Department of OBGYN

Nicole M. Donnellan, MD

  • Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences
  • Director, Division of Academic OB/GYN
  • Medical Director, UPP Endometriosis and Chronic Pelvic Pain Center
  • Associate Program Director, Complex Benign Gynecology Fellowship
Dr. Donnellan was born and raised in New England, attended Middlebury College in Vermont and then relocated to Pittsburgh to complete her medical training.  She is a busy gynecologic surgeon with a strong commitment to multidisciplinary patient care, faculty development and surgical training. She has devoted her career to improving women’s health through the practice of minimally invasive gynecologic surgery, the education of trainees in this important surgical modality and partnering with researchers/scientists of varying backgrounds to optimize diagnosis, treatment and care delivery in the world of endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain.  
 
When not at Magee, Dr. Donnellan enjoys spending time cheering on her son at his soccer, swimming and skiing competitions, while also getting in on some outdoors action herself -  hiking, biking, running and skiing!

Education & Training

  • Fellowship, Magee-Womens Hospital, University of Pittsburgh Medical School, Pittsburgh, PA
  • Residency, Magee-Womens Hospital, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA
  • MD, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Representative Publications

  1. Heres CK, Rindos NB, Fulcher IR, Allen SE, King NR, Miles SM, Donnellan NM.  Opioid use following laparoscopic surgery for endometriosis and pelvic pain.  J Minim Invasive Gynecol. 2022; 29: 1344-1351. PMID: 36162768
  2. Muir T, Pruszynski J, Kho K, Ramirez C, Donnellan N, Chao L. Video-Based coaching for laparoscopic salpingectomy. Obstet Gynecol 2024; 144: 358-365. PMID: 39053009
  3. Wang Y, Shaw P, Boufford C, Davis A, Lewis E, Vallon A, Naief L, Ednie M, Ritzert L, Amrit F, Donnellan NM, Chu T McKenna C, Peters D. Deconvolution of DNA methylation data reveals cell-type-specific epigenomic signatures in endometriosis and eutopic endometrium. Mol Hum Reprod. Accepted for publication Dec 23 2025. Online ahead of print.  PMID: 41433079
  4. Dvorksy J, Goodman N, Donnellan N.  Implementation of a postoperative pelvic floor physical therapy telehealth appointment following laparoscopic surgery for chronic pelvic pain: a feasibility study.  J Womens Pelvic Health Phys Ther 2025; published online February 11, 2026.
  5. Eby M, Xu J, Spencer NE, Donnellan N, Chang J. Oh God, I hope she takes me seriously: How care-seekers with endometriosis and physicians work to perform and undermine epistemic credibility and knowledge in endometriosis care. Women’s Reproductive Health; 2026; 13: 575-591.

For additional publications, please see PubMed Page.

Clinical Interests/Research Interests

Dr. Donnellan prides herself on multidisciplinary care for complex benign gynecologic conditions including abnormal bleeding, pelvic pain, endometriosis and fibroids.  She is a high-volume surgeon who performs more than 300 laparoscopic cases annually. 

Dr. Donnellan’s current research interests focus on surgical education as well as the care of individuals with endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain.  She is the founder and Director of the Endometriosis and CPP Center at UPMC as well as co-founder of the HER (Hub for Endometriosis Research).  She oversees the benign gynecology biobank at MWRI and has collaborations with investigators throughout the University of Pittsburgh (Magee-Womens Resarch Insititute, Department of PM and R and the Swanson School of Engineering) as well as Carnegie Mellon University.  

Clinical Interests:

  • Endometriosis
  • Adenomyosis
  • Chronic Pelvic Pain
  • Fibroids
  • Multidisciplinary Care

Research Interests:

  • Surgical teaching/training
  • Effective Feedbcak
  • Video Based Coaching
  • Optimiation of Delivery of Multidiscipinary Care for Endometriosis/CPP
  • Liquid Based Diagnosis of Endometriosis
  • Machine Based Learning Tools for Endometriosis

Research Grants

Grant Number/ Description

Title

Role and % Effort

Years

Inclusive

Source $ Amount

UMKC Research and Innovation Funding for Excellence

Exploring the Repurposing of H1 Antihistamines as Immune-Modulating Therapies for Endometriosis

 

3%

2026

$64,228.65

CTSI Women’s Health Pain Challenge

A Blood Test for the Non-Invasive Diagnosis of Endometriosis   

<5%

2025 - present

$50,000

CTSI Women’s Health Pain Challenge

EndoChip: Patient-Specific Modeling for Endometriosis Screening

<5%

2025 – present

$50,000

CTSI Virginia Kauffman Pain Research Challenge, 2nd Place

EndoDx: Non-Invasive Diagnosis of Endometriosis

<5%

2023 - present

$50,000

MWRI

Non-Invasive Early Detection of Endometriosis

<5%

2022 - present

$50,000

NIH/NICHD

1 R21 HD110826-01

 

Impact score = 23

Percentile rank = 9th

Non-Invasive Early Detection of Endometriosis

<5%

2022- present

$464,075