Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship 

UNMCCC – The UNMCCC is a new, state of the art, 5-story, 226,000 sq. ft. ambulatory cancer diagnosis and treatment center.  In 2005, UNMCCC achieved our designation from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and then in 2016 the UNMCCC achieved comprehensive designation, the highest federal designation.  It is the only cancer center in NM designated by the NCI and one of 51 NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the nation and it has been designated “the official cancer center of New Mexico” by the state legislature.  In 2019, the UNMCCC treated more than 13,000 patients, performed 47,629 chemotherapy infusions, performed 16,754 radiation treatments, and enrolled 844 patients on clinical trials.  Patients are seen at the UNMCCC regardless of their ability to pay.

Gynecologic cancers are the 4^th most common cancers treated at UNMCCC, behind breast, prostate, and lung.  The gynecologic oncology division enrolled 20% of newly registered patients on to clinical trials in 2016.  UNMCCC expanded in 2017 to open the new UNM Women’s Cancer Center located on the second floor clinic space.  The new center provides a space dedicated to the needs of women and their families.  UNMCCC offers services in medical oncology, radiation oncology, neuro-oncology, surgical oncology, plastics/reconstructive surgery, and genetic counseling providers.  UNMCCC offers extensive patient and family support through psychology services, oncology social work, patient navigation programs, nutrition counseling, and interpreter language services. 

Clinical trials participation is a significant priority within the UNMCCC and trials are made available to patients throughout the state through a unique partnership of community oncology practices within a unique statewide network, the New Mexico Cancer Care Alliance. In addition, UNMCCC is home to a growing Phase I clinical trials program.

UNMH: University of New Mexico Hospital, the state’s only academic medical center, is the primary teaching hospital for the University of New Mexico, School of Medicine.  UNMH has 540 beds and had approximately 25,000 admissions, performed 19,000 surgeries, and had 80,000 ER visits in 2016.  UNMH cares for a large, diverse population with complex and urgent health needs, providing more than $135 million of uncompensated care per year.  This hospital is the site of inpatient and OR cases during fellow clinical training.  UNMH has state of the art laparoscopic and robotic equipment, with both the Si and Xi robotic platforms.  The GO division maintains 3 days of dedicated block time in the main OR at UNMH.  Outpatient surgical facilities are available on an as needed basis less than 1 mile from the main hospital setting.  UNMH has medical/surgical ICU, wound care teams, physical therapy, and other ancillary services needed to maintain the care of gynecologic cancer patients and to serve as the foundation for GO fellow clinical training. 

Southwest Women’s Oncology: SWO was founded in 1985 and is a gynecologic oncology private medical practice in Albuquerque.  The medical team is led by Dr. Karen Finkelstein who joined the group in 2006.  The fellow will spend 6 months of their clinical training at the SWO site.  The SWO medical team includes 2 mid-level providers, 3 medical assistants, and 3 RNs.  SWO administers chemotherapy in the outpatient and inpatient setting.  The practice delivers surgical services in two hospitals, Presbyterian and Lovelace Medical Center.  Presbyterian Hospital is part of the Presbyterian Healthcare Services, a locally-owned, not-for-profit healthcare system with a statewide health plan and multispecialty group. Founded in New Mexico in 1908. The facility has over 700 beds, intensive care units, wound care teams, physical therapy, and other ancillary services. Radiation oncology services are also present. Surgical services include state of the art laparoscopic equipment and the robotic surgical platform for fellow surgical training. Lovelace Medical Center is the other practice location for the SWO group, where further inpatient and surgical services are performed. Lovelace Women’s Hospital is a private community hospital located in Albuquerque, NM with over 250 staffed beds, and all ancillary services need to support the care of patients with gynecologic malignancies. Surgical services include state of the art laparoscopic equipment and the robotic surgical platform for fellow surgical training. Radiation Oncology services are also present.  Presbyterian Hospital and Lovelace Medical Center have for many years provided medical education as a secondary performance site for the UNM OB/GYN residency program, so there is a pre-existing infrastructure that is supportive of medical education.

Separate from education efforts performed in clinic, operating room, and on rounds, dedicated educational time will be included in the schedules for fellow specific didactics, tumor board conferences, M&M conferences, journal clubs, case log review, and departmental grand rounds.  Attendance of the annual Society of Gynecologic Oncology is encouraged and financial support is provided by the Division.  Other meetings for research submission and attendance for consideration are: Western Association of Gynecologic Oncology, American Society of Clinical Oncology, and AACR.

The UNM Gynecologic Oncology fellowship programs benefits from a committed group of research faculty and broad opportunities for fellows to engage in projects spanning basic/translational lab science, clinical research and epidemiology/population-based studies.  The program’s association with the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center offers excellent research support and resources.  Sarah Adams, MD serves as the lead research mentor for the fellows.  Dr. Adams leads a translational lab focused on ovarian tumor immunology.  Our program encourages incoming fellows to choose research opportunities that align with their personal interests and career goals.  These opportunities range from ovarian tumor immunology in Adams lab to collaborating with other UNM faculty (involved in ovarian, cervical or uterine cancer research) including population genetics, cancer survivorship, cancer genomics, virology, hormone signaling, mathematical modeling of tumor behavior and drug diffusion, vaccine design, or single-cell imaging and receptor biology. 

Most scientists are housed within the UNM Cancer Research Facility a five-story, 110,000 sq. ft. research building supporting Shared Resources, including:  Analytical and Translational Genomics; the Keck Small Animals/Imaging Resource; Behavioral Measurement and Population Sciences; Bioinformatics and High-Dimensional Data Analysis; Biostatistics; Fluorescence Microscopy and Cell Imaging; Flow Cytometry and High Throughput Screening; and the Human Tissue Repository and Tissue Analysis.  Fellows will have access to the Biostatistics shared resource for collaboration on protocol and grant development, thesis/manuscript preparation and other scholarly activities.

The first 12 months of training will be dedicated to the research curriculum and thesis development.  The program faculty mentor the fellow thru completion and defense of a thesis during the fellowship training program. 

Fellows are also encouraged to participate in graduate level course work in biostatistics, epidemiology, clinical trial design, and/or grant writing.  These additional graduate courses are also able to be tailored to the individual fellow’s career goals.

The primary clinical training location for the fellowship is UNMH and UNMCCC under the direction of four fellowship-trained gynecologic oncologists: Drs. Carolyn Muller, Teresa Rutledge, Sarah Adams, and Emily Wu.  The secondary training location is Southwest Women’s Oncology (SWO) led by fellowship-trained gynecologic oncologist, Dr. Karen Finkelstein and Dr. Preya Wisner.  The fellow spends 6 months of their clinical training at the SWGO site and 18 months at the UNMH/UNMCCC location.  Throughout all GO clinical training, the fellow’s experience will be divided between inpatient, outpatient, and OR experience with multiple support staff assisting to provide optimal patient care.  The clinical volume is excellent and encompasses the full spectrum of gynecologic oncology.  Clinics are exclusively devoted to the care of women with gynecologic malignancies or complicated gynecologic problems.  Both clinical training locations benefit from a state-side referral base, exposing the fellows to wide-ranging clinical problems. 

The faculty manage all aspects of comprehensive clinical care including prescribing chemotherapy and novel biologic or immunotherapies as well as all Phases of clinical trials. The fellow can expect to gain exposure to chemotherapy care planning, dose modification and sequencing.  The fellows will learn to provide care through a team based approach and will have the opportunity to work with learn from and educate other members of the team including midlevel providers,  nurses , nurse navigators, coordinators, research staff, residents, medical students and other key team members. The surgical experience includes both open and minimally invasive techniques (both laparoscopy and robotic).  To augment the clinical experience, the fellow will spend elective time with Surgical Oncology service, Palliative Care, Radiation Oncology and Surgical ICU/Critical Care rotations.  The clinical rotations may change as the needs of trainees require.

Jenny Mao, DO - Class of 2027

Dr. Mao is originally from Southern California. She attended medical school at Campbell University in North Carolina and currently completing her OBGYN residency at Kettering Health in Dayton, Ohio. Her research interest includes implementation science and surgical training education. Her hobbies include working out at Orange Theory, trying new foods, and amateur bird-watching. We are excited to have Jenny join our fellowship in August 2024.

Ashlee Candelaria, MD, MPH - Class of 2026

Dr. Candelaria is a native New Mexican. She attended medical school at the University of New Mexico and completed her OBGYN Residency in 2021 also at the University of New Mexico.  Her research interest includes investigating barriers to care for more vulnerable populations and surgical education. She spends most of her weekends in the outdoors with her family, gardening, and reading.  We are excited to have Ashlee join our fellowship in August 2023.

Ivana Barouhas, MD - Class of 2025

Devin Jones, MD - Class of 2024

Stephanie Rieder, MD, PhD - Class of 2023

Marina Miller, MD - Class of 2022

Ricardo Gomez, MD - Class of 2021