Dennis S. Chi, MD, FACOG, FACS

As Director of the Fellowship Training Program for the Gynecology Service, it is my responsibility to be an authority in our field and to be a national leader regarding the numerous advances that are continually being made in our specialty. Mastering cutting-edge treatment techniques allows me to teach and prepare our trainees to become internationally recognized experts in the field. My experience and research have led to my being the lead investigator on an extensive number of studies that have demonstrated the safe use of advanced laparoscopic techniques for the management of early ovarian cancer, the beneficial effects of the use of extensive surgical procedures for advanced and recurrent gynecologic cancers, and the establishment of clinical guidelines to determine appropriate candidates for second and third surgery in cases of recurrent uterine and ovarian cancer. I am a firm believer and a national and international leading authority in the comprehensive surgical management of ovarian cancer. I have dedicated most of my research over the past dozen years to this area and have recently reported our results that show that at MSKCC we are attaining patient outcomes that are among the best in the world.

The Pelvic Reconstruction Group is a multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, psychologists, and other support staff who have a special interest in the care of patients with gynecologic and other pelvic malignancies. The mission of the group is to provide state-of-the-art treatment for patients with advanced or recurrent pelvic cancers, while also developing internationally recognized management guidelines. As co-director of this group, my goal is not only to improve the quality of life and the potential for curing patients with pelvic malignancies but also — in difficult cases of very advanced or recurrent disease — to offer hope where very little may have existed before.

On a national level, for many years I have served as the director of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology's annual postgraduate surgical courses aimed at instructing gynecologic oncologists throughout the world on the most up-to-date surgical treatments for women with gynecologic malignancies. I am a board examiner for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, a member of the Ovarian Cancer Committee of the Gynecolgic Oncology Group, and a member of the gynecologic cancer task force for the American Joint Commission on Cancer. I am currently editing, along with colleagues from the University of California in Irvine and UCLA, a textbook entitled Surgery for Ovarian Cancer: Principles and Practice, which was published in 2010. I am on the editorial board of the journals Journal of Oncology and The Oncologist. I have served as the president of the Society of Memorial Gynecologic Oncologists and the Metropolitan Gynecologic Cancer Society.

On an international level, I am one of a handful of gynecologic oncology surgeons from the United States on the faculty of Esagon (European School of Abdomino-pelvic surgery in Gynecologic Oncology), based in Italy. The school provides surgeons throughout the world with the ability to interact and learn from the world's leading experts in the complex field of gynecologic oncology surgery. Our passionate mission is to improve the care and outcomes of women with gynecolgic cancers — not just in our own countries, but throughout the world.