Minimally Invasive Surgery

Mark S. Litwin, MD, MPH

Specialty: Bladder Cancer, Kidney Cancer, Minimally Invasive Surgery, Prostate Cancer, Testicular Cancer, Urologic Oncology

Practice Location: Urology, Westwood Adult

Chair, Department of Urology. Professor of Urology, Health Policy & Management, and Nursing. He trained at Harvard and specializes in testicular, bladder, prostate and kidney cancer. Dr. Litwin’s research focuses on improving quality of care, quality of life, and equitable access to care in urologic oncology. He created and directs IMPACT, a state-funded program that provides free medical care statewide for low-income, uninsured men with prostate cancer. He also leads several national and international research projects in prostate cancer, funded by the American Cancer Society, US Department of Defense, and Movember Foundation. He directs an NIH-funded fellowship training program in outcomes research in urologic oncology. Dr. Litwin is Founder and Co-Director of the UCLA Gender Health Program. For 14 years, he led Urologic Diseases in America, the NIH’s largest effort at documenting the burden of urologic diseases on the American people. More >

Z. Chad Baxter, MD

Specialty: General Adult Urology, Minimally Invasive Surgery, Pelvic Medicine & Reconstruction

Practice Location: Center for Women's Pelvic Health, Urology, Santa Monica

Assistant Clinical Professor of Urology. Dr. Baxter completed his M.D. at Loma Linda University School of Medicine, urology residency at Penn State University, and fellowship training in Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery at UCLA. Previously the Director of Pelvic Health and Reconstructive Surgery at North Shore – Long Island Jewish Health System in New York, Dr. Baxter’s clinical interests are in male and female voiding dysfunction, urinary incontinence, general adult urology, and genitourinary and pelvic floor reconstruction. Dr. Baxter also holds a sub-specialty board certification in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery. More >

Karim Chamie, MD, MSHS

Specialty: Bladder Cancer, Clinical Trials, Kidney Cancer, Minimally Invasive Surgery, Prostate Cancer, Urologic Oncology

Practice Location: Urology, Westwood Adult

Associate Professor-in-Residence of Urology and Society of Urologic Oncology Fellowship Director. He attended Medical School at USC and completed Urological training at UC Davis. Dr. Chamie then completed a SUO certified fellowship in Urologic Oncology at UCLA. His primary research interests are health services research and clinical trials in bladder cancer. His clinical interests include all areas of urologic oncology, with a particular emphasis on bladder cancer and robotic surgery. More >

Arnold I. Chin, MD, PhD

Specialty: Bladder Cancer, Kidney Cancer, Minimally Invasive Surgery, Prostate Cancer, Urologic Oncology

Practice Location: Urology, Westwood Adult

Associate Professor of Urology and Medical Director, Urology-Westwood. Dr. Chin completed his M.D., Ph.D. and Urology residency training at UCLA. His clinical expertise includes urologic oncology and renal transplantation. He performs open, laparoscopic, and robotic-assisted surgeries for patients with all urologic malignancies including bladder, kidney, and prostate cancer. Dr. Chin's laboratory at the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center studies the differentiation of bladder cancer and its interplay with the tumor microenvironment. The long-term goals are to develop novel therapeutic targets, immune-based platforms, and stem cell-directed therapies against cancer. Dr. Chin's research has led to an investigator-initiated clinical trial that he is leading for patients with advanced small cell-neuroendocrine bladder and prostate cancer. More >

Ja-Hong Kim, MD

Specialty: General Adult Urology, Minimally Invasive Surgery, Pelvic Medicine & Reconstruction

Practice Location: Center for Women's Pelvic Health, Urology, Westwood Adult

Associate Professor, Division of Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Urology. Dr. Kim completed her MD at Baylor College of Medicine, Urology residency training at Cleveland Clinic, and Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery fellowship at UCLA. Her clinical areas of interest include voiding dysfunction, vaginal prolapse, and genitourinary reconstruction. She performs pelvic floor reconstruction, laparoscopic, and robotically-assisted surgery. More >

Mark S. Litwin, MD, MPH

Specialty: Bladder Cancer, Kidney Cancer, Minimally Invasive Surgery, Prostate Cancer, Testicular Cancer, Urologic Oncology

Practice Location: Urology, Westwood Adult

Chair, Department of Urology. Professor of Urology, Health Policy & Management, and Nursing. He trained at Harvard and specializes in testicular, bladder, prostate and kidney cancer. Dr. Litwin’s research focuses on improving quality of care, quality of life, and equitable access to care in urologic oncology. He created and directs IMPACT, a state-funded program that provides free medical care statewide for low-income, uninsured men with prostate cancer. He also leads several national and international research projects in prostate cancer, funded by the American Cancer Society, US Department of Defense, and Movember Foundation. He directs an NIH-funded fellowship training program in outcomes research in urologic oncology. Dr. Litwin is Founder and Co-Director of the UCLA Gender Health Program. For 14 years, he led Urologic Diseases in America, the NIH’s largest effort at documenting the burden of urologic diseases on the American people. More >

Gladys Y. Ng, MD, MPH

Specialty: General Adult Urology, Minimally Invasive Surgery, Pelvic Medicine & Reconstruction

Practice Location: Urology Center - Burbank

Assistant Clinical Professor of Urology. Dr. Ng earned her medical degree from Albany Medical College and her Masters in Public Health from Yale University. She subsequently completed her Urology Residency at UCLA and fellowship training in Genitourinary Reconstruction at Emory University. Her clinical and research interests include urologic reconstruction with a focus on both male and female pelvic conditions, as well as general urology. More >

Aydin Pooli, MD

Specialty: Urologic Oncology, Minimally Invasive Surgery, General Adult Urology, Kidney Stone Center

Practice Location: Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital

Clinical Instructor of Urology. Dr. Pooli earned his medical degree from Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS). He subsequently completed his urology residency at University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and urologic oncology fellowship training at UCLA’s Institute of Urologic Oncology (IUO), David Geffen School of Medicine. His primary research interests include working on gene expression protocols for high risk prostate and kidney cancers. His clinical work focuses on patient-centered management of urologic cancers as well as delivery of targeted therapies and tailored surgical procedures.

Robert E. Reiter, MD, MBA

Specialty: Bladder Cancer, Clinical Trials, Minimally Invasive Surgery, Prostate Cancer, Urologic Oncology

Practice Location: Urology, Westwood Adult

Professor of Urology, Professor of Molecular Biology, Chief of the Division of Urologic Oncology, Director of the Prostate Cancer Program, Co-Director of the Genitourinary Oncology Program in UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center. Dr. Reiter attended Stanford Medical School, completed urologic training at Stanford and Baylor College of Medicine, completed additional fellowship training in urological cancer at the National Cancer Institute. His clinical interests include all areas of urologic oncology, with an emphasis on prostate cancer. He specializes in robotically-assisted prostatectomy and cystectomy, as well as open surgery, with robotic experience dating back to 2004, for bladder, prostate, and renal malignancies. Dr. Reiter is involved in all aspects of urologic oncology, with an emphasis on prostate cancer, and brings extensive experience in robotic surgery and the applications of translational research and the latest in MRI and molecular imaging to the management of men with this disease. More >

Christopher Saigal, MD, MPH

Specialty: Bladder Cancer, General Adult Urology, Kidney Cancer, Kidney Stone Center, Minimally Invasive Surgery, Prostate Cancer, Testicular Cancer, Urologic Oncology

Practice Locations: Urology, Westwood Adult

Professor and Vice Chair, Urology. Clinical practice, UCLA Westwood Campus. He is also on the staff of the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Saigal has had a longstanding clinical interest in urologic cancers and the surgical treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia. His research is focused on patient-centered decision support and quality of care for urologic conditions. More >

Caroline L. Wallner, MD

Specialty: General Adult Urology, Kidney Stone Center, Minimally Invasive Surgery, Prostate Cancer

Practice Location: Urology Center - Burbank, Urology, Santa Monica

Assistant Clinical Professor of Urology. Dr. Wallner graduated from David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and then completed her general surgery and Urology residency at Loma Linda. Her clinical interests include diseases of the prostate, urinary stone disease, erectile dysfunction, and general urology. She specializes in open, endoscopic, laparoscopic, and robotic-assisted surgeries. More >