Program:
Start Year:
2025
Why did you choose Duke for your residency training?
The culture at Duke shines through even over virtual interviews. The (rare) combination of having a culture of excellence while also emphasizing the "kind consultant" motto spoke volumes to me. Everything from the research opportunities and support, to traditions amongst the residents, and more are why I chose Duke!
What excites you about the residency program at Duke Ob/Gyn?
I am excited to meet all of the people that make up Duke Ob/Gyn!
What are your career goals?
I aspire to be a physician-scientist in gynecologic oncology, leading a research laboratory while also providing excellent clinical care with a focus on the underserved patient populations.
Describe your research interests/goals:
Gynecologic oncology, specifically endometrial cancer risk and development with a particular interest in disparities within endometrial cancer.
What are your hobbies?
I enjoy knitting/crocheting/sewing, reading, gardening, cooking, NYT games and skiing!
Education & Training
Undergraduate school & graduation year:
University of Texas at Austin, 2016
Medical school & graduation year:
The McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 2025
Awards & Honors
Drs. Emil and Anna Steinberger Research Award, 2025
AACR Integrative Molecular Epidemiology Workshop, 2023
People's Choice Award, Medical Scientist Training Program Retreat Oral Presentation, 2023
UTHealth-CPRIT Innovation in Cancer Prevention Research Training Program Fellowship , 2022-2024
Sowell-Wade Huggins Scholarship in Cancer Research, 2020
Student Virtual Conference Award, 2020
Graduated with Honors in Biology, 2016
Publications
Bowen MB, Melendez B, Zhang Q, Moreno D, Peralta L, Chan WK, Jeter C, Tan L, Zal A, Lorenzi P, Dunner Jr K, Yang R, Broaddus R, Celestino J, Gokul N, Whitley E, Scoville D, Kim TH, Jeong JW, Schmandt R, Lu K, Kim HE, Yates MS. Mitochondrial defects and metabolic vulnerabilities in Lynch syndrome-associated MSH2-deficient endometrial cancer. JCI Insight. 2025 Mar 24. PMID:
Adjei NN, Bowen MB, Yates MS, Westin SN. Uterine-conserving treatment options for atypical endometrial hyperplasia and early endometrial cancer. Current Oncology Reports. 2024. PMID: 39361076
Bowen MB, Melendez B, Zhang Q, Yang RK, Fellman B, Lawson B, Adjei N, Celestino J, Wani K, Singh B, Straub C, Zhang L, Tan C, New F, Urbauer D, Lazar A, Lu K, Wargo J, Westin SN, Yates MS. Long-term follow-up of levonorgestrel intrauterine device for atypical hyperplasia and early endometrial cancer reveals relapse characterized by immune exhaustion. Clin Cancer Res. 2024 Jun 26. PMID: 38922360.
Kwartler CS, Pedroza, Kaw A, Guan P, Ma S, Duan XY, Kernell C, Wang C, Bowen MB, Chen J, Zhong Y, Sinha S, Shen X, Fischbein M, Milewicz DM. Nuclear Smooth Muscle a-actin Correlates with Smooth Muscle Cell Differentiation and its Loss is Associated with Smooth Muscle Dysfunction Syndrome. Nature Cardiovascular Research. 2023.
Bowen MB, Helmink BA, Wargo JA, Yates MS. TIME for bugs: The immune microenvironment and microbes in pre-cancer. Cancer Prevention Research. 2023. PMID: 37428011.
Vellano CP, White MG, Andrews MC, Daniele JR, Titus M, McQuade J, Chelvanambi M, Lastrapes MJ, Witt RG, Liu Q, Borthwick M, Ologun G, Codgill AP, Morad G, Prieto P, Lazar AJ, Wadud Khan MA, Helmink B, Davies MA, Amaria RN, Kovacs JJ, Woodman SE, Tawbi HA, Patel S, Hwu P, Peoples M, Lee JE, Cooper ZA, Zhu H, Gao G, Gershenwald JE, Lucci A, Keung EZ, Ross MI, Segura RL, Wani K, Tetzlaff MT, Haydu L, Mahendra M, Ma XY, Logothetis C, Kulstad Z, Johnson S, Hudgens CW, Feng N, Federico L, Futreal PA, Moran A, Burton EM, Lau E, Yates MS, Westin SN, Arur S, Heffernan T, Marszalek J, Wargo JA. Androgen receptor blockade promotes response to BRAF/MEK-targeted therapy. Nature. 2022. PMID: 35705814.
Melendez B, Shah S, Jiang Y, Dottino J, Watson E, Pearce H, Borthwick M, Schmandt RE, Zhang Q, Cumpian K, Celestino J, Fellman B, Yuan Y, Lu KH, Mikos AG, Yates MS. Novel polymer-based system for intrauterine delivery of everolimus for anti-cancer applications. Journal of Controlled Release. 2021;339. PMID: 34648891.
Dottino JA, Zhang Q, Loose DS, Fellman B, Melendez BD, Borthwick MS, McKenzie LJ, Yuan Y, Yang RK, Broaddus RR, Lu KH, Soliman PT, Yates MS. Endometrial biomarkers in premenopausal women with obesity: an at-risk cohort. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2021 Mar;224(3):278.e1-278.e14. Epub 2020 Aug 21. PMID: 32835719.
Chirillo MA, Waters MS, Lindsey LF, Bourne JN, Harris KM. Local resources of polyribosomes and SER promote synapse enlargement and spine clustering after long-term potentiation in adult rat hippocampus. Sci Rep. 2019 Mar 7;9(1):3861. PMID: 30846859.
Bowen MB, Bernard L, Urbauer D, Zhang Q, Melendez B, Yang R, Lawson B, Celestino J, Yates MS. Allostatic load score and social vulnerability index for predicting unfavorable tumor clinicopathological characteristics in endometrial cancer. In progress.
Bowen MB, Wang Y, Dede M, Tran T, Colbert K, Gallegos J, Zaheer M, Bowen CM, Lu KH, Chen K, Vilar E, Yates MS. Endometrial Precancer Atlas: Defining the endometrial immune microenvironment in women at increased risk for cancer. In progress.
Bowen MB, Melendez B, Zhang Q, Yang RK, Fellman B, Lawson B, Adjei N, Celestino J, Nguyen T, Wani K, Singh B, Straub C, Zhang L, Tan C, New F, Urbauer D, Lazar A, Lu KH, Wargo JA, Westin SN, Yates MS. Immune exhaustion and reversal of progestin-related immune modulation in adaptive resistance to levonorgestrel intrauterine device for treatment of atypical hyperplasia and early endometrial cancer (Abstract B024). Presented at AACR Special Conference on Endometrial Cancer: Transforming Care Through Science, November 2023. To be published.
Bowen MB, Melendez B, Zal A, Jeter C, Chan WK, Tan L, Lorenzi P, Moreno D, Peralta L, Zhang Q, Gokul N, Lu K, Kim HE, Yates MS. Mitochondrial depletion and metabolic reprogramming is a novel phenotype of Lynch syndrome-related endometrial carcinogenesis (Abstract A008). Presented at AACR Special Conference on Endometrial Cancer: Transforming Care Through Science, November 2023. To be published.
Bowen MB, Fellman B, Urbauer D, Yuan Y, Pal N, Gallegos J, Westin SN, Yates MS. Predictors of long-term response in prospective phase II trial of levonorgestrel intrauterine device for atypical hyperplasia and early endometrial cancer (1247). Gynecologic Oncology. Volume 176, Supplement 1, 2023.
Adjei N, Borthwick M, Fellman B, Pal N, Urbauer D, Rauh-Hain J, McKenzie L, Woodard T, Meyer L, Yates M, Westin S. Disparities in oncofertility referral, treatment utilization, and fertility outcomes among women with atypical hyperplasia or early endometrioid endometrial cancer treated with the levonorgestrel intrauterine device (2228). Gynecologic Oncology. Volume 176, Supplement 1, 2023.
Waters M, Melendez B, Chan WK, Zhang Q, Lu K, Yates M. Not-so-mighty mitochondria: Mitochondrial dysfunction in mismatch repair deficient endometrial cancer development (234). Gynecologic Oncology. Volume 166, Supplement 1, 2022.
Waters M, Pal N, Woodall M, Gallegos J, Westin S, Yates M. Abstract PO034: Long-term follow-up for a prospective phase II trial of levonorgestrel intrauterine device as non-surgical treatment for complex atypical hyperplasia and early endometrial cancer. Clin Cancer Res. February 1 2021 27 (3 Supplement) PO034-PO034; DOI:10.1158/1557-3265.ENDOMET20-PO034.
Presentations
The Eras Tour of my PhD: How I stumbled upon mitochondrial biology in endometrial cancer,” Medical Scientist Training Program Annual Retreat, Houston, Texas 2023.
“Not-so-mighty mitochondria: Mitochondrial dysfunction in mismatch repair-deficient endometrial cancer,” Biochemistry and Cell Biology Annual Symposium, Houston, Texas 2021.
“The influence of SER signaling on synapse size in the hippocampus,” Gulf Coast Undergraduate Research Symposium, Houston, Texas 2014.
Bowen MB, Melendez B, Zal A, Jeter C, Chan WK, Tan L, Lorenzi P, Moreno D, Peralta L, Zhang Q, Gokul N, Lu K, Kim HE, Yates MS. “Mitochondrial depletion and metabolic reprogramming is a novel phenotype of Lynch syndrome-related endometrial carcinogenesis,” AACR Special Conference on Endometrial Cancer: Transforming Care Through Science, Boston, Massachusetts, November 2023.
Bowen MB, Melendez B, Zhang Q, Yang R, Fellman B, Lawson B, Adjei N, Celestino J, Nguyen T, Wani K, Singh B, Straub C, Zhang L, Tan C, New F, Urbauer D, Lazar A, Lu K, Wargo J, Westin SN, Yates MS. “Immune exhaustion and reversal of progestin-related immune modulation in adaptive resistance to levonorgestrel intrauterine device for treatment of atypical hyperplasia and early endometrial cancer,” AACR Special Conference on Endometrial Cancer: Transforming Care Through Science, Boston, Massachusetts, November 2023.
Bowen MB, Wang Y, Dede M, Tran T, Colbert K, Gallegos J, Zaheer M, Bowen CM, Lu K, Chen K, Vilar E, Yates MS. “Endometrial Precancer Atlas: Defining the endometrial immune microenvironment in women at increased risk for cancer,” The 2023 Precancer Atlas Research Symposium, Houston, Texas, 2023.
Bowen MB, Fellman B, Urbauer D, Yuan Y, Pal N, Gallegos J, Westin SN, Yates MS. “Predictors of long-term response in prospective phase II trial of levonorgestrel intrauterine device for atypical hyperplasia and early endometrial cancer,” Society for Gynecologic Oncology Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancers, Tampa, Florida, 2023.
Waters MS, Moreno D, Melendez B, Chan WK, Zhang Q, Yates MS. “Mitochondrial dysfunction in mismatch repair deficient endometrial cancer pathogenesis: A potential target for prevention,” American Association for Cancer Research Special Conference: Precision Prevention, Early Detection, and Interception of Cancer, Austin, Texas 2022.
Waters MS, Melendez B, Chan WK, Zhang Q, Lu K, Yates MS. “Not-so-mighty mitochondria: Mitochondrial dysfunction in mismatch repair deficient endometrial cancer development,” TRANSCEND Cancer Initiative Symposium, Houston, Texas, 2022.
Waters MS, Melendez B, Chan WK, Zhang Q, Lu K, Yates MS. “Not-so-mighty mitochondria: Mitochondrial dysfunction in mismatch repair deficient endometrial cancer development,” Society for Gynecologic Oncology Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancers, Phoenix, Arizona, 2022.
Waters MS, Pal N, Woodall M, Gallegos J, Westin SN, Yates MS. “Long-Term Follow-Up for a Prospective Phase II Trial of Levonorgestrel Intrauterine Device as a Non-Surgical Treatment for Complex Atypical Hyperplasia and Early Endometrial Cancer,” American Association for Cancer Research Virtual Special Conference. Endometrial Cancer: New Biology Driving Research and Treatment, 2020.
Waters MS, Chirillo M, Lindsay L, Bourne J, Harris K. “Local resources of polyribosomes and SER promote synapse enlargement and spine clustering after long-term potentiation in adult rat hippocampus,” University of Texas Undergraduate Research Symposium, Austin, TX, 2016.
Waters MS, Chirillo M, Lindsay L, Bourne J, Harris K. “SER signaling influences the size of synapses in the hippocampus,” University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Undergraduate Symposium, San Antonio, TX, 2015.