Faculty Profile

Edward Tanner, MD, MBA

Dr. Edward Tanner is an Associate Professor and Chief of Gynecologic Oncology at Northwestern Medicine. He is board certified in OB/GYN and Gynecologic Oncology. Dr. Tanner serves as the Director of Gynecologic Robotic Surgery at Prentice Women’s Hospital and is an internationally recognized leader in the field of gynecologic oncology surgery. He performs complex abdominal procedures for patients with advanced gynecologic cancers, including radical debulking surgery for ovarian cancer. Through his collaboration with Dr. Daniela Matei in the Comprehensive Ovarian Cancer Clinic, he is able to tailor the surgical approach to each patient and develop an integrated plan for postoperative chemotherapy.

Dr. Tanner has developed innovative techniques for robotic surgery in patients with uterine and cervical cancers, including the use of single-incision robotic surgery. He has co-authored more than 60 articles in peer-reviewed medical journals and has lectured nationally and internationally on sentinel lymph node mapping techniques for endometrial and cervical cancer, management of uterine sarcoma, and surgical innovations in gynecologic cancer. In 2018, he authored "Surgery for Endometrial Cancer" in the definitive textbook of gynecologic surgery, TeLinde's Operative Gynecology.
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Based on his expertise, Dr. Tanner has been invited to develop and improve robotic surgery programs at hospitals around the world. Dr. Tanner routinely shares his expertise with other gynecologists and gynecologic oncologists through courses he conducts on behalf of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology and the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists. His research on sentinel lymph node mapping for endometrial cancer has contributed to establishing the technique as a standard of care according to National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines. Dr. Tanner also serves on the Uterine Cancer Committee of NRG Oncology, an organization funded by the National Cancer Institute to develop clinical trials for patients with gynecologic malignancies.

Dr. Tanner is also a leader in gynecologic oncology research and education, serving on the NRG Oncology Endometrial Cancer Committee and the Society of Gynecologic Oncology Education Committee. Through his role as Program Director of the Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship, Dr. Tanner trains the next generation of gynecologic oncologists to also become leaders in the field.

Dr. Tanner received his medical degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham before completing his residency in Gynecology & Obstetrics at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. He completed a fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he was one of the first fellows to complete an extensive training program in robotic surgery for gynecologic cancers. He was an Associate Professor of Gynecologic Oncology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital prior to joining the faculty at Northwestern.

To request an appointment with Dr. Tanner, please call 312.695.0990