Dr. Navya Nair is a Gynecologic Oncologist with the LSU Health Sciences Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She completed her medical degree at New York University where she was inducted into the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. She was also awarded the Eleanor Mayer Masters Scholars Humanism award for being the student who exemplified a sense of humanity and patient empathy while in medical school.
She then went on to complete her residency at Emory University, where she served as Administrative Chief Resident and was recognized for outstanding clinical service in both Gynecology and Gynecologic Oncology. She developed her research interests in cancer public health by collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cancer Prevention division in studying providers’ practices regarding HPV vaccination as well as the Georgia Center for Oncology Research and Education in studying primary care provider knowledge of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. During this time, she also honed in on her surgical skills and was awarded the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons scholarship to attend the multispecialty fellowship summit to develop laparoscopic surgical skills. She also developed her commitment to teaching and won the Golden Apple Award for medical student teaching. At her residency graduation, she was honored with the prestigious award of Most Outstanding Senior Resident, where she was recognized by her faculty and co-residents as the senior resident who continually exemplifies professionalism and humanism, excelled in clinical service, and was an outstanding teacher and role model for junior residents and students.
Dr. Nair completed her fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. As her fellowship research experience, she completed a translational research project where she prospectively collected and analyzed uterine lavage fluid to identify genetic mutations in the fluid in order to detect endometrial cancers. This comprehensive research project was published in the coveted PLoS Medicine Special Issue “ Translating the Cancer Genome — Implications for Diagnosis and Treatment.” She was also actively involved in successfully developing the Enhanced Recovery pathway in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Dr. Nair also has a strong interest in global women's health. During her training, she has worked in India, Ethiopia, and Liberia and hopes to contribute to improvingn the care of women worldwide by implementing cancer prevention programs and improving access to cancer care.
In September 2018, Dr. Nair returned to her hometown of New Orleans to practice as a gynecologic oncologist. She specializes in the use of surgery and chemotherapy in treating women with gynecologic cancers. In addition, she is actively involved with the clinical trials program at the Louisiana Cancer Center. Dr. Nair started the first state wide, CME approved Gynecologic Oncology Tuor Board. Gynecologic oncologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, pathologists, radiologists from across the state meet via zoom to participate in this bimonthly conference. Through interdisciplinary discussion of complex cancer cases, review of NCCN guidelines, and teaching on latest literature, our division strives to elevate the level of cancer care for women across Louisiana.
Dr. Nair started a New Orleans-wide Gynecologic Oncology Journal Club where gynecologic oncologists from across the city both in academic and private practice get together and review the latest literature. In addition to staying up to date with the latest developments in women's cancer care, this regular meeting fosters a friendly and collaborative relationship among the gynecologic oncologists in the area. During the COVID pandemic, this in-person meeting was transitioned online and that allowed for inclusion of gynecologic oncologists from across Louisiana to participate.
She is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecologic and board eligible in Gynecologic Oncology. She is a member of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Her research interests lie in reducing barriers to cancer care and improving quality of cancer care. She was instrumental in developing the Enhanced Recovery protocol in Gynecologic services at University Medical Center and has shared findings from this project at the LSU quality Improvement meeting as well as the AAGL annual meeting.
Dr. Nair is a national and international leader in the field. She serves on the Society of Gynecologic Oncology's Diversity and Inclusion Task Force as well as the Gender Equity Task Force. She is currently an editorial fellow at the International Journal of Gynecologic Cancer.
