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 >

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 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 >

Nicholas Donin, MD

Specialty: General Adult Urology, Urologic Oncology, Prostate Cancer, Minimally Invasive Surgery

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

Staff Physician and Voluntary Assistant Clinical Professor of Urology. After graduating from Harvard University, he received his medical degree from Columbia University in New York City and completed his internship and residency at New York University. He then completed a 2-year Urologic Oncology Fellowship at UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. His clinical and research interests include Urologic Oncology, minimally invasive robotic surgery for treatment of both benign and malignant urologic conditions, as well as general urology. He has authored over 30 peer-reviewed publications and 2 book chapters. He is fluent in conversational Spanish, and sees patients in the UCLA Health offices in both Santa Clarita and Burbank.

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 of Urology, Division of Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery. 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 >

Stephanie Pannell, MD, MPH

Specialty: General Adult Urology, Minimally Invasive Surgery

Practice Location: Urology, Santa Monica

Staff Physician and Voluntary Assistant Clinical Professor of Urology. Dr. Pannell earned her medical degree from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and then completed her urology residency at UCLA. She also obtained a Master of Public Health degree in Epidemiology from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Her clinical interests include diseases of the prostate, bladder, and kidneys, and she specializes in open, endoscopic, laparoscopic, and robotic surgeries.

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, Bing Research Chair in Urology, 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 of 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 >

Brian Shuch, MD

Specialty: Kidney Cancer, Minimally Invasive Surgery, Urologic Oncology

Practice Location: Urology, Westwood Adult

Associate Professor of Urology, Director of the Institute of Urologic Oncology Kidney Cancer Program, Henry Alvin and Carrie L. Meinhardt Chair for Kidney Cancer Research. Dr. Shuch completed his urology training at UCLA followed by a Urologic Oncology Fellowship at the National Cancer Institute. He is an accomplished surgeon (open/laparoscopic/robotic/and percutaneous) and clinical/translational researcher. He serves in leadership positions within various kidney cancer research organizations such as SWOG, the SUO CTC, and the KCA. He is recognized as an expert in the genetics of kidney cancer and runs an NIH-funded laboratory with 100 peer reviewed publications including primary research published in prestigious journals such as Nature Genetics, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Clinical Cancer Research. More >

Renea Sturm, MD

Specialty: Pediatric Urology, Minimally Invasive Surgery

Practice Location: Urology, Santa Monica, Urology, Westwood Pediatrics

Assistant Professor of Urology. Dr. Sturm’s practice as a pediatric urologist focuses on the care of children with congenital defects and illnesses that involve the kidneys, bladder and genitalia. As a surgeon, she has a particular interest in minimally invasive robotic-assisted and endoscopic surgery. Her work as a basic and translational scientist is motivated by the long-term needs of children in her care with a focus on improving monitoring and treatment options for children with neurogenic bladder and hypospadias. Dr. Sturm earned her medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine, completed her urology residency training at the University of California, Davis, and her fellowship in pediatric urology at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Northwestern University. More >

Caroline L. Wallner, MD

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

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 >