Krista Pfaendler, MD, MPH, FACOG, FACS

Physician
Associate Professor

Organization:

West Virginia University School of Medicine

Department:

Obstetrics & Gynecology

Classification:

Faculty

• MD, University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, 2009
• MPH, University of California, Irvine, 2016
• BS, Carnegie Mellon University, 2002

Krista Pfaendler, M.D., MPH, had an experience far beyond an “a-ha” moment; after spending a college summer month in Ecuador through Child Family Health International, she was certain that she wanted to become a doctor and that she wanted to forge a career path in international health.

While in medical school, Pfaendler took a leave of absence between her third and fourth year to participate in the Fogarty International Clinical Scholars and Fellows Program. Through this program, she helped to establish and scale up the Cervical Cancer Prevention Program in Zambia, which has since transitioned to the Ministry of Health as a national screening program. “I would encourage any medical student to take advantage of opportunities that supplement their educational journey.”

After spending two years working on preventative efforts for cervical cancer in Lusaka, Zambia, Pfaendler knew she wanted to pursue a career in Gynecologic Oncology to further improve women’s cancer care both domestically and internationally. “Gynecologic Oncology is a unique specialty in that we have continuity with our patients including diagnosis, surgery, chemotherapy and survivorship. We are the only subspecialty who are surgeons and oncologists, so we can perform the surgery and prescribe and manage chemotherapy and immunotherapy,” Pfaendler said.

The opportunity to work on clinical research in an international setting opened many doors, which included returning to Zambia during residency and fellowship training to continue research collaborations. After completion of gynecologic oncology fellowship training, she became an International Mentor for the Zambia site for the Global Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship Program offered through the International Gynecologic Cancer Society (IGCS).

Working for West Virginia University has allowed Pfaendler to stay close to family and to continue to pursue international work as part of her career. One of her early contributions to the WVU OB/GYN department was establishing the global health track for the residents. The first resident to complete the global health track will graduate in June 2025. Residents in the global health track use elective time in the third and/or fourth year to do one or two international health rotations, complete the Clinical Tropical Medicine and Traveler’s Health course, and participate in monthly global health journal clubs in conjunction with residents and faculty in the Internal Medicine Global Health Track. Pfaendler aims to recruit residents with an interest in international health to the WVU OB/GYN residency program.

Board Certifications

• Gynecologic Oncology, American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Obstetrics and Gynecology, American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology