Wendy Rosamund Brewster (May 24, 1966 – July 24, 2023) was a British-born American gynaecologist who was Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Director of the Center for Women's Health Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Wendy Brewster | |
|---|---|
| Born | Wendy Rosamond Brewster May 24, 1966 Newcastle upon Tyne, England |
| Died | July 24, 2023 (aged 57) Bellaire, Texas, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Rutgers University University of California, Los Angeles (MD) University of California, Irvine (PhD) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Obstetrics Gynaecology |
| Institutions | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of California, Irvine |
| Thesis | Multiple primary malignancies: an examination of factors that influence the risk of ovarian cancer subsequent to breast cancer (2000) |
| Website | www |
Early life and education
editWendy Rosamund Brewster was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England on May 24, 1966. She was raised in Guyana.[1][2] She realised at the age of six that she wanted to be a physician. She studied mathematics and Spanish at Rutgers University.[3] Brewster studied medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. She specialised in gynaecological surgery and oncology. Brewster was a medical fellow at the University of California, Irvine, where she worked in gynaecologic oncology. During the first year of her fellowship she studied indicators in breast cancer survivors who go on to develop a second primary cancer.[1] Here she worked on improving cancer care, research which contributed to her doctorate in epidemiology in 2000.[4][1]
Research and career
editBrewster started her independent scientific career at University of California, Irvine (UCI), where she studied populations who were at risk for inadequate cancer treatments and outcomes. She looked at how the standard of medical care impacted the outcomes of people with cervical cancer, and demonstrated that cervical dysplasia can be treated with a single visit, overcoming risks of treating high risk populations.[5] Brewster led a National Cancer Institute trial that invited women on low incomes into hospital for a cervical cancer screening, which improved their treatment and follow up rates.[1] In 2007 she was made Director of the Oncology Fellowship programme at UCI.[6]
In 2008 Brewster joined the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was made Director for the Center for Women's Health Research.[6][7] She identified bacteria in women's ovaries and fallopian tubes, part of the reproductive tract that was previously understood to be sterile.[8] Brewster also showed that women with ovarian cancer have different bacterial populations to those without cancer, indicating that these bacterial populations may impact cancer progression.[8][9] She was Chair of the Cancer Prevention and Control Committee.[1]
Brewster was the co-director for the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center Equity Council which she helped to initiate in 2020. In this role, she worked on approaches to improve health equity, enhance clinical trial accrual for patients from underrepresented groups and enhance the diversity of the faculty and staff in the Cancer Center.
Death
editWendy Brewster died of pancreatic cancer in Bellaire, Texas, on July 24, 2023, at the age of 57.[10][2]
Selected publications
edit- Association between endometriosis and risk of histological subtypes of ovarian cancer: a pooled analysis of case–control studies[11]
- A genome-wide association study identifies susceptibility loci for ovarian cancer at 2q31 and 8q24[12]
- Diabetic neuropathy, nerve growth factor and other neurotrophic factors[13]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "The good fight". UCI News. 2006-05-19. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
- ^ a b "Wendy Rosamund Brewster, MD, PhD". Dignity Memorial. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
- ^ "Brewster, Wendy R. :: Personal Development and Health Videos from Top Experts | Building Strength Webinars". Retrieved 2020-02-25.
- ^ Brewster, Wendy Rosamond (2000). Multiple primary malignancies : an examination of factors that influence the risk of ovarian cancer subsequent to breast cancer. exlibrisgroup.com (PhD thesis). University of California Irvine. OCLC 45802846.
- ^ "Wendy Brewster". UNC Lineberger. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
- ^ a b "Wendy Brewster, MD, PhD". Center for Women's Health Research at UNC. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
- ^ "UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center :: The New Face of Cancer Care". thenewfaceofcancercare.org. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
- ^ a b "Bacteria in female reproductive tract linked to ovarian cancer". health24.com. 2016-06-08. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
- ^ June 2016, Rachael Rettner 06 (6 June 2016). "Bacteria Are Everywhere, Even in Ovaries". livescience.com. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Remembering SGO Elected President Wendy Brewster, MD, PhD". Society of Gynecologic Oncology. 29 July 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
- ^ Pearce, Celeste Leigh; Templeman, Claire; Rossing, Mary Anne; Lee, Alice; Near, Aimee M; Webb, Penelope M; Nagle, Christina M; Doherty, Jennifer A; Cushing-Haugen, Kara L; Wicklund, Kristine G; Chang-Claude, Jenny; et al. (2012). "Association between endometriosis and risk of histological subtypes of ovarian cancer: a pooled analysis of case–control studies". The Lancet Oncology. 13 (4): 385–394. doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(11)70404-1. ISSN 1470-2045. PMC 3664011. PMID 22361336.
- ^ Goode, Ellen L; Chenevix-Trench, Georgia; Song, Honglin; Ramus, Susan J; Notaridou, Maria; Lawrenson, Kate; Widschwendter, Martin; Vierkant, Robert A; Larson, Melissa C; Kjaer, Susanne K; Birrer, Michael J; et al. (2010). "A genome-wide association study identifies susceptibility loci for ovarian cancer at 2q31 and 8q24". Nature Genetics. 42 (10): 874–879. doi:10.1038/ng.668. ISSN 1061-4036. PMC 3020231. PMID 20852632.
- ^ Brewster, Wendy J.; Fernyhough, Paul; Diemel, Lara T.; Mohiuddin, Liza; Tomlinson, David R. (1994). "Diabetic neuropathy, nerve growth factor and other neurotrophic factors". Trends in Neurosciences. 17 (8): 321–325. doi:10.1016/0166-2236(94)90169-4. ISSN 0166-2236. PMID 7974749. S2CID 4042498.