R. Ann Word, M.D.

The mechanisms regulating parturition comprise a very important clinical problem related to premature labor. In this month's issue of Seminars in Reproductive Medicine, Dr. Ann Word agreed to serve as Guest Editor of an issue devoted to the mechanisms and clinical aspects of parturition.

Those of us here at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center have been at the forefront of parturition research. Thus, it was fitting that I would find a colleague to develop an issue related to this topic; Dr. Word, another of my former fellows, has put together an excellent issue containing up-to-date research and reviews.

Ann Word, M.D., is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Director of the Urogynecology Research Laboratory at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas, TX). Dr. Word earned her M.D. degree at the University of Texas Health Science Center (Houston, TX), and completed residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Texas Tech University Health Science Center (Lubbock, TX). Thereafter, she served as a faculty member in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Texas Tech before completing postdoctoral specialty training in Reproductive Endocrinology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas under the direction of Dr. Bruce Carr, Dr. Paul MacDonald, and Dr. James Stull. Her research focuses on the regulation of uterine smooth muscle contraction and the molecular regulation of cervical adaptations during pregnancy and parturition. Recently, her research interests in smooth muscles and connective tissues of the female reproductive tract have expanded to include adaptations of the vagina and pelvic support tissues during parturition and aging. Currently, her laboratory is investigating transcription factors that regulate cervical competency during pregnancy, and the role of elastic fiber synthesis and assembly in the pathophysiology of pelvic organ prolapse and cervical incompetence.

She was a recipient of the Physician Scientist Award of the American Gynecology and Obstetrics Society, and the Ginger Simmons Research Award of the American Heart Association. She is a member of the Society of Gynecologic Investigation, the Perinatal Research Society, and the American Urogynecologic Society, in which she serves on the Research Committee. Dr. Word is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Molecular Endocrinology and the Perinatal and Neonatology Study section of the National Institutes of Health.