Chairman & Professor, Catherine & Joseph Aresty Department of Urology
Executive Director, USC Institute of Urology
Associate Dean (Clinical Innovation)
Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
Dr Gill joined the University of Southern California (USC) in mid-2009 as chairman & professor, department of urology. Prior to this, he was chairman & professor, department of urology at Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, where he was on faculty for 12 years (1997-2009).
During his 4 years at USC, USC urology has seen significant growth in scientific stature, clinical volumes and financial productivity. As a result, USC urology has progressed in U.S. News & World Report rankings from not being ranked in the ‘Top 50’ prior to 2009 to #20 in 2014.
His academic track record includes over 560 peer-reviewed scientific papers, 10 text-books and editorial board of 9 urologic journals. Funded by the NCI, he has been invited for over 450 visiting professorships, invited lectures and live surgery demonstrations world-wide. He is elected to the prestigious American Association of Genito-Urinary Surgeons (2003) and the Clinical Society of AAGUS (2009).
Dr Gill has received many honors. In 2005, the President of India awarded him the Dr. B. C. Roy National Award for Eminent Medical Person. In 2006, he was awarded the St. Paul’s Medal by the British Urological Association (BAUS) for 2006, the highest honor that can be bestowed by the BAUS. He has been named honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. In 2006, he was President of the 24th World Congress of Endourology and SWL, and organized in Cleveland a highly successful world congress, with over 1,700 attendees from 62 countries. He was awarded the “USC Presidential Medallion“ for 2013, the highest annual academic honor that USC can bestow from amongst the 40,000+ faculty/students from all 19 of USC’s schools. He has been listed amongst “Best Doctors in America” for several years now. His minimally invasive team has won over 35 best abstract awards at various annual meetings of the AUA and other urologic societies over the past 5-7 years.
Google “Top Authors in Urology” ranks Dr Gill #1 in the field of Urology. Peer-reviewed papers: 513, Citations: 8452, H-index: 48, G-index: 72 (Google “Top Authors in Urology”) (accessed August 12, 2014). Dr Gill was listed in the 2014 Thomson Reuters “The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds.” Reuters assessed papers indexed between 2002-2012 in 21 fields of study and authors who published numerous articles ranking among the top 1% cited in their fields. These papers represent research that the scientific community has judged to be the most significant and useful.
Dr. Gill’s primary focus is advanced robotic urologic oncologic surgery, with one of the world’s largest aggregate robotic/laparoscopic experiences in approx 9,000 cases in the United States. An acknowledged world leader in robotic/laparoscopic partial nephrectomy for renal cancer, he and his team have performed this procedure in over 2,500 patients, the world’s largest series. His team’s many scientific innovations in robotic/laparoscopic oncologic surgery have generated world-leading clinical series of radical cystectomy with intra-corporeal urinary diversion (n=250+), radical prostatectomy (n= 6,000+) and renal cryoablation. His team is actively developing flexible robotics and natural orifice/single-port surgery in urology, innovative concepts towards scar-free surgery. Over the past 3 years, Dr Gill and his team are focusing on developing novel image-guided targeted biopsy and lesion-specific focal therapy treatments for prostate cancer.
Professor and Chairman Emeritus
University of Miami, USA
Memorial Physician Group, Chief, Urologic Oncology, Division of Urology, Florida, USA
Mark Soloway has devoted himself to the subspecialty of urologic oncology for the past 40 years. He has made significant contributions to the understanding and treatment of the three most common GU cancers – prostate, bladder, and kidney.
During his NCI/NIH fellowship he developed an animal model for bladder cancer (BC) which closely resembles its human counterpart and is still being used. Using these primary (carcinogen induced) and transplantable (MBT 2) murine tumors he identified the then experimental drug cisplatin as an active agent for BC. This led to successful clinical trials at MSKCC.
As a young faculty member at The University of Tennessee Dr Soloway was one of the first urologists to prescribe systemic cisplatin chemotherapy to his patients with locally advanced and metastatic BC and seeing the benefits suggested a role for induction or neoadjuvant chemotherapy before cystectomy.
He also demonstrated the synergy between cisplatin and radiation for BC. Once again clinical trials proved the benefit of this approach and it remains a standard for bladder preservation for MIBC.
During his residency at University Hospitals of Cleveland Dr. Soloway’s lab proved that altering the urothelium of the murine bladder allowed tumor cells to implant on the bladder surface and suggested that this is one cause for the high recurrence rate following a TUR BT. He advocated for the use of intravesical chemotherapy following a TUR BT. It is now an accepted standard approach to reduce recurrences.
Dr. Soloway was one of the first to highlight the problem of urothelial carcinoma in the prostate in patients with BC and suggested a staging system which had implications for prognosis and treatment.
Dr. Soloway was one of the first to describe and popularize the periprostatic nerve block before a TRUS guided prostate biopsy procedure now performed over 1 million times annually in the US.
He has co authored numerous articles describing and detailing the implications of a positive margin after RP. He has been a proponent for bladder neck preservation during a RP to minimize the risk of urinary continence and reduce bladder neck strictures.
Working closely with Gaetano Ciancio they have detailed the merits of using liver transplant techniques to reduce the mortality and morbidity of surgery for large renal and adrenal tumors particularly those with an IVC tumor thrombus.
Dr. Soloway received the Gold Cystoscope Award from the AUA in 1984. He was presented with a Presidential Citation from the AUA in 2000 in part for his emphasis on the case presentation method to enhance the interactive aspect of urology meetings.
Dr. Soloway chaired the SIU and ICUD BC recommendations in 2004 and 2011. He has authored over 500 articles in peer reviewed journals.
He received the Distinguished Career Award from the SIU (2013).
Dr. Soloway delivered the Willet Whitmore Memorial Lecture at the SUO/AUA meeting May 2014. He received the St Paul medal from BAUS June 2015.
John D. Denstedt, MD, FACS, FRCS(C)
Chair/Chief/Professor, department of surgery, division of urology, schulich school of medicine & dentistry, the university of western ontario , Ontarion, Canada
John Douglas Denstedt, MD, graduated from medical school at The University of Western Ontario (Western) in London, Ontario. He did his residency in urology at Western, and completed a fellowship in endourology at Washington University in St. Louis. He has been on the faculty at Western in the Division of Urology, Department of Surgery at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry since 1990, and is currently Professor of Urology. In July 2003, he assumed the role of Chairman and Chief of the Department of Surgery at Western University and continues in this capacity. While maintaining an active clinical practice, Dr. Denstedt has served on many boards and committees, and is currently a member of the AUA’s Board of Directors. Dr. Denstedt is a member of the Northeastern Section of the AUA, where he served as Treasurer and President. Additionally, Dr. Denstedt served as Chair of the Canadian Association of Surgical Chairs and is currently Treasurer of the Endourological Society. His clinical practice at St. Joseph’s Health Care London and London Health Sciences Centre is primarily in endourology, with research interests in urolithiasis, biofilms, lasers and minimally invasive techniques in urology.
Dr. Denstedt has authored more than 200 scientific articles and book chapters and has been a guest professor at over 200 universities, national meetings or instructional courses throughout the world. He serves on the editorial board of most major urology journals, and is currently Managing Editor of the Journal of Endourology. In 1998, he became the first Canadian to win one of the AUA’s highest honors, the Gold Cystoscope Award. Dr. Denstedt has been a member of the AUA since 1991.
Gerald H. Jordan, MD, FACS, FAAP(Hon.), FRCS(Hon.)
Executive Secretary, The American Board of Urology
Urologic Surgeon, Urology of Virginia, Virginia, USA
Gerald H. Jordan, MD received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering, with merit, at the United States Naval Academy in 1966, and in 1967 he entered the United States Navy and was designated a Naval Aviator in December 1967. Dr. Jordan earned his medical degree from the University of Texas in 1977 after completing the Bachelor’s program in Pre-Medicine at Cal Western in 1973. He completed his internship and residency at the Naval Regional Medical Center in Portsmouth, VA, and was trained as a Designated Flight Surgeon through the United States Air Force Flight Surgeons’ Course in 1977.
Dr. Jordan’s practice was limited almost exclusively to adult and pediatric genitourinary reconstructive surgery. Board certified in Urology, he is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and is an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and The Royal College of Surgeons-England. Dr. Jordan served as Professor of Urology and recently served as the Director of the Adult and Pediatric Genitourinary Reconstructive Fellowship Program at the Eastern Virginia Medical School. He has wide and varied academic interests and is an innovative leader in the field of genitourinary reconstructive surgery. He is keenly motivated in the area of investigation and has made notable contributions to Urologic literature. Dr. Jordan also participates in numerous national and international medical conferences and serves as a visiting professor at many centers throughout the world. He is currently the executive secretary of the American Board of Urology.
Gamal M. Ghoniem, MD, FACS,
Vice Chair and Professor of Urology
Chief Division of Female Urology, Pelvic reconstructive Surgery and Voiding Dysfunction
University of California, Irvine, USA
Dr. Ghoneim is a vice chair and professor of urology at University of California, Irvine. He is currently Chief Division of Female Urology, Pelvic reconstructive Surgery and Voiding Dysfunction also serves as Chief of Spinal Cord Urology for the VA Long Beach Healthcare System. He was the head of the Section of Voiding Dysfunction, Female Urology, and Reconstruction at Cleveland Clinic Florida in Weston, Florida from 2000-2011.
Dr. Ghoniem received his MD (MBChB) from the University of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, where he later earned a master’s degree in Urological Surgery and completed an internship. He served a residency in Urology at the Alexandria Main University Hospital and a subsequent fellowship in the Department of Surgery (Urology) at Roger Williams General Hospital, Brown University Affiliated Hospital, in Providence, Rhode Island. Dr. Ghoniem also completed a residency in Urology at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He joined Tulane University, school of medicine as assistant professor of urology in 1987 and became a full tenured professor in 1998. He held a joint appointment in the department of OBGYN, Tulane university school of medicine. He headed the section of urodynamics and female urology during his service at Tulane up to 2000.
Dr. Ghoniem is a member of several professional societies, including the American Urological Association, the Society of Urodynamics and Female Urology, American Urogynecology Society, the International Urogynecology Society, and the International Continence Society. With more than 143 peer-reviewed publications, 34 chapters and 25 videos in the field, he serves as an editor, reviewer, or consultant to several journals, including the Journal of Urology, Urology, the Journal of International Urology, the Journal of Neurology and Urodynamics, and International Urogynecology, current bladder dysfunction. Dr. Ghoniem is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
He has edited two books: “Practical Guide to Female Pelvic Medicine” and “Pelvic Floor Dysfunction: a Multidisciplinary Approach.” He is editor of the special issue of Neurourology and Urodynamics for “Animal Models to Study Lower Urinary Tract”, and Co-editor of a special issue of Clinics in Colon and Rectal Surgery for “Pelvic Floor Dysfunction: the Importance of a Multidisciplinary Approach.”
Dr. Ghoniem has improved and introduced many diagnostic and surgical techniques in the field of urinary incontinence and pelvic prolapse such as ISD classification, vaginal pack test, suburethral sling, Genisphere injection, bladder neck wrap, male sling, and trans obturator technique.
He is also an inventor with a pending patent (serial # 14/029,467) for bladder denervation to treat overactive bladder.
Professor of Urology
Chairman, Department of Urology
Urologist-in-Chief, New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell
New York, USA
Dr. Schlegel’s contributions to medicine have been recognized by the 1996 Established Clinician Award from The European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology, a fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons, and the Barringer Award from the prestigious American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons for outstanding contributions to urology. He has been listed as an expert in nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy techniques as well as male infertility by Castle Connolly’s “Best Doctors” Guide since 1999 as well as other national “Best Doctor” lists. In over 250 published or submitted original manuscripts, as well as numerous book chapters and invited articles, Dr. Schlegel has described the characteristics of men who are candidates for sperm retrieval, designed and described novel techniques for the successful achievement of pregnancy after sperm retrieval. He has also published extensively on microsurgical treatment of infertile men as well as on genetic aspects of infertility. More importantly, the team of scientists, reproductive endocrinologists, nurses and technicians that Dr. Schlegel has worked with at Cornell has achieved one of the highest pregnancy rates in the world for treatment of couples using sperm that were retrieved by Dr. Schlegel. Early in his career, Dr. Schlegel worked with pioneers in the field of urology and male reproductive function. With Dr. Fray Marshall and Dr. Patrick Walsh at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, Dr. Schlegel worked as a resident in general surgery and urology. During that time, Dr. Schlegel established some of the anatomical basis that was necessary to develop the contemporary procedure of radical prostatectomy that is used to cure localized prostate cancer. Dr. Schlegel continues to be active in the management, including surgical treatment of prostate cancer because of his advanced understanding of this anatomy. Dr Schlegel was granted a research scholarship from the American Foundation for Urological Disease/American Urological Association in 1989 and completed his fellowship in the area of male infertility and reproductive function with the guidance of Dr. Marc Goldstein ad Dr. Wayne Bardin at The Population Council, Center for Biomedical Research, and Center for Male Reproductive Medicine and Microsurgery, Department of Urology, The New York Hospital – Cornell Medical Center in 1991. Dr. Schlegel is a former co-editor of the Journal of Andrology and currently or has previously served on editorial boards of the medical journals, AUA Update Series, British Journal of Urology-International, Fertility & Sterility, Journal of Urology (Investigative Section), Techniques in Urology, Journal of Andrology, and FertiliText. He was the Edwin A Beer Program award recipient of The New York Academy of Medicine, 1996-98, and received a New Investigator Award from the American Foundation for Urologic Diseases, 1993-95. Dr. Schlegel serves or has served in a leadership role of several national infertility organizations, including as a Council member for the American Society of Andrology, on the Board of Directors, a former President of the Society for Male Reproduction and Urology as well as former President of the Society for Reproductive Surgery and President of the Fertility Preservation Special Interest Group of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, as well as servicing as Secretary, Vice President, and President of the Society for Study of Male Reproduction of the AUA. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the American Society and Chair of its Finance Committee. Dr. Schlegel is the father of three children. He is an active sailor, skier and some-time golfer. Dr. Schlegel is a board-certified urologist who has served as a Trustee and Vice-President of the American Board of Urology. He is currently licensed to practice medicine in the state of New York, and graduated near the top of his class from The University of Massachusetts Medical School.
