Meet Aaron Shafer, M.D.
Aaron Shafer, M.D., FACOG, FACS
Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine, Division of Surgery
About Dr. Aaron Shafer
Dr. Shafer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine. His clinical interests include gestational trophoblastic disease as well as minimally invasive surgery for women with gynecologic cancer with a particular focus in robotics. He also has a strong interest in post-graduate medical education and serves as Associate Director of MD Anderson’s Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship program. In addition to seeing patients at the main campus, Dr. Shafer spends two days a week operating and seeing patients at the MD Anderson location in Sugar Land.
Dr. Shafer comes to MD Anderson after practicing at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, CT, from 2009 to 2017 where he was also on faculty at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. There, he made significant contributions to resident education as the co-director of resident research for the OB/Gyn residency, member of the resident education committee, and site director for resident robotic training.
Dr. Shafer completed his fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and residency at Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island. He is a Fellow of the American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology as well as the American College of Surgeons and is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Gynecologic Oncology.
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Associate Professor, Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine, Division of Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2002 | University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA, MD, M.D |
| 1998 | University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA, BA, Biology |
Postgraduate Training
| 2006-2009 | Clinical Fellowship, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Chapel Hill, NC |
| 2002-2006 | Clinical Residency, Women and Infants’ Hospital of Rhode Island, Brown University, Providence, RI |
Board Certifications
| 2011 | American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Gynecologic Oncology |
| 2009 | American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology |
Honors & Awards
| 2013 | Faculty Teaching Award from the second year residents in the UConn OB/Gyn residency program |
| 2007 | Golden Tarheel Teaching Award, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
| 2007 | Berlex Foundation Faculty Development Workshop Ft. Myers, FL |
| 2004 | Best Resident Performance on the Council on Residency Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology (CREOG) Examination, Brown University Medical School |
| 2003 | Dean’s Excellence in Teaching Award, Brown University Medical School |
| 2003 | Top Resident Teacher of the Year, Brown University Medical School |
| 2002 | The Lubin Robin Goldsmith Award for highest scholastic performance in Obstetrics/Gynecology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine |
| 2001 | Elected to Alpha Omega Alpha, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Ledermann JA, Luvero D, Shafer A, O'Connor D, Mangili G, Friedlander M, Pfisterer J, Mirza MR, Kim JW, Alexandre J, Oza A, Brown J. Gynecologic Cancer InterGroup (GCIG) consensus review for mucinous ovarian carcinoma. Int J Gynecol Cancer 24(9 Suppl 3):S14-9, 2014. PMID: 25341574.
- Ashton E, Szutowska M, Shafer A, Hoffman J. Attempted conservative management of a placental site trophoblastic tumor: a case report. Conn Med 78(8):475-7, 2014. PMID: 25314886.
- Hanna RK, Poniewierski MS, Laskey RA, Lopez MA, Shafer A, Van Le L, Crawford J, Dale DC, Gehrig PA, Secord AA, Havrilesky LJ, Lyman GH. Predictors of reduced relative dose intensity and its relationship to mortality in women receiving multi-agent chemotherapy for epithelial ovarian cancer. Gynecol Oncol 129(1):74-80, 2013. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 23262376.
- Ricci S, Shafer A, Nerenstone S, Mandavilli S, Sorosky J. A surveillance conundrum: a case of 4 distinct primary malignancies in a BRCA-1 mutation carrier. Int J Gynecol Pathol 31(2):145-8, 2012. PMID: 22317870.
- Baker AM, Haeri S, Shafer A, Moldenhauer JS. Maternal gastric carcinoma metastatic to the placenta. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 153(2):225-6, 2010. e-Pub 2010. PMID: 20674136.
- Shafer A, Zhou C, Gehrig PA, Boggess JF, Bae-Jump VL. Rapamycin potentiates the effects of paclitaxel in endometrial cancer cells through inhibition of cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis. Int J Cancer 126(5):1144-54, 2010. PMID: 19688827.
- Boggess JF, Gehrig PA, Cantrell L, Shafer A, Mendivil A, Rossi E, Hanna R. Perioperative outcomes of robotically assisted hysterectomy for benign cases with complex pathology. Obstet Gynecol 114(3):585-93, 2009. PMID: 19701039.
- Batal I, Domsic RT, Shafer A, Medsger TA, Kiss LP, Randhawa P, Bastacky S. Renal biopsy findings predicting outcome in scleroderma renal crisis. Hum Pathol 40(3):332-40, 2009. e-Pub 2008. PMID: 18973923.
- Shafer A, Boggess JF. Robotic-assisted endometrial cancer staging and radical hysterectomy with the da Vinci surgical system. Gynecol Oncol 111(2 Suppl):S18-23, 2008. e-Pub 2008. PMID: 18771796.
- Gehrig PA, Cantrell LA, Shafer A, Abaid LN, Mendivil A, Boggess JF. What is the optimal minimally invasive surgical procedure for endometrial cancer staging in the obese and morbidly obese woman?. Gynecol Oncol 111(1):41-5, 2008. e-Pub 2008. PMID: 18694588.
- Boggess JF, Gehrig PA, Cantrell L, Shafer A, Ridgway M, Skinner EN, Fowler WC. A case-control study of robot-assisted type III radical hysterectomy with pelvic lymph node dissection compared with open radical hysterectomy. Am J Obstet Gynecol 199(4):357.e1-7, 2008. PMID: 18928973.
- Boggess JF, Gehrig PA, Cantrell L, Shafer A, Ridgway M, Skinner EN, Fowler WC. A comparative study of 3 surgical methods for hysterectomy with staging for endometrial cancer: robotic assistance, laparoscopy, laparotomy. Am J Obstet Gynecol 199(4):360.e1-9, 2008. PMID: 18928974.
Book Chapters
- Clarke-Pearson DL and Shafer A. Perioperative Considerations for Coexisting Medical Conditions. In: Clinical Updates in Women’s Health Care, 2010.
- Shafer A and Van Le L. Endometrial Hyperplasia. In: Gynecological Cancer Management: Identification, Diagnosis and Treatment. Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.
- Shafer A and JB Boggess. “The Robotic Revolution: Coming soon to a hospital near you?”. In: Contemporary OB/Gyn Technology, 2007.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified September 01, 2023