Who We Are

LEO LAGASSE, M.D. President and Co-founder, Medicine For Humanity and Professor Emeritus, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Dr. Lagasse is a nationally renowned leader and surgeon in the treatment of gynecologic cancers. He is an expert in all gynecologic cancers and specializes in uterine preservation and proactive management for recurrent ovarian cancer. Dr. Lagasse attended medical school at the University of Virginia and completed his Internship and Residency at UCLA. He has been honored extensively, including the formation of the Leo. D. Lagasse, M.D. Society established by former Gynecologic Oncology Fellows in 1991. Since 1995 he has provided visionary and inspired leadership in bringing medical education and medical care to women in underserved nations.

DR. AMY STENSON Amy is a board certified obstetrician and gynecologist at UCLA and works jointly with the Safe Motherhood Program at UCSF. She received her medical and specialty training from UCLA and her master’s degree in public health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Her research interests include prevention of maternal morbidity and mortality, postpartum hemorrhage prevention, birth injury / fistula repair and teaching. She is the lead faculty for the clinical program in global health with the ob-gyn department at UCLA. Her current research effort is supported by an NIH BIRCWH grant – “Building Interdiciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health.” Amy is passionate about global women’s health and has lived and worked in many different settings throughout Latin America, Africa, India, Europe and Asia.

DR. CHRIS TARNAY, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and also co-director of the Fibroid Treatment Program at UCLA, is a recognized authority in the specialty urogynecology and laparoscopic minimally invasive surgery. Dr. Christopher Tarnay returned to UCLA in 2005 to direct care in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery. Bringing expertise to UCLA after 5 years as Director of Urogynecology at an outside institution, the Department now provides a full spectrum of urogynecologic care to women experiencing bladder and pelvic floor problems. Dr. Tarnay specializes in both surgical and behavioral therapies with an emphasis on a compassionate and tailored approach to women’s health care. Dr. Tarnay has extensive experience and offers many options in the treatment of pelvic fistulas, urinary incontinence,  and pelvic organ prolapse including: Suburethral slings, urethral bulking therapy, and advanced vaginal reparative surgery with ability to incorporate the latest advances in minimally invasive surgery.