< Back to Alumni List


Louise Davies, M.D., M.S.
Assistant Professor of Surgery, Division of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery
Dartmouth Medical School
louise.davies@dartmouth.edu
2007-2010 Cohort
Project Title:  "Overdiagnosis in Thyroid Cancer: Providing Patients and Physicians with Tools for Management"



About the Project:

There has been a dramatic increase in thyroid cancer incidence, but it has not been associated with increasing thyroid cancer mortality. This study aimed to help physicians and patients deal with the problem of overdiagnosis of thyroid cancer by addressing:  1) how people become at risk for overdiagnosis;  2) what patient’s treatment alternatives are; and 3) what patients want.

Biosketch:

Louise Davies, M.D., M.S. is Assistant Professor at Dartmouth Medical School with a primary appointment in the Department of Surgery, section of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery, and a secondary appointment in the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice (TDI). She works at the White River Junction, Vermont, VA Medical Center, where she splits her time between research as a member of the VA Outcomes Group and patient care for veterans with head and neck cancer or general otolaryngology problems.

Dr. Davies received her medical degree from the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. She completed residency in otolaryngology ­ head and neck surgery at The University of Vermont (UVM), Burlington, Vermont, and Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center through UVM’s coordinated residency program with Dartmouth. Following this, Dr. Davies returned to the University of Washington to complete the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program. Her research interests include treatment decision making (particularly for head and neck cancer) cancer epidemiology, and promoting the use of qualitative methods to strengthen quantitative research and quality improvement work - making it reflect the true experience of those who are the subject of the research. She is the developer and director of the qualitative research methods course in the TDI Masters of Public Health Degree Program.

Dr. Davies’ Physician Faculty Scholars Program project was entitled "Overdiagnosis in Thyroid Cancer: Providing Patients and Physicians with Tools for Management." Her project described how patients can become at risk of overdiagnosis, and examined ways in which the problem might be addressed.

A native Vermonter, Dr. Davies lives with her husband, son, and two black cats in Norwich, Vermont.

< Back to Alumni List