Melissa Javellana, MD

Professional Background

Melissa Javellana, MD, specializes in the comprehensive diagnosis and treatment of women with gynecologic malignancies. She focuses on the surgical and medical treatment of women diagnosed with ovarian, uterine, cervical, vulvar or vaginal cancers. She additionally cares for patients who need complex pelvic surgery for benign conditions as well as patients with genetic mutation that predispose them to gynecologic cancers. She employs open and minimally invasive surgical techniques, including robotic surgery, to care for her patients. She joined the KU Cancer Center in August 2022.

• BS, Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
• MD, Medicine, University of Illinois - Chicago, Chicago, IL
• Residency, Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Chicago
• Clinical Fellowship, Gynecologic Oncology , University of Chicago

Research

Overview

Dr. Javellana looks forward to engaging in gynecologic cancer clinical trials through NRG Oncology, a cooperative research group supported by the National Cancer Institute, The GOG Foundation, Inc, and industry sponsored trials. She additionally has a translation research interest in how transcriptomic changes in gynecologic cancers can impact responses to chemotherapy and the likelihood of recurrence.

• Javellana, Melissa, Hlubocky, Faye., J, Somasegar, Sahana, Kehoe, Mia, Kurnit, Katherine, Jani, Ina, Stock, Elizabeth, Mills, Kathryn, Lengyel, Ernst, Lee, Nita. 2022. Resilience in the Face of Pandemic: The Impact of COVID-19 on the Psychologic Morbidity and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Women with Ovarian Cancer. Journal of Oncology Practice
• Javellana, Melissa, Eckert, Mark., A, Heide, Janna, Zawieracz, Katarzyna, Weigert, Melanie, Ashley, Sarah, Stock, Elizabeth, Chapel, David , Huang, Lei, Yamada, S. Diana, Ahmed, Ahmed., Ashour, Lastra, Ricardo, Chen, Mengjie, Lengyel, Ernst. 2022. Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Induces Genomic and Transcriptomic Changes in Ovarian Cancer. Cancer Research
• Eckert, Mark, Orozco, Carlos, Xiao, Jason, Javellana, Melissa, Lengyel, Ernst. 2021. The effects of chemotherapy of the tumor microenvironment. Cancers
• Javellana, Melissa, Hoppenot, Claire, Lengyel, Ernst. 2019. The road to long-term survival: Surgical approach and longitudinal treatments of long-term survivors of advanced-stage serous ovarian cancer. Gynecologic Oncology
• Braginsky, Lena, Javellana, Melissa, Cleveland, Emily, Elue, Rita, Boyle, Deborah, Plunkett, Beth. 2019. Tissue Adhesive Compared With Sterile Strips After Cesarean Delivery: A Randomized Controlled Trial. . Obstetrics and Gynecology