September 23, 2021

Dr. Fenner Named 41st AGOS President

Dee E. Fenner, M.D., was named the 41st president of the American Gynecological and Obstetrical Society (AGOS) on Saturday, Sept. 11 at the AGOS 2021 virtual annual meeting. AGOS advances the health of women by providing dedicated leadership and promoting excellence in research, education and medical practice.

 

As the chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Bates Professor of Diseases of Women and Children at U-M, Dr. Dee Fenner is nationally recognized as an expert in defecation disorders, surgical education and reconstructive surgery. Additionally, she has dedicated her career to the advancement of women in medicine. She also holds a joint appointment as a professor of urology.

As director of the Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery Board for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) and the American Board of Urology, she was instrumental in obtaining official recognition of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery from the American Board of Medical Subspecialties. In addition, Fenner provided a decade of service, ending in 2021, to the ABOG board of directors.

Fenner has received numerous awards for her contributions as a physician surgeon, educator and leader including the “Continence Champion” award from the National Association for Continence (2011); the Sarah Goddard Power Award from U-M for leadership in the advancement of women (2014); and Lifetime Achievement Awards from the American Urogynecologic Society (2015) and the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics (2019). In 2019, she also received the Rudi Ansbacher Leadership Award for Support of Women in Healthcare from the U-M School of Medicine.

Working with a multidisciplinary team, Fenner’s major research contributions have focused on understanding how birth injuries impact pelvic floor disorders and developing new and novel treatments for accidental bowel leakage. Her research has been supported by the NIH as well as industry and private donors. She has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and participates in several multidisciplinary research teams at U-M.