Obstetrics & Gynecology

News and Events

Programs and providers of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Weill Cornell Medicine are often the focus of news stories and features appearing in major national media. We invite you to review some stories that typify the breakthrough accomplishments of our remarkable team and highlight the impact our care has had on patient’s lives.

Honoring Pioneers in Diversity in the Weill Cornell Community

composite of six people's headshots

Weill Cornell Medicine’s eighth annual Celebration of Diversity got off to a festive start on April 20 as a troupe of Ailey School student dancers turned Griffis Faculty Club into a dazzle of color, music and movement. The piece struck an aptly upbeat note as the packed room honored six members of the institutional community with Pioneers in Diversity Awards, recognizing their commitment to diversity and inclusion through mentorship, service and advocacy.

These are people “who step up to build our community culture attentively, compassionately, respectfully and with purpose,” said Dr. Robert A. Harrington, the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medicine. Honoring them is “one of the things I enjoy most about my job here.”

The event, part of the institution’s eighth annual Diversity Week, recognized faculty, staff and students who have worked to support the next generation of leaders in health care—those committed to building a support system for all.

Achieving Health Equity Demands Shift to Structural Change

Dr. Joseph Wright

Advancing health equity in medicine requires a clear-eyed understanding of history, a rejection of race-based clinical assumptions and a commitment to transform research into practice, said Dr. Joseph L. Wright, senior vice president and chief health equity officer of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), in his keynote address for Weill Cornell Medicine’s eighth annual Diversity Week.

Dr. Wright delivered the Elizabeth A. Wilson-Anstey, EdD Lecture, “Advancing Health Equity: Why History Matters,” April 20 in Uris Auditorium as part of the institution’s commitment to greater equity, diversity and inclusion in academic medicine and health care.

Using a “roots and leaves” approach, he threaded his own family history—from enslavement to modern-day encounters with discrimination—throughout his address to emphasize how social and historical forces, especially racism, can shape health outcomes across generations. Health disparities cannot be understood without also acknowledging structural factors such as redlining, he said.

Dr. Laura Riley to Unify Women’s Health Care Across Weill Cornell in New Role

profile shot of a woman in a white coat

To Dr. Laura Riley, Weill Cornell Medicine’s prowess in caring for women from birth to adulthood is the institution’s best kept secret.

“Weill Cornell is uniquely positioned to provide exemplary care to women, helping them live longer and healthier, and creating evidence for treatment and prevention,” said Dr. Riley, chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Given Foundation Professor in Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology. “We need women to know what we can do for them and expand those offerings—because that's what they deserve.”

That is precisely what she aims to do as Weill Cornell’s inaugural executive director for women’s health. This new role, which complements her position leading obstetrics and gynecology, will enable her to unify, coordinate and drive new paradigms for women’s health care across medical specialties. She will leverage multidisciplinary and cross-institutional collaborations to spark new lines of scientific inquiry into women’s health, and more clearly elucidate women’s biological and physiological differences in the medical student and physician assistant curriculum.

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