Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion

UCLA Urology: Mission Statement

To improve urological health and health care, we seek to create world leaders in health and medicine, discover the basis for wellness and cures for urological disease, foster a culture of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, cultivate community partnerships, and heal humankind one patient at a time. 

UCLA Urology: Being a Part of the Solution

Stanley K. Frencher, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of UCLA Urology and Director of Urology and Chair of Perioperative Services Department at Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital (MLKCH), has been named the UCLA Urology Director of Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Dr. Frencher, along with Dr. Jesse Mills, leads the department's Task Force on Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion that includes more than a dozen staff, resident physicians, fellows and faculty members. 

The mission of the Task Force is to dismantle racist policy, engage in honest conversation, identify challenges and implement recommendations to foster a culture in which diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice become the fabric of the department.

The Task Force has identified five priority areas to create a culture of inclusion within our department and the broader community that we serve: 1) representation, 2) awareness and understanding, 3) education and training, 4) equity in care delivery and 5) pipeline programs and community engagement.

UCLA Urology has long worked to promote justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in our faculty and training programs, to bring high-quality care to traditionally underserved communities, and to right the health care injustices and inequities that persist.

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Message from the Chair

In 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., declared: “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.” More than 50 years later, our society has arrived at a moment that was long overdue even when Dr. King made that observation: a reckoning with the toxic effects of centuries of systemic racism, including ongoing injustices in health care.

UCLA Urology has long worked to promote justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in our faculty and training programs, and to bring high-quality care to traditionally underserved communities. And we must continue to work to right the injustices and inequities that persist in health care. In the United States, the legacy of systemic racism in sectors such as education, housing, and employment means that Black, Indigenous, and people of color are more likely to experience reduced access to health care and poorer health. Within the larger health system, insufficient diversity among providers compromises the quality of care. Studies have shown that we all harbor implicit biases that can influence our care. As racial and ethnic disparities in health outcomes persist, we must act urgently to address the causes.

UCLA Urology has embodied the values of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion for many years, but as long as these problems remain, we must look inward and determine how we can do better. That process is ongoing. It’s not an undertaking we will one day complete; rather, it will always be part of the fabric of our department, embedded in all that we do. It involves rooting out overt and covert forms of discrimination, as well as dismantling the systemic factors that perpetuate inequities. It involves pursuing diversity not merely as a matter of justice, but to improve quality. And it means continuing to venture well beyond the confines of Westwood and Santa Monica to bring our state-of-the-art care to communities that UCLA hasn’t always reached. We are proud of the high-quality services UCLA Urology provides at our affiliate institutions in some of the most underserved areas of Los Angeles. Our goal is to become even more active participants and collaborators with these institutions to improve care and promote social justice, with the recognition that we all have much to learn, and that out of these interactions we will all become better practitioners.

We recognize that as an individual urology department, we can’t solve the entire societal scourge of systemic racism. But we also recognize our power to make a difference. In the words of cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Mark S. Litwin, MD, MPH

Making a Difference

UCLA Urology Resident Honored

Dr. Efe Chantal Ghanney Simons, urology resident, is the inaugural winner of the Diversity Equity & Inclusion Award, a new honor bestowed jointly by the Association of Women Surgeons (AWS) and The Society of Black Academic Surgeons (SBAS). This award is to be given annually for the pursuit of a career in surgery that is in alignment with the missions of AWS and SBAS. Read more in the UCLA Health Newsroom >

Working to Improve Representation of Black Urologists

The percentage of urology residents who are Black/African American is under 4%, and those numbers suffer from significant attrition. Dr. Kymora Scotland, UCLA Urology assistant professor, has decided to tackle this problem by developing a nationwide mentorship program for Black residents by Black urologists, in her capacity as director of resident outreach at the R. Frank Jones Urological Society. The initiative is being conducted in partnership with the R. Frank Jones Urological Society and with the support of UCLA Urology. 

But the low number of Black residents requires efforts at the medical school level as well, in an attempt to increase the number of students applying to and matching in urology. To that end, Dr. Scotland has been working with Urology Unbound, a recently formed organization dedicated to recruiting and retaining Black urologists, under the leadership of Dr. Shenelle Wilson. Dr. Wilson has been working tirelessly through Urology Unbound and the R. Frank Jones Urology Interest Group to engage with urology applicants who are underrepresented in medicine (URM) to prepare them for the recently concluded match. Of the 39 URM students mentored by Urology Unbound, 31 matched into a urology program. “Urology Unbound and the R. Frank Jones Urological Society will continue to expand initiatives aimed at improving the representation of Black urologists,” Dr. Scotland says. 

Advancing Health Equity

In April 2021, the UCLA Hospital and Clinic System launched the Health Equity Pitch Contest, a showcase of the important work advancing health equity by UCLA Health faculty, staff, students, and community partners. The contest is part of the second round of the UCLA Health Innovation Challenge. Health equity is a new category in the UCLA Health Innovation Challenge, providing opportunities and funding to tackle challenges in vulnerable populations. Desiree Sanchez, MD, UCLA Urology resident and Abhishek Venkataramana, MD, a medical student at DGSOM received a $15,000 award for “AccessiHealth,” an app-based project and pipeline program.

Dr. Sanchez is also the first author on “Moving urologic disparities research from evidence synthesis to translational research: a dynamic, multidisciplinary approach to tackling inequalities in urology,” recently published in Urology.  Read the article (PDF) >

Researching disparities in access to care for erectile dysfunction

Dr. Denise Asafu-Adjei aspires to establish a physician-scientist career at the interface of andrology and health policy and is completing her one-year research project focused on disparities in erectile dysfunction services and care. The impact of her work is highlighted in the June 2021 issue of AUA Investigator. At the time of her work and publication, Dr. Asafu-Adjei was a UCLA Urology andrology fellow and a Urology Care Foundation Research Scholar Award recipient. She is now the medical director of male reproductive medicine at Loyola University, Chicago, Illinois. Read more >

Training and Recruitment

UCLA Urologic Men’s Health Fellowship for Underrepresented in Medicine (URM) 

Based on research by former fellow, Dr. Denise Asafu-Adjei indicating that there is an unmet need for men’s health services in medically underrepresented areas, Dr. Stanley Frencher and Dr. Jesse Mills established a men’s health primary care fellowship for physicians who come from traditionally underrepresented in medicine backgrounds. The one-year fellowship will allow the fellow to practice primary care with a focus on men’s urologic health. The intent of the program is to populate underserved communities with men’s health specialists and to open access to care to more diverse communities. The fellowship will launch with the start of the 2022-23 academic year. For more information > 

Our Community

Promoting Opportunities for Youth

UCLA Urology has established a partnership with Bridge Builders Foundation, a Los Angeles based nonprofit organization that supports youth through mentoring, scholarships, educational programs and the teaching of life skills. The initiative will build on the foundation’s efforts to raise health awareness and promote career opportunities for African American and other minority youth. The department is actively working with Bridge Builders in providing a platform for interested high school students to get to know UCLA Health students and professionals through a virtual series of lectures, lab experiences and dialogues. The partnership is being facilitated by Bridge Builders member Westley Sholes, a prostate cancer survivor and longtime supporter of IMPACT, the UCLA Urology-led program that has brought medical care to thousands of low-income, uninsured California men with prostate cancer.

Dr. Kymora Scotland, Assistant Professor of Urology, partnered with Bridge Builders’s Saturday Science Academy to introduce youth to the field of medicine. A central theme of the Bridge Builders program is "What They See, They Can Be." With the help of UCLA medical students (pictured), Dr. Scotland and team provided a hands-on anatomy class to 125 middle and high school students. 

Addressing Disparities in Prostate Cancer

Isla Garraway, MD, Professor of Urology at UCLA and Director of Urologic Research, is a key member of the Prostate Cancer Foundation's newly established health equities panel creating prostate cancer screening guidelines for Black men in the United States.

Dr. Garraway received a Prostate Cancer Foundation 2022 Challenge Award. As Principal Investigator, Dr. Garraway will lead a multi-institutional team of researchers in understanding the factors that contribute to prostate cancer disparities. Learn more >  She was also a participant in a webinar about the disparities in prostate cancer organized by the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the West Angeles Church Brotherhood. Watch the video >

Urology faculty actively involved in the UCLA DGSOM Anti-Racism Roadmap

UCLA Urology faculty members are actively engaged in the Black, Latinx, and Native American (BLNA) faculty collective and allies in the David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM), including:

• Carol Bennett, MD, Chief of Urology, West Los Angeles VA Healthcare Center and Henry E. Singleton Chair in Urology at UCLA
• Stanley Frencher, MD, Associate Professor of UCLA Urology, Director of Urology and Chair of Perioperative Services Department at Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital (MLKCH)
• Isla Garraway, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Urology at UCLA and Director of Urologic Research, Attending Urologist, Greater Los Angeles-VA Medical Center
• Kymora Scotland, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Urology

The BLNA group advising the Dean of UCLA’s DGSOM, Vice Chancellor, and CEO of UCLA Health on initiatives for the DGSOM Anti-racism roadmap. In addition to clinical care, research and teaching, the BLNA’s scope of service to DGSOM includes committee work, assuming the role of champion for diversity efforts within departments, and community/faculty/trainee/student outreach, recruitment, and mentoring/sponsorship of BLNA students, residents, and fellowship trainees who are consistently under-represented in medicine.

Select Publications by UCLA Urology Faculty and Trainees

Urban heat islands, redlining and kidney stones The persistent rise in kidney stone prevalence in recent decades has prompted much speculation as to the causes. There has been some discussion about the effect of heat on nephrolithiasis. A review of recent data suggests that heat may play a role in stone formation on a large scale and among African-Americans in particular. A new UCLA-led study led by Dr. Kymora B. Scotland states that African-Americans are the race/ancestry group with faster rates of increasing incidence and prevalence of kidney stones. Researchers also found that urban heat islands in the United States have resulted in part from the effects of redlining, a practice of systematic segregation and racism in housing that led to the development of neighborhoods with substantial disparities in environmental conditions. Dr. Scotland and her team hypothesize that the increased temperatures experienced by residents in redlined communities, many of whom are African American may contribute to the 150% increase in the prevalence of kidney stones in African Americans in recent decades. Read the study in the January 1, 2023 issue of Current Opinion in Nephrology and Hypertension.

The Distinct Impacts of Race and Genetic Ancestry on Health, Nature Medicine, May 2022

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Prostate Cancer Outcomes in the Veterans Affairs Health Care System, JAMA Open Network, January 2022 

Outcomes of Black men with prostate cancer treated with radiation therapy in the Veterans Health Administration, Cancer, February 2021

Association of Health-Care System with Prostate Cancer-Specific Mortality in African American and Non-Hispanic White Men, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, April 2021

Moving urologic disparities research from evidence synthesis to translational research: a dynamic, multidisciplinary approach to tackling inequalities in urology, The Journal of Urology April 2021

Resources for UCLA Faculty, Trainees and Staff

UCLA Urology Book Club

To create a culture of inclusion and incorporate diverse views and experiences amongst the department’s members, UCLA Urology is distributing two books each academic year in order to implement consistent, ongoing learning and encourage dialogue all year long. The first book being distributed is Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi. The book chronicles how racist ideas were created, spread, and deeply rooted in American society.

Resources, toolkits, podcasts, and suggested reading materials >