Department Organizational Chart
Robert P. Edwards, MD
Milton Lawrence McCall Professor and Chair
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences
Born and raised in Bel Air, Maryland, Doctor Edwards completed his undergraduate degree in Biology and Chemistry as the valedictorian at Gettysburg College and earned his medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Doctor Edwards completed a Surgery internship at the University of California at San Francisco and then a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at UPMC Medical Education at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital. He continued training at the University of Alabama School of Medicine at Birmingham to complete postdoctoral training in Immunology and a Gynecologic Oncology fellowship. In 1993 after completing Gynecologic Oncology fellowship training, he returned to Pittsburgh and was appointed as the Director of the Gynecologic Oncology Division at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital. In January 2015 Doctor Edwards was named the Milton Lawrence McCall Professor and Chair Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital. Dr. Edwards lives in Gibsonia with his wife Antoinette and has a total of 5 children with one daughter still at home. His hobbies are running, boating, and hanging out with his family.
Doctor Edwards' research interests include tumor immunity and locoregional therapies of malignancies. He serves as PI on many investigator-initiated trials both locally and nationally. He currently serves on the NRG Immunotherapy Committee and is PI on several extramural grants. Dr. Edwards has mentored over 20 graduate and post-doctoral students, residents, and fellows and served on several study sections for research and training grants. He has over 300 publications and serves on several advisory committees for clinical trial groups nationally and internationally.
Kristiina E. Parviainen, MD, MS
Assistant Professor
Residency Program Director, Obstetrics & Gynecology Residency Training Program
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences
Doctor Parviainen is a native of Finland, who immigrated to the U.S at age 9 and grew up in Atlanta. She completed her undergraduate education at Duke University and then attended medical school at the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham. After completing her residency training in obstetrics and gynecology at the George Washington University Hospitals and serving as Administrative Chief Resident for Education, she accepted an academic generalist position in the Division of Gynecology and Obstetrics. In 2004, she moved to Pittsburgh to pursue fellowship training in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital. During her fellowship, she completed graduate training in Clinical Research at the University of Pittsburgh. While on faculty, Dr. Parviainen has served the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Department in multiple educational leadership roles including Co-Director of the Reproductive Biology Course, Associate Fellowship Director for MFM (2007-2012), and Associate Residency Program Director from 2010 to 2019. In her role as APD, she promoted the transition to competency-based education and championed initiatives to meet the individual career development needs of our trainees. She was appointed Residency Program Director in 2019. Dr. Parviainen is dedicated to recruiting and promoting a diverse and inclusive residency community to optimize the training of the next generation of Ob/Gyns. She is active in multiple education-related initiatives and committees in the department, hospital, and university. She lives in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, with her husband, thirteen-year-old daughter Matilda, and five-year-old Portuguese Water Dog Luna
Michelle Boisen, MD
Assistant Professor
Co-Associate Program Director, Obstetrics & Gynecology Residency Training Program
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences
Doctor Boisen was appointed as the Co-Associate Program Director in July of 2022. Dr. Boisen is originally from Green Bay, Wisconsin, and completed her undergraduate degree in chemistry at St. Norbert College in DePere, Wisconsin. She attended medical school at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, Wisconsin, and moved to Pittsburgh for residency training. She completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2013 at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital during which time she served as one of the administrative chief residents. Dr. Boisen completed a fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology also at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital in 2016 and joined the division of Gynecologic Oncology at Magee shortly thereafter.
Dr. Boisen has had a strong interest in education and mentorship. She has served as the education director for the Division of Gynecologic Oncology since 2019. Dr. Boisen has also recently taken the position of associate program director for the fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology. She also serves as a CAREs program advisor to medical students applying to Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Boisen’s particular educational interest is in the area of surgical competency assessment and she hopes to work on initiatives to formalize this process within the residency. Dr. Boisen is committed to the education and promotion of trainees within ObGyn to prepare them for the next steps in their careers. She is excited to help integrate new methods for surgical education into our program. She also maintains a busy clinical practice within the division of Gynecologic Oncology at both UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital and Passavant Hospital. She lives in Squirrel Hill with her husband and two Labradoodles, Stanley and Oliver.
Rebecca Waltner-Toews, MD
Assistant Professor
Co-Associate Program Director, Obstetrics & Gynecology Residency Training Program
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences
Doctor Waltner-Toews received her undergraduate degree at Goshen College, Indiana, attended the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, then completed her Obstetrics and Gynecology residency at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She returned to Pittsburgh in 2014 to join the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital. While at Magee she has worked extensively with both resident and medical student education leadership teams. She was Assistant Clerkship Director for the MS3 clerkship in Obstetrics and Gynecology (2015-2019) and has served as the Education Director for the Division of General Obstetrics since 2016. As an academic specialist in Obstetrics and Gynecology with a specific focus on education, she was thrilled to join the residency leadership team in 2019 as Associate Residency Program Director.
She maintains a busy clinical practice as a part of University NIA OBGYN (UNO), and thoroughly enjoys working with residents on the labor suite, in the operating room, and in the outpatient clinic. She is determined to equip residents with all the skills needed to be successful generalist OBGYNs, either in the community or academic settings. As a part of her new role, she pulls together expert faculty and fellows to hone the resident core didactic curriculum to ensure competence in hands-on skills such as forceps-assisted vaginal delivery, shoulder dystocia management, and vaginal hysterectomy. Equally important and woven through the curriculum is training such as unconscious bias, social determinants of health, and resident-as-teacher training.
Doctor Waltner-Toews was born in a snowstorm in northern Alberta, Canada, and has lived and worked in many places around the world but has found Pittsburgh to be a wonderful home for herself, her husband, and two sons.
Diana Lynn Brucha
Director of Operations, GME Ob/Gyn Residency Program
Email: bruchadl@upmc.edu
Diana Brucha is the Director of Operations for the Obstetrics and Gynecology residency training program and oversees the fellowship programs. Ms. Brucha has worked in the field of graduate medical education for over 38 years, all of which have been in the specialty of Obstetrics and Gynecology and all at Magee. During her earlier years in the department, she was responsible for the coordination of all CME activities including the outreach lecture series for the tri-state area, third- and fourth-year medical student clerkships, and onboarding of all new faculty in addition to the training programs. With these various experiences, she has gained a vast knowledge of how an academic department operates and knows how to work in a large system to get things accomplished for the residency program. In addition to her role as manager of the residency program, she also oversees the fellowship manager and all the various fellowships in the department. She has held leadership roles on various committees, both locally and nationally, and has presented 24 oral and poster presentations at local and national conferences. Ms. Brucha is a 2020 winner of the Debra L. Dooley GME Program Coordinator Excellence Award from the ACGME. She was one of 5 coordinators out of 11,000 programs to receive this award. During her many years in this profession, she has had the privilege of playing a vital role in the graduate medical education of over 360 residents, one of which is now the Chair of the department.
Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Diana is an avid Pittsburgh Steelers and Penguins sports fan and likes to spend her time away from the office with her family, reading, practicing yoga, hiking, traveling, and attending live music concerts. She and her husband live in the south hills suburbs of Pittsburgh with their Chihuahua-Poodle mix Scooby and have two grown children who also reside in Pittsburgh.
Michele "Missy" Nix
Residency Coordinator
Email: nixml@upmc.edu
Missy is the Residency Coordinator for the Obstetrics and Gynecology residency training program. She received her bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University. Ms. Nix joined UPMC in 2008 as an academic support coordinator for the Psychiatric residency training program at UPMC Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic before transitioning to her role at Magee in 2012. She provides administrative support by monitoring and tracking many required components of residency training including didactics and hands-on skills sessions, licensure, Alumni Day, and other special events.
Chelsea Boocks
Fellowship Project Manager
Email: boocksc@upmc.edu
Chelsea is the Fellowship Project Manager for all subspecialty fellowships in the department. She received her bachelor's degree from West Virginia University. Ms. Boocks joined UPMC in 2017 and worked in both the credentialing and medical staff offices before joining our team in June 2020. Prior to working at UPMC, Chelsea was a legal document proofreader and trainer. She manages the activities for the ACGME-accredited subspecialty training programs:
- Complex Family Planning
- Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery
- Gynecologic Oncology
- Laboratory Genetics and Genomics
- Maternal-Fetal Medicine
- Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility
- Perinatal Addiction Medicine
In addition to the non-ACGME accredited programs:
- Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery
- Reproductive Infectious Diseases
- Family Medicine-OB
