Scientific Program Committee

2019 Scientific Program Committee Chair

Jubilee Brown, MD

Dr. Brown is Professor and Associate Director of the Department of Gynecologic Oncology, Levine Cancer institute at Atrium Health and Clinical Professor at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. Prior to that appointment, she was a tenured Professor at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, where she worked for 17 years. She is a board-certified gynecologic oncologist.

Dr. Brown is an expert in minimally invasive (laparoscopic and robotic) surgery and has trained physicians worldwide in these techniques. She has published widely in minimally invasive surgery, contained extraction, and rare tumors. Her work lead to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network ® (NCCN®) recommendations for modified staging in stromal ovarian tumors. She has been the principal investigator on one completed and one ongoing GOG/NRG trial. Dr. Brown has published over 75 peer reviewed publications, authored 15 chapters, and has edited an award-winning textbook on rare tumors. She has lectured on 5 continents and has contributed to leadership in the AAGL.

Nichole D. Mahnert, MD

Dr. Mahnert completed her fellowship in minimally invasive gynecologic surgery (FMIGS) at the University of Michigan and is currently faculty at University of Arizona-Phoenix. She also serves as Associate Director of the MIGS fellowship program at Banner University Medical Center. She chairs the scholarship committee, guiding residents to complete research projects and sits on the WIMS executive committee. Her dedication to holistic and compassionate patient care accompanies her commitment to quality and safety through evidence-based medicine.

Shanti I. Mohling, MD, FACOG

Dr. Mohling has been board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology since 2003.  She attended medical school at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and completed residency at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.  She spent 15 years in private practice in Colorado and New Mexico before returning to academic medicine.  She is currently Director of Gynecology for the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Associate Program Director for the Fellowship in Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Chattanooga.

Fariba Mohtashami, MD, FRCSC

Dr. Mohtashami is a Clinical Associate Professor, and Head, Division of General Gynecology and Obstetrics at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. She is passionate about surgical education with emphasis on fundamentals of surgery such as anatomy, dissection, electrosurgery, and suturing.

Dr. Mohtashami is a Fundamental of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) Certified Proctor. She is a regular chair and faculty at a variety of international workshops in North America, Europe, and South Africa. She has received several awards including: The Dr. Mike Turko Surgical Teaching Award for outstanding surgical teaching in the UBC Residency Program; Carl Nimrod Award for Surgical Mentorship from the Association of Academic Professionals in Obstetrics and Gynaecology of Canada (APOG); and the APOG Best Preceptor Award at the Annual APOG Minimally Invasive Surgery Workshop.

Shailesh Puntambekar, MD

Dr. Puntambekar is the Director and Consultant Laparoscopic Oncosurgeon at Galaxy CARE Multispeciality Hospital, Pvt Ltd., in Pune, India. Among his many accomplishments are:

Matthew T. Siedhoff, MD, MSCR

Dr. Siedhoff completed his medical degree at Stanford University, OB/GYN residency at New York University, and fellowship in Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery (FMIGS) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he also received a master’s degree in clinical research from UNC’s Gillings School of Public Health. As faculty at UNC, he served as MIGS Fellowship and Division Director. Dr. Siedhoff currently is the Director of the Center for MIGS at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA. He performs advanced laparoscopic surgery for a range of gynecologic conditions, with special interest and expertise in large fibroids and complicated endometriosis, which is also the focus of his research interests.

Dr. Siedhoff has served AAGL as the President of the Board of Directors for the Fellowship in MIGS and teaches surgeons through lecture and simulation nationally and internationally.

Amanda C. Yunker, DO, MSCR

Dr. Yunker is currently an Associate Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology and the MIGS Fellowship Program Director at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN. She is a fellowship graduate from the University of North Carolina MIGS program.  She will serve as President of the FMIGS Board of Directors in 2019.

Marie Fidela R. Paraiso, MD, FACOG

Dr. Paraiso is Professor of Surgery at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, and Section Head of Urogynecology at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, OH. She is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Indiana University School of Medicine. She completed her OB/GYN residency at Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati and her fellowship in Advanced Pelvic Surgery and Minimally Invasive Gynecology at the Cleveland Clinic. She is Board Certified in OB/GYN and Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery.  Prior to returning to Cleveland Clinic in 1998, she was Section Head for Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery at the University of Missouri, Kansas City.

She has completed three executive courses in leadership: Leadership in Healthcare; Leadership in Surgery; and Fast Track Leadership.  Nationally, Dr. Paraiso served twice on the Board of Directors for the American Urogynecologic Society (AUGS) (2000-2003 and 2007-2010), and on the Board of Directors for the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists (AAGL) from 2012 to 2014. She is currently as President of the AAGL Board of Directors. She served as the Scientific Program Vice Chair for the 2011 AUGS Annual Scientific Meeting, Scientific Program Chair for the 2012 AUGS Annual Scientific Meeting, and Scientific Program Chair for the AAGL Annual Global Congress in 2018.

Dr. Paraiso has lectured throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Central and South America, Australia, and South Africa. She has published over 135 manuscripts, 20 book chapters, and a 2014 textbook for Office Gynecology. She is a reviewer for 13 major journals in Gynecology and Urology and is on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology (JMIG).  She is the Site Primary Investigator for the Pelvic Floor Disorders Network and is best known for publishing randomized clinical trials. She is currently on the ACOG Gynecologic Practical Bulletins Committee. She has received numerous research awards from AAGL, AUGS, and the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons (SGS) for best manuscript and best video and has received the CREOG and APGO/CREOG teaching awards.  She has been educating colleagues, fellows, residents, and medical students throughout her career.  She served as Cleveland Clinic OB/GYN Residency Director from 1999-2004 and Quality Reassurance Officer for the OB/GYN and Women’s Health Institute from 2005-2011.  She has been voted Best Doctor in Cleveland Magazine and Best Doctors in America annually from 2006-2017.  She was awarded the Raymond Lee Lectureship at the American Urogynecologic Society in 2017, which is bestowed on the AUGS Member who is honored for his/her research and surgical contributions to the field of Urogynecology as well as being a Master Teacher of Master Surgeons.

Linda D. Bradley, MD, Medical Director

Dr. Bradley is Professor of Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and Director of the Center for Menstrual Disorders and Fibroids.  She recently was appointed Medical Director of the AAGL.

Dr. Bradley earned a Bachelor’s degree from Vassar College before attending the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine for her M.D.  She completed her residency training at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.   She is an internationally recognized gynecologic surgeon known for her expertise in diagnostic and operative hysteroscopy, fibroids and alternatives to hysterectomy.

Executive Director, AAGL

Linda Michels