Kathleen Schmeler Is Running For The UICC Board of Directors

Kathleen Schmeler, Professor in the Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine at The MD Anderson Cancer Centre, is running for the UICC Board of Directors.

Dr. Kathleen Schmeler provides surgical care and chemotherapy for women with gynecologic cancers. She also serves as the Director of the colposcopy clinics at MD Anderson Cancer Center and Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) Hospital, where she treats women with pre-invasive cervical, vulvar, and vaginal diseases.

Her main research focus is on cervical cancer prevention and treatment, particularly in developing countries and among medically underserved women in the U.S. She is conducting several clinical trials with MD Anderson’s Sister Institutions in Latin America and globally. Dr. Schmeler has authored and co-authored numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Additionally, she has been invited to contribute book chapters and review articles on various topics in gynecologic oncology. An active speaker at national and international events, Dr. Schmeler also serves as a reviewer for several academic journals.

Dr. Schmeler is especially dedicated to training and education. She runs the MD Anderson Cervical Cancer Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) program, a tele-mentoring program which uses videoconferencing to link faculty at academic centers with providers in medically underserved areas.

Through ECHO, Dr. Schmeler and colleagues are teaching colposcopy and supporting providers practicing in the Rio Grande Valley, an area along the Texas-Mexico border where cervical cancer rates are 30% higher and where there are 40% fewer physicians and half as many nurse practitioners as the rest of Texas.

Dr. Schmeler and colleagues also run ECHO programs for invasive cervical cancer focused on training and supporting gynecologic oncologists as well as medical and radiation oncologists in Latin America, Mozambique and Zambia.

ECHO is part of a larger strategy and Dr. Schmeler and colleagues spend a lot of time in other countries performing hands-on training as well as working with Ministries of Health to strengthen their cancer prevention and treatment policies and services. Given her experience and accomplishments, Dr. Schmeler was recently selected to be the Chair of the IGCS Education Committee.

Education

Dr. Schmeler earned her MD in Medicine from the Medical College of Pennsylvania-Hahnemann University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA, in 2000.

Prior to her medical degree, she completed a BS in Mechanical Engineering at Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY, in 1991. Following her medical education, she underwent postgraduate training, completing her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Women and Infants’ Hospital/Brown University in Providence, RI, from 2000 to 2004.

She then specialized further as a Fellow in Gynecologic Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX, from 2004 to 2007.

Awards and Honors

• Laurel Award, Prevent Cancer Foundation 2020
• Award of Merit, ASCCP 2017
• Humanitarianism and Volunteerism Award, Society of Gynecologic Oncologists 2017
• Heroes in Medicine Award, Physician’s Weekly 2016
• ACOG Mentor Award, The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists 2013

Interviews with Kathleen Schmeler

In an interview with MD Anderson Cancer Centre, Dr. Schmeler, said, “MD Anderson invested in me early on in my career and gave me the support I needed to share my knowledge at a broader level.”

Additionally she said, “We believe at-home HPV testing is the future, but at this point, we would not recommend doing home testing.”

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