Biography

Dr. Jayanthi Lea is the Director of the Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship Program at UT Southwestern and a member of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Board certified both in gynecologic oncology and in obstetrics and gynecology, Dr. Lea is skilled in minimally invasive, robotic surgery and advanced laparoscopic surgery. At the Harold C. Simmons Cancer Center, she specializes in the treatment of ovarian, endometrial, cervical and other gynecologic malignancies as well as the treatment of pre-invasive cervical, vaginal, and vulvar disease. She also participates in the clinical protocols of the National Cancer Institute’s Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) and serves on the committee to evaluate cervical cancer treatment protocols. 

Dr. Lea, who speaks both English and Tamil, graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelors of science degree in biology. She received her medical degree from East Carolina University School of Medicine and completed her residency training in obstetrics and gynecology at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. 

Following a four-year gynecologic oncology fellowship at UT Southwestern Medical Center, she joined the faculty here. After a hiatus as Assistant Director for the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at Carolinas Medical Center in North Carolina, Dr. Lea returned to UT Southwestern in 2010.

While a scholar of the NIH Reproductive Scientist Development Program, Dr. Lea investigated the molecular pathogenesis of cervical cancer. Her translational research interest is in the development of clinical trials for ovarian cancer using novel therapeutic agents. She has published several papers on cervical and ovarian cancer.

Education
Medical School
East Carolina University (1996)
Internship
Riverside Methodist Hospital (1997), Obstetrics & Gynecology
Residency
Riverside Methodist Hospital (2000), Obstetrics & Gynecology
Fellowship
UT Southwestern Medical Center (2004), Gynecologic Oncology

Research Interest
  • Cervical Cancer
  • Developmental Therapeutics
  • Ovarian Cancer

Publications

Featured Publications LegendFeatured Publications

Oxygenation in cervical cancer and normal uterine cervix assessed using blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) MRI at 3T.
Hallac RR, Ding Y, Yuan Q, McColl RW, Lea J, Sims RD, Weatherall PT, Mason RP NMR Biomed 2012 Dec 25 12 1321-30
Lymph node metastasis in endometrioid adenocarcinomas of the uterine corpus with occult cervical involvement.
Boren T, Lea J, Kehoe S, Miller DS, Richardson D Gynecol. Oncol. 2012 Oct 127 1 43-6
Cervical cancer.
Lea JS, Lin KY Obstet. Gynecol. Clin. North Am. 2012 Jun 39 2 233-53
Correlation of cone biopsy with findings at radical hysterectomy and use of adjuvant radiation therapy.
Boren TP, Carrick K, Kehoe SM, Lea J, Miller DS, Richardson DL Gynecol. Oncol. 2012 Mar 124 3 508-11
Silencing of HPV 18 Oncoproteins with RNA Interference Causes Growth Inhibition of Cervical Cancer Cells.
Lea JS, Sunaga N, Sato M, Kalahasti G, Burbee DG, Minna JD, Muller CY Reproductive Sciences. January 2007 Vol. 14, No.1 20-28
Adenosquamous Histology Predicts Poor Outcome
Lea JS, Coleman RL, Garner EO, Duska LR, Miller DS, Schorge JO Gynecologic Oncology 2003 91:558-62
Cervical Adenocarcinoma in situ in Women Younger than Forty Years
Lea JS, Shin CH, Sheets EE, Gehrig PA, Coleman RL, Duska LR, Miller DS, Schorge JO Gynecologic Oncology 2002 87:129-132
Stage IIB-IVB Cervical Adenocarcinoma: Prognostic Factors and Survival
Lea JS, Wenham RM, Sheets EE, Duska LR, Coleman RL, Miller DS, Schorge JO Gynecologic Oncology 2002 84:115-9
The Role of Para-Aortic Lymph Node Dissection in Early Stage Cervical Adenocarcinoma
Lea JS, Sheets EE, Duska LR, Miller DS, Coleman RL, Muller CY, Schorge JO Gynecologic Oncology 2002 285:288
Secondary Cytoreductive Surgery for Platinum Sensitive Ovarian Cancer
Schorge JO, Wingo SN, Bhore R, Hefferenan TP, Lea JS Int. Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics November 2009

Honors & Awards
  • Best Doctors in America
    (2009)
  • Best Doctors in North Carolina
    (2009)
  • Best in Category Research Award
    American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinical Meeting (2007)
  • Fellow
    American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (2006)
  • Reproductive Scientist Development Program Scholar
    NIH K12 Award (2006)

Professional Associations/Affiliations
  • American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • American Society of Clinical Oncology
  • Gynecologic Oncology Group
  • Society of Gynecologic Oncology