2021: MCI research presented at SGO annual meeting
- March 9, 2021: The Cancering Show podcast: COVID, health equity and a Casey Affleck movie
- Dec. 30, 2020: Results from ovarian cancer study at MCI published in The Lancet Oncology
- Dec. 14, 2020: Research aims to improve outlook for Black women with endometrial cancer
- June 28, 2020: GO Run jump-starts oncology research
- April 22, 2020: Immunotherapy extends survival in ovarian cancer patients, study finds
- March 4, 2020: Fast-growing uterine cancer may respond better to immunotherapy, USA Health study says
- June 29, 2019: Scalici named chief of gynecologic oncology at USA Health
- April 18, 2019: Madeira da Silva honored at AACR annual meeting
- March 29, 2019: Immune response worsens outcomes for African-American patients with ovarian cancer
- March 20, 2019: Pierce selected for ASCO Leadership Development Program
- March 19, 2019: HPV-related cancer rates affect vaccine uptake in Alabama, study says
- March 19, 2019: MCI researchers present 12 studies on GYN cancers at meeting
Third-Year Fellow
Annelise Wilhite, M.D.
Medical School: University of Virginia
Residency: University of Minnesota
Publications: PubMed.gov
Second-Year Fellow
Tanvi V. Joshi, M.D.
Medical School: The Ohio State College of Medicine
Residency: Abington-Jefferson Health
Publications: PubMed.gov
First-Year Fellow
Sagar Chokshi, D.O., M.S.
Medical School: Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency: Cooper University Hospital
Publications: PubMed.gov
We accept applications through ERAS to the University of South Alabama Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship program. We utilize the SGO Program Directors Network common application deadline. All interviews will be conducted virtually until further notice.
We are aware of SGO’s recent announcement for a new format and a new SLOE form. We understand there has not been enough time to make these adjustments for this year. We will happily continue to accept the old SLOE form.
The following items are required for a complete application:
- CV
- Photo
- Medical school transcript
- USMLE transcript
- MSPE
- Personal statement
- 3 letters of recommendation, preferably including: Chair, Program Director and at least one using SGO Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship Standardized Evaluation form
- CREOG scores
- Outside institution evaluations for gyn oncology as a resident
Supplemental materials to the application can be emailed to alanabell@health.southalabama.edu.
Program Director: Jennifer Y. Pierce, M.D., M.P.H.
Associate Program Director: Nathaniel Jones, M.D.
Program Coordinator: Alana Bell
Email: alanabell@health.southalabama.edu
Telephone: (251) 445-9895
Mailing Address:
USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute
Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship Program
1660 Springhill Ave., Mobile, AL 36604