Physicians and Staff
Robert L. Andres, MD- Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the UUHSC is serving as an attending physician at the McKay Dee Hospital in Ogden, Utah as well as the UUHSC. Dr. Andres' primary area of interest is perinatal substance abuse. Other areas of interest include recurrent pregnancy loss, premature rupture of the gestational membranes and fetal asphyxia.
D. Ware Branch, MD- Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the UUHSC, is serving as Director of the Fellowship Training Program in Maternal-Fetal Medicine. An internationally recognized authority in the areas of the antiphosphilipid syndrome, thrombotic disorders in pregnancy, and recurrent pregnancy loss. Dr. Branch holds the H.A. and Edna Benning Presidential Chair at the UUHSC. Dr. Branch and his Maternal-Fetal Medicine colleagues maintain an active research group focusing on the complications of early pregnancy. Dr. Branch is also serving as the Program Director for the Utah WRHR Program (Women's Reproductive Health and Education Research), as Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the LDS Hospital and as Medical Director of Women's and Newborn's Services for the Urban Central Region of Intermountain Healthcare.
Janice L.B. Byrne, MD- Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the UUHSC is Director of the University of Utah/Intermountain Healthcare Fetal Treatment Program. She is on the faculty of the University of Utah Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling and serves as a clinical case reviewer for the Utah Birth Defects Network. Dr. Byrne is Board Certified in Maternal-Fetal Medicine, general Obstetrics and Gynecology and Clinical Genetics. Dr. Byrne's main clinical and research interests include ultrasound, fetal dysmorphology, prenatal diagnosis and management of pregnancies complicated by fetal or maternal genetic disease and fetal anomalies.
Erin Clark, MD- Dr. Clark attended the University of Utah for undergraduate work in Biology, she graduated from medical school at the Mayo Clinic. Completed Obstetrics/Gynecology residency at the University of Utah and is currently completing a fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Dr. Clark's current research includes a grant from the NICHD to look at markers of developmental delay and cerebral palsy. Other interests include pelvic floor dysfunction related to childbirth and preterm labor.
Donna S. Dizon-Townson, MD- Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, is serving as the Medical Director of Clinical Programs for the Southern Region of Intermountain Healthcare. Dr. Dizon-Townson is a renowned authority on thrombophilic disorders in pregnancy, having published several pioneering papers on Factor V. Leiden. Dr. Dizon-Townson has won numerous awards for her research and publications and currently receives support from the NIH-funded Maternal-Fetal Medicine Unit for her work on hereditary thrombophilias and genetic predisposition to host immune responsiveness. Dr. Dizon-Townson's other interests include hypertension, ultrasound, recurrent miscarriage and autoimmune disease.
Michael L. Draper, MD- Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Draper's interests include pregnancies complicated by maternal disease (i.e. hypertension and diabetes), preterm labor, isoimmunization and multiple gestation. Dr. Draper's research efforts have focused on recurrent pregnancy loss, fetal physiology and the use of magnesium in the treatment of preterm labor and preeclampsia and medical education. He is currently the Residency Program Director for the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
M. Sean Esplin, MD- Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Esplin's main areas of interest are the genetic control of term and preterm labor and the role of inflammation in preterm birth. Dr. Esplin is serving as the Medical Director of the South Main Clinic, a county facility concerned with the obstetrical and gynecological welfare of the underserved populations residing in the Salt Lake area.
Alexandra Eller, MD – Dr. Eller graduated from Wake Forest University School of Medicine. She completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Oregon Health Sciences University and is currently completing her fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the University of Utah.
Marc Jackson, MD- Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Utah, is serving as the Director of Fetal Imaging at LDS Hospital and the Urban Central Region of Intermountain Healthcare. He graduated from Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, completed residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Texas in San Antonio, and did his fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. His interests include ultrasound, antepartum testing and prenatal diagnosis, alloimmunization, and labor induction. Dr. Jackson currently serves as the Director of Fellowship Education.
Heather Major, MD - Dr. Major graduated from Texas A&M University with a bachelor's degree in Biochemistry. She attended medical school at the University of Utah and completed a residency in Obstetrics/Gynecology at the University of Louisville. She then went into private practice in Ogden, UT for several years and has returned to complete a fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the University of Utah. Dr. Major's research interests include genetic factors which predispose to preterm birth, platelet and immune response in preeclampsia, and perinatal infections.
Tracy Manuck, MD - a native of Farmington, Connecticut, attended Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC where she earned a B.A. in Chemistry. She also received her M.D. and completed residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Wake Forest University/Baptist Medical Center. Dr.Manuck moved to Salt Lake City in 2007 and is a current Maternal Fetal Medicine fellow. Dr.Manuck's research interests include previable preterm premature rupture of membranes, preterm labor, and multiple gestations.
Rita Paegle, C.N.M, MS- Rita Paegle is Adjunct Faculty for the College of Nursing. She received her Master's in Nurse Midwifery from the University of Utah College of Nursing. She is also currently working on her Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree. Her final practicum was done with the IHC Nurse Midwifery Service. Her areas of interest include international health care, policy, high risk obstetrics, health prevention and promotion, and OB triage. She is also fluent in Spanish.
T. Flint Porter, MD, MPH- Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the UUHSC and Assistant Director of the Fellowship Training Program in Maternal-Fetal Medicine, is serving as the Director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at LDS Hospital and the Urban Central Region of Intermountain Healthcare. Dr. Porter's interests include epidemiologist of gestational disorders, recurrent pregnancy loss, autoimmune disease, prenatal diagnosis, and vaginal birth after cesarean delivery.
Nancy C. Rose, MD- Dr. Rose is board certified in Clinical Genetics, Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and Obstetrics and Gynecology. She is currently an Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and is the Director of Perinatal Genetics for Intermountain Healthcare; she sees patients in the Diagnostic Center at the University of Utah for ultrasound and prenatal diagnosis procedures, such as chorionic villous sampling and amniocentesis. Her research interests include prenatal screening and diagnosis, ultrasound, and resident and fellow education in genetics.
Robert M. Silver, MD- Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the UUHSC, is serving as the Chief of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, as Director of Labor and Delivery at the UUHSC, and as the Director of the Residency Training Program at UUHSC. Dr. Silver's research interests include immunologic diseases in pregnancy, recurrent pregnancy loss, and platelet disorders.
Amy E. Sullivan, MD- Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the UUHSC, interests include the genetic basis of recurrent pregnancy loss and ultrasound. Dr. Sullivan completed her residency at the University of Virginia and her fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the University of Utah. Dr. Sullivan maintains a clinical practice at both the UUHSC and LDS Hospital and works with fellows in the High Risk Obstetric Clinic at the UUHSC.
Trece Swanson, C.N.M., MS- Trece Swanson is a Certified Nurse Midwife (C.N.M.) for the University of Utah Maternal-Fetal Medicine division. She earned her undergraduate degrees from the University of Utah, and is currently working on completing a Doctorate of Nursing Practice. Her areas of interest include OB Emergency Services, and is the project coordinator for the Perinatal Simulation Program.
Michael W. Varner, MD- Dr. Varner joined the Department in 1987 and currently serves as Professor and Vice-Chair for Research. He developed the Obstetrics and Gynecology Research Network, a consortium of over 40 research personnel who conduct and administer the many clinical trial networks - both obstetric and gynecologic - in which the Department participates. This Network currently conducts NIH-funded clinical trials in 12 hospitals and the offices of over 140 women's health providers along the northern Utah urban corridor. Dr. Varner currently serves as the Principal Investigator for the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network and the Genomics and Proteomics Network for Premature Birth Research, is a co-investigator on five others and a mentor/collaborator on an additional three. His major interest lies in clinical trials and research administration.
Jennifer Warren, MD - Dr. Warren graduated from the University of Florida Medical School. She completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology and is currently completing a fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the University of Utah. Her main area of interest is in pregnancy loss.
Sam Whitney, CNM - Sam Whitney is a Certified Nurse Midwife for the University of Utah Maternal-Fetal Medicine Division. She earned her C.N.M. from the University of Utah College of Nursing.
