Introduction

The University of Chicago is one of the leading academic institutions in the United States. More Nobel laureates have been affiliated with this University than any other institution in the world. The Section of Urology shares in this heritage as a result of the work of Dr. Charles Huggins, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1966 for his discovery of hormone therapy for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. The Section of Urology continues this commitment to excellence in clinical practice and basic research. The goals of our residency program are to provide excellent comprehensive clinical training in all aspects of urology and to create an atmosphere for discovery by providing active research. Thus, we endeavor to provide our residents with the best training in clinical urology while enabling them to advance the science of urology through investigation.

Sectional Overview

In the past five years there has been great transition and growth in the Section of Urology. Under the leadership of Drs. Charles Brendler and Arieh Shalhav, the Section recruited five additional full-time faculty members and one molecular biologist. Over that time, surgical volume has tripled and the number of complex adult and pediatric urology cases has increased dramatically. Additionally, we now have 12 laboratory investigators, including full-time faculty members, medical students, graduate students and post-graduate fellows.

Our urology clinic is located in the Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine (DCAM) at the University of Chicago Medical Center. This clinic has 5,000 square feet of space and includes two complete sets of four examination rooms each, a cystoscopy suite and separate high-end facilities with urodynamics and transrectal ultrasonography. This clinic was designed to allow further growth and to serve the needs of the section. In February, 2005, the Comer Children's Hospital opened. This new 155 bed facility is across the street from the adult hospital and includes dedicated pediatric operating rooms as well as state-of-the-art neonatal and pediatric intensive care units.

In 2002, the Section recruited Dr. Arieh Shalhav from Indiana University to establish a program in minimally invasive urologic surgery. In the last five years, Dr. Shalhav has developed one of the leading minimally invasive urology programs in the Midwest. He has built a busy clinical and successful academic program. He and his colleagues have now performed more than 2,500 major minimally invasive surgical procedures, including over 1,600 robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomies. He has established both clinical and research fellowships. He also has an active animal research laboratory in which all residents receive training in minimally invasive surgery and in which there are several interesting ongoing research projects including a study on the effects of different energy devices on cavernosal nerve injury.

In 2004, Dr. Gary Steinberg moved his bladder cancer practice from Louis A. Weiss Memorial Hospital to the University of Chicago to head our oncology program. Today our bladder cancer program is one of the five most prominent in the country.

In 2006, Dr. Brendler stepped down as Chief of Urology and Dr. Shalhav became interim chief. In April, 2007, Dr. Shalhav was officially appointed Chief of Urology and established the Fritz and Mary Lee Duda Family Professorship.

In 2006, Dr. Victoria Robinson was recruited to start a bladder cancer research program. Our research residents have benefited tremendously from her mentoring.

In 2007, Dr. Glenn Gerber, a senior member of our faculty, was appointed the urology residency program director devoting a significant amount of his time managing the residency program.

In 2007, Dr. Kevin Zorn, who completed his minimally invasive urology fellowship at the University of Chicago Medical Center, joined our faculty as Assistant Professor. Dr. Zorn oversees the residency and fellowship training programs at the Louis A. Weiss Memorial Hospital, where he is quickly building a minimally invasive urologic oncology practice.

In 2007, Dr. Mohan Gundeti joined our faculty as Assistant Professor, after completing his fellowship training in pediatric urology at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children in London, England in 2006. Dr. Gundeti is rapidly developing a practice in minimally invasive pediatric urology. Our two PGY-5 residents each spend six months in pediatric urology.

In 2007, Dr. Sangtae Park, who completed his endourology and minimally invasive surgery fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern, joined our faculty. Dr. Park is based primarily at Mount Sinai Hospital, where he is establishing a successful practice. Our two PGY-6 residents will each spend six months at Mount Sinai Hospital working with Dr. Park.

In 2008, Dr. Scott Eggener joined the faculty as Assistant Professor after completing a three-year urologic oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering. Dr. Eggener's primary focus will be in patients with testis and kidney cancer.

For more information about our residency, please download our Residency Handbook. You can also download our residency block diagram.