At the conclusion of Dr. Peter Beck’s term as chair of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology in 1981, a long and arduous search process began to recruit a new chair.
In the meantime, the department leadership was ably assumed by Dr. Tom Nelson (1981-82), and Dr. Don Dunlop (1982-86). During this time there was considerable further development of both undergraduate and postgraduate educational programs, such that the department gained a strong reputation as a provider of high-calibre clinical training.
A new chair was recruited in 1986. Dr. Peter Mitchell arrived from the University of Western Ontario to become department chair and chief of the University of Alberta Hospital department. During the previous year, the University Hospital department had been relocated into the new, state-of-the-art facilities of the Walter C. Mackenzie Health Sciences Centre.
The vision of the new chair was to build on the strong clinical foundation by replenishing the depleted GFT sub-specialty ranks and developing a “bench-to-bedside” research program. The presence of a very supportive dean, the heightened enthusiasm generated by the new building and the presence of the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research would facilitate these goals.
Expansion of clinical service
The GFT (geographic full time) positions were filled with a variety of graduates from other schools as well as graduates of our own programs who had gone elsewhere for sub-specialty training.
Gynecologic Oncology was bolstered by the recruitment of Dr. Alexandra Schepansky (University of Toronto) and Dr. Valerie Capstick (our own graduate who received sub-specialty training in Toronto).
Maternal-Fetal Medicine positions were filled by Dr. Keith Still (recruited from our own clinical faculty), Dr. Nestor Demianczuk (University of Ottawa with sub-specialty training at McMaster, appointed director of the Perinatology Unit at the Royal Alexandra Hospital), and Drs. Nan Okun and Radha Chari who were our own graduates and received sub-specialty training in Ottawa and Memphis respectively.
Dr. Anthony Cheung (University of Sydney with sub-specialty training at University of California at Davis) and Dr. Margaret Sagle (University of Western Ontario with sub-specialty training at McMaster and the University of London) joined the group in Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility.
Dr. Cathy Flood, one of our own graduates, went to Toronto for sub-specialty training in Urogynecology and returned to establish the sub-specialty unit at the Royal Alex. She was joined by another of our graduates, Dr. Jane Schulz, who did her sub-specialty training at the University of London.
Expansion of the research program
During the Mitchell years, there was a concerted effort to further develop research in the department. An external review of the department in 1987 strongly recommended that, because of limited resources, research recruitment be focused in one area such that sufficient depth could be developed to become competitive for scarce national research operating funds. The review team recommended that this research area should be Perinatology.
The adopted strategy was to establish a research presence in basic sciences that would be complemented with clinician-researchers to complete the bench-to-bedside concept. Three PhD researchers were recruited. Dr. David Olson was recruited in 1991 from the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Western Ontario and was successful at obtaining an AHFMR scholarship. His primary appointment was in the Department Obstetrics & Gynecology with cross-appointments in Physiology and Pediatrics.
In addition to continuing his research programs studying the regulation of parturition and the pathophysiology of neonatal oxygen toxicity, Dr. Olson established the University of Alberta Perinatal Research Centre (PRC).
This multidisciplinary unit includes basic and clinical investigators from three university faculties and many departments. It provides a mechanism through which researchers from diverse perspectives can interact synergistically to develop novel research strategies in the area of Perinatology.
The PRC has attained a well-deserved international reputation as a leader in the field of perinatal research. Dr. Marek Radomski (MD-Ph.D.) was recruited in 1994 from the Wellcome Laboratories in London where he worked with Nobel laureate Sir John Vane. Dr. Radomski also was successful in obtaining a scholarship from AHFMR. His primary appointment was in Obstetrics & Gynecology with a cross-appointment in Pharmacology. His interests were in the study of platelet function, with a special interest in pre-eclampsia.
Dr. Sandra Davidge is a vascular biologist who was recruited in 1996 from the University of Pittsburg where her studies had focused on the pathophysiology of pre-eclampsia. Her primary appointment was in Obstetrics & Gynecology and she was cross-appointed in Physiology. She has received scholarships from AHFMR, the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. Most recently she has been awarded a Canada Research Chair.
Davidge also has won awards both locally (Martha Piper prize for outstanding research at the University of Alberta) and internationally (Young Investigator Award from the Society for Gynecologic Investigation) for her innovative research, which includes studies of pre-eclampsia and studies of the role of estrogen in vascular adaptations with aging.
Department Research Day was established in 1988 and has become the major department social and professional occasion of the year. This event is described further in the Research section of the website.
Overall, during the Mitchell years, the department had increased from four GFT faculty members to 12, with two other successful recruiting ventures well underway, in addition to the new chair. There was strong clinical and educational activity in general obstetrics & gynecology as well as in all four sub-specialty areas. A basic research group was established and, in 2000, this group formed the nucleus of the CIHR Group in Perinatal Health and Disease.