Dr. Foster attended The University of Vermont as an undergraduate and received his Medical Degree from the Thomas Jefferson University in 1976. He completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Foster completed a fellowship in Gynecologic Pathology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital under Dr. J. Donald Woodruff. Following a seven-year private practice, Dr. Foster returned to Johns Hopkins to join the full-time faculty in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics. In 1989, he become the Director of the Division of Gynecologic Specialties and the Director of the Residency Program in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Foster earned his Masters in Public Health in Epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins University of Hygiene and Public Health in 1995. He was promoted to Associate Professor at Hopkins in 1996. That year he received the J. Donald Woodruff Teaching Award the Chief Residents at Hopkins for the best faculty teacher. Dr Foster joined the University of Rochester in 1996 as an Associate Professor and Director of Ambulatory Care, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. In 1997, he received the CREOG National Faculty Award for Excellence in Residency Education. Currently Dr. Foster is a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology with an active clinical practice in general gynecology with a particular focus on diseases of the vulvoaginal region, pain diagnosis and management of the lower genital tract, and diagnosis and management of disorders of the lower urinary tract. Dr. Foster is active a the advisory level with International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease. He is a member of the Committee on Terminology for Benign Vulvar Disease, who is responsible for formulating standard definitions for vulvoginal disease, internationally. Dr. Foster is certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Current areas of interest: Vulvar Disease, Vulvoldynia, Interstitial Cystitis

• Reeder JE, Byler TK, Foster DC, Landas SK, Okafor H, Stearns G, Wood RW, Zhang Y, Mayer RD. Polymorphism in the SCN9A Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Gene Associated With Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome. Urology. 2013 Jan; 81(1):210.e1-4.
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• Foster DC, Kotok MB, Huang LS, Watts A, Oakes D, Howard FM, Poleshuck EL, Stodgell CJ, Dworkin RH. Oral desipramine and topical lidocaine for vulvodynia: a randomized controlled trial. Obstet Gynecol. 2010 Sep; 116(3):583-93.
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• Foster DC, Kotok MB, Huang LS, Watts A, Oakes D, Howard FM, Stodgell CJ, Dworkin RH. The tampon test for vulvodynia treatment outcomes research: reliability, construct validity, and responsiveness. Obstet Gynecol. 2009 Apr; 113(4):825-32.
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• Hanjani NM, Foster DC, Scott GA, Mercurio MG. A genital mass due to herpes simplex virus in a renal transplant recipient. J Low Genit Tract Dis. 2007 Jul; 11(3):173-6.
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• Foster DC, Piekarz KH, Murant TI, LaPoint R, Haidaris CG, Phipps RP. Enhanced synthesis of proinflammatory cytokines by vulvar vestibular fibroblasts: implications for vulvar vestibulitis. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2007 Apr; 196(4):346.e1-8.
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• Bachmann GA, Rosen R, Pinn VW, Utian WH, Ayers C, Basson R, Binik YM, Brown C, Foster DC, Gibbons JM, Goldstein I, Graziottin A, Haefner HK, Harlow BL, Spadt SK, Leiblum SR, Masheb RM, Reed BD, Sobel JD, Veasley C, Wesselmann U, Witkin SS. Vulvodynia: a state-of-the-art consensus on definitions, diagnosis and management. J Reprod Med. 2006 Jun; 51(6):447-56.
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• Foster DC, Dworkin RH, Wood RW. Effects of intradermal foot and forearm capsaicin injections in normal and vulvodynia-afflicted women. Pain. 2005 Sep; 117(1-2):128-36.
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• Poleshuck EL, Dworkin RH, Howard FM, Foster DC, Shields CG, Giles DE, Tu X. Contributions of physical and sexual abuse to women's experiences with chronic pelvic pain. J Reprod Med. 2005 Feb; 50(2):91-100.
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• Haefner HK, Collins ME, Davis GD, Edwards L, Foster DC, Hartmann ED, Kaufman RH, Lynch PJ, Margesson LJ, Moyal-Barracco M, Piper CK, Reed BD, Stewart EG, Wilkinson EJ. The vulvodynia guideline. J Low Genit Tract Dis. 2005 Jan; 9(1):40-51.
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• Turner CK, Blieden TM, Smith TJ, Feldon SE, Foster DC, Sime PJ, Phipps RP. A novel ELISpot method for adherent cells. J Immunol Methods. 2004 Aug; 291(1-2):63-70.
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• Foster DC, Sazenski TM, Stodgell CJ. Impact of genetic variation in interleukin-1 receptor antagonist and melanocortin-1 receptor genes on vulvar vestibulitis syndrome. J Reprod Med. 2004 Jul; 49(7):503-9.
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• Foster DC. Vulvar disease. Obstet Gynecol. 2002 Jul; 100(1):145-63.
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• Wood R, Pittelli R, Foster D, Mayer R, Messing EM. Human bladder permeability assessment using intravesical fluorescein clearance rate. Urology. 2001 Jun; 57(6 Suppl 1):131-2.
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• Foster DC, Palmer M, Marks J. Effect of vulvovaginal estrogen on sensorimotor response of the lower genital tract: a randomized controlled trial. Obstet Gynecol. 1999 Aug; 94(2):232-7.
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• Iino M, Foster DC, Kisiel W. Quantification and characterization of human endothelial cell-derived tissue factor pathway inhibitor-2. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 1998 Jan; 18(1):40-6.
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• Foster DC, Hasday JD. Elevated tissue levels of interleukin-1 beta and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in vulvar vestibulitis. Obstet Gynecol. 1997 Feb; 89(2):291-6.
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• Woodruff JD, Pickar JH. Incidence of endometrial hyperplasia in postmenopausal women taking conjugated estrogens (Premarin) with medroxyprogesterone acetate or conjugated estrogens alone. The Menopause Study Group. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1994 May; 170(5 Pt 1):1213-23.
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• Foster DC. Vulvitis and vaginitis. Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol. 1993 Dec; 5(6):726-32.
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• Kelly RA, Foster DC, Woodruff JD. Subcutaneous injection of triamcinolone acetonide in the treatment of chronic vulvar pruritus. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1993 Sep; 169(3):568-70.
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• Foster DC, Robinson JC, Davis KM. Urethral pressure variation in women with vulvar vestibulitis syndrome. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1993 Jul; 169(1):107-12.
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• Foster DC, Guzick DS, Pulliam RP. The impact of prenatal care on fetal and neonatal death rates for uninsured patients: a "natural experiment" in West Virginia. Obstet Gynecol. 1992 Jan; 79(1):40-5.
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• Foster DC. Geriatric urinary tract dysfunction. Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol. 1990 Aug; 2(4):612-9.
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• Foster DC, Stern JL, Buscema J, Rock JA, Woodruff JD. Pleural and parenchymal pulmonary endometriosis. Obstet Gynecol. 1981 Nov; 58(5):552-6.
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• Foster DC, Woodruff JD. The use of dinitrochlorobenzene in the treatment of vulvar carcinoma in situ. Gynecol Oncol. 1981 Jun; 11(3):330-9.
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