The UCLA Department of Urology provides cutting edge diagnosis and treatments, and supports a staff of renowned physicians, surgeons and researchers. Demonstrating continued excellence in the field of Urology, the UCLA Department of Urology along with its varied Centers of Excellence, is often the subject of stories in newspapers, magazines, and journals. The Department also frequently issues news releases to keep the community informed on the latest developments in urology, the treatments available at UCLA, and various milestones within the Department. We include here a collection of recent stories, and an archive of older articles, for your further information.
Consistently Ranked as One of the Top Urology Programs in the Country
UCLA Urology consistently ranks as one of the top urology programs in the nation by U.S.News & World Report for over 20 years. To be included on the Best Hospitals Honor Roll, a medical center must be ranked very high in at least six of the 16 specialties.
Article on health.usnews.com > | Story on uclahealth.org >
January 21, 2022
The results of a large study led by UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers, including Robert Reiter, MD, MBA and Matthew Rettig, MD, could help guide treatment planning for patients with high-risk prostate cancer. Results are published in the Jan. 20 issue of JAMA Oncology.
January 14, 2022
Dr. Christopher Saigal, professor and vice chair of UCLA Urology, was quoted in Renal & Urology News about a study that indicates that prostate cancer ADT has fewer cardiovascular risks than expected.
January 4, 2022
Dr. Jesse Mills, director of the Men’s Clinic at UCLA, wants men to pay more attention to their health. His new book, A Field Guide to Men’s Health, boasts seven chapters that cover topics such as sex, strength and fitness, nutrition, resetting the body, immunity, and fertility, among others. He spoke with UCLA Health Connect about ways in which men can improve their overall health.
December 10, 2021
Dr. Efe Chantal Ghanney Simons, urology resident, was interviewed by Urology Times about improving diversity in the field of urology and her recent Society of Women in Urology’s 2021 Outstanding Resident Award. She noted, "If you start thinking about recruitment at the medical school level or university level, we're probably a bit too late. Early engagement of the world of urology with high school, with middle school, with college, [and] getting people to know the field is [very important]." Read >
December 10, 2021
Isla Garraway, MD, PhD -- Urology Times interviewed Isla Garraway, MD, PhD, associate professor of urology and member of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, about her SUO session on early detection and treatment of prostate cancer. She said, “It’s really important to look at the pathology we’ve learned before considering these patients for active surveillance treatment.” Read >
December 10, 2021
Dr. Jesse Mills - GQ Magazine interviewed Dr. Jesse Mills, Associate Clinical Professor of Urologyirector of the Men's Clinic at UCLA, about healthcare for men and his new book, A Field Guide to Men’s Health: Eat Right, Stay Fit, Sleep Well, and Have Great Sex - Forever.” Read >
December 3, 2021
Mark S. Litwin, MD, MPH -- NBCLX hosted Dr. Mark S. Litwin, Professor and Chair of UCLA Urology, for a segment on testicular cancer awareness. Watch the video >
December 3, 2021
Grant for Virtual 3D Tumor Map
Dr. Joseph D. Shirk, Assistant Professor of UCLA Urology, received a prestigious grant from the Margaret E. Early Medical Research Trust to study how a virtual 3D tumor map can improve bladder cancer surgery by potentially allowing surgeons to better understand the shape and boundaries of these tumors and lead to consistent, complete surgical removal. He hopes to validate surgical innovations to incorporate them into clinical practice across the spectrum of urologic oncology. Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Newsroom > and UCLA Newsroom >
November 15, 2021
Arnold Chin, MD, PhD -- Healio spoke with Arnold I. Chin, MD, PhD, associate professor of urology at UCLA, about new treatment options for bladder cancer, the importance of multidisciplinary care, efforts to help increase bladder cancer awareness and more. Read more and watch the videos >
November 1, 2021
Brian Shuch, MD -- Know your treatment options for kidney cancer. “Every patient is different”. At the recent CURE® Educated Patient® Kidney Cancer Summit, Dr. Brian M. Shuch (associate professor of urology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, director of the Kidney Cancer Program and the Alvin & Carrie Meinhardt Endowed Chair in Kidney Cancer Research at UCLA and a member of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and Stem Cell Biology Program) explained the various treatment paths a patient may go down after receiving a diagnosis. Read more >
October 29, 2021
Sriram Eleswarapu, MD, PhD, a reproductive urologist and assistant clinical professor of UCLA Urology, was interviewed by Giddy to discuss whether media ads have boosted awareness about and treatment for Peyronie’s disease. Read more >
October 12, 2021
Dr. Jesse Mills - Inverse interviewed Dr. Jesse Mills, Associate Clinical Professor of Urology and Director of the Men's Clinic at UCLA, about the relationship between mental health and sexual health. Read more >
September 28, 2021
Litwin and Garvey: 9 years + counting on Fans for the Cure."The interaction between patient and doctor, I believe, really is as critical as the skillset of the doctor, him or herself." - Dr. Mark S. Litwin, chair of the Department of Urology at UCLA Health; director, Testicular Cancer Program, Institute of Urologic Oncology and member of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center's Cancer Control and Survivorship Program. Dr. Litwin and baseball legend Steve Garvey discuss how they met, their shared prostate cancer journey, and changes in the management of the disease. Listen to “Litwin and Garvey: 9 Years + Counting” podcast >
September 17, 2021
Giddy interviewed Dr. David Yao, Staff Physician and Voluntary Assistant Clinical Professor of UCLA Urology, about “6 Questions to Ask Your Doctor If BPH Is a Concern.” Read more > Dr. David Yao also discusses prostatitis with Giddy as well as the most common urinary tract problem in men ages 50 and younger. Read more >
September 17, 2021
Pre-visit benign prostatic hyperplasia decision aid provides valuable insights and optimizes care. Learn about new research by Dr. Christopher Saigal, professor and vice chair of UCLA Urology, that shows how online patient decision aids are well-received by patients. Read more >
August 26, 2021
UCLA Urology researchers will present their latest research and clinical advancements at the 2021 American Urological Association Annual Meeting. Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Newsroom >
August 9, 2021
Dr. Ja-Hong Kim - Women voice frustration over current care for recurrent urinary tract infections. A study led by senior author Dr. Ja-Hong Kim, an associate professor of urology and assistant fellowship director for female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery at UCLA Health, and published in the Journal of Urology highlights the need for better alternatives to antibiotics and more strategies to prevent UTIs. UCLA Newsroom > and UCLA Health Newsroom > The study was also picked up by Spectrum News 1. Syndication: mynewsLA; Mega Doctor News; Patch Southern California
July 19, 2021
Dr. Jesse Mills - Inverse interviewed Dr. Jesse Mills, Associate Clinical Professor of Urology, about the vasectomy procedure and the physical recovery process beyond pain as well as the mental health impacts. Read more >
July 2, 2021
Jeffrey Veale, MD -- Innovative Kidney Donor 'Voucher' System Is Saving Lives. It sounded like an unusual idea: Coupons for kidneys. However, Jeffrey Veale, MD, a kidney transplant specialist at UCLA Health, was intrigued. A 64-year-old man wanted to donate a kidney to his 4-year-old grandson, who had chronic kidney disease but wouldn’t need an organ transplant for many years. The grandfather wondered if he could donate now, while he was healthy, and give his grandson a kind of “credit” to receive a kidney in the future. Thus the kidney voucher program was born. UCLA Health Connect Blog >
June 21, 2021
Matthew Rettig, MD -- An NBC Today feature on James Michael Tyler, the actor who played sarcastic coffee shop employee Gunther on “Friends,” includes an interview with Matthew Rettig, MD, medical director of the UCLA prostate cancer program. Read the story >
June 17, 2021
Jeffrey Veale, MD -- Dr. Jeffrey Veale, Professor of UCLA Urology and Director of the UCLA Kidney Exchange Transplantation Program, recently performed the 5,000th paired exchange transplant at UCLA. The UCLA recipient was a standard voucher holder whose donor facilitated an earlier chain of three transplants. The kidney came from a family voucher donor at Mayo Clinic Rochester. Read the National Kidney Registry press release >
June 2, 2021
Mark S. Litwin, MD - ‘Everything just stopped': Olympian Nathan Adrian on his life-changing battle with testicular cancer'. NBC 6 interviewed Dr. Mark S. Litwin, chair of urology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, on common symptoms of testicular cancer in men.
June 2, 2021
Dr. Mark Litwin - Over the last year, the COVID-19 pandemic posed new challenges to patients seeking access to health care. For transgender and nonbinary people, such challenges separated them from quality, affirming care and in many instances, paused or prevented life-changing procedures. A new study out of UCLA’s Gender Health Program, for which Dr. Mark S. Litwin is the co-director, aims to understand the ways the pandemic has specifically affected the health care experiences of transgender and nonbinary patients. Read more >
April 15, 2021
The American Urological Association’s (AUA) Teaching Award, sponsored by the AUA Residents and Fellows Committee, is presented annually to recognize an outstanding urology educator who has dedicated a portion of their career to teaching residents and advancing urologic education. This year, 25 urologists from across the country were nominated in recognition of their commitment to urologic training, including Christopher Saigal, MD, MPH, Professor and Vice Chair of UCLA Urology.
April 9, 2021
Sriram Eleswarapu, MD, PhD, a reproductive urologist and assistant clinical professor of UCLA Urology, was featured on Insider about debunking 19 myths about getting pregnant and fertility.
April 1, 2021
Los Angeles Magazine has published its annual list of “Top Doctors” in Los Angeles and 12 UCLA Urology physicians have been recognized in the 2021 guide as among the city’s best doctors. Congratulations to Drs. Chad Z. Baxter, Karim Chamie, Alexandra Drakaki, Steven Lerman, Mark Litwin, Leonard Marks, Jesse Mills, Robert Reiter, Christopher Saigal, Jennifer Singer, Jeffrey Veale and David Yao.
March 22, 2021
Dr. Mark Litwin - UCLA Urology is recognized for its contribution to NIH funding at UCLA. The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA received $590 million in NIH funding in 2020, putting it second in the nation among all academic medical centers in NIH support. In the UCLA Department of Urology, NIH grants fund a range of research, from very basic bench science to translational research to clinical trials to population health and implementation science. Read more >
February 26, 2021
Amar Kishan, MD -- Shorter, stronger radiation course effective for high-risk prostate cancer. Healio highlighted a new UCLA study published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics finding that shortening the length of radiation treatment to five days in larger doses is safer and more effective for men with prostate cancer. Research was led by Amar Kishan, MD, assistant professor of radiation oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, vice-chair of clinical and translation research, and chief of the Genitourinary Oncology Service at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.
February 24, 2021
Amar Kishan, MD -- Model helps predict which patients will benefit most from PSMA PET Scan. ScienMag, UroToday and Medical Xpress highlighted a new UCLA study that helps identify which patients with prostate cancer will benefit most from the use of prostate-specific membrane antigen PET imaging, or PSMA PET. Research was led by Amar Kishan, MD, assistant professor of radiation oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and researcher at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. UCLA Health Newsroom >
February 24, 2021
Robert Reiter, MD -- Dr. Robert Reiter, chief of the UCLA Division of Urologic Oncology and co-director of the Genitourinary Oncology Program in UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, received the 2020 Larry and Camille Ruvo-Prostate Cancer Foundation Special Challenge Award, along with UCLA researchers Dr. Paul Boutros and Dr. Huihui Ye.
February 23, 2021
According to an examination of posts on Reddit, the findings show that people with kidney stones have been less likely to seek treatment during pandemic. The paper’s lead authors are Tommy Jiang, a second-year medical student at the David Geffen School of Medicine, and UCLA urology residents Dr. Vadim Osadchiy and Dr. James Weinberger. The senior authors are UCLA urology assistant clinical professor Dr. Sriram Eleswarapu and associate clinical professor Dr. Jesse Mills. UCLA Newsroom > This study was also highlighted on Medical Xpress and Science Blog.
February 12, 2021
Vidit Sharma, MD -- ASCO Post and WSAZ-TV highlighted a UCLA study presented at the 2021 ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium finding a correlation between reduced levels of screening for prostate cancer and an increase in diagnosis of metastatic disease. Research was led by Vidit Sharma, MD, health services fellow in urologic oncology at UCLA Health and the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. This story was also featured on MDedge, Medscape, Healio and MDalert.
February 5, 2021
Amar Kishan, MD -- MedicalXpress and ASCO Post highlighted a new UCLA study published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics finding shortening the length of radiation treatment to five days in larger doses is safer and more effective for men with prostate cancer. Research was led by Amar Kishan, MD, assistant professor of radiation oncology and urology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, vice-chair of clinical and translation research, and chief of the Genitourinary Oncology Service at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. Labroots and Press From syndicated the ASCO Post story.
February 5, 2021
Robert Reiter, MD -- Renal & Urology News and Healio highlighted a new UCLA study published in the Journal of Urology that finds MRI frequently underestimates tumor size in prostate cancer. Research was led by Robert Reiter, MD, co-director, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Genitourinary Oncology Program and professor of urology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
January 19, 2021
Drs. Litwin & Frencher -- As institutions across the country grapple with ways to address disparities among low-income and vulnerable communities, UCLA Health looks to its recent history in helping to found health care system Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital (MLKCH). Dr. Mark S. Litwin, UCLA Urology Chair, and Dr. Stan Frencher, Associate Professor of UCLA Urology and Director of Urology and Chair of Perioperative Services Department at MLKCH, play pivotal roles in UCLA Health's partnership with Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital and the commitment to address health care inequities to improve the health of the whole community. Learn more at UCLA Health Connect >
January 14, 2021
Robert Reiter, MD -- Cancer researchers awarded grant to study genomic alterations in prostate cancer. Robert Reiter, MD, Professor of UCLA Urology and director of UCLA’s prostate cancer program, Paul Boutros, PhD, UCLA Urology researcher and , director of cancer data science at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Huihui Ye, MD, MS, of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, have received the 2020 Prostate Cancer Foundation Special Challenge Award to help improve the understanding of prostate cancer biology and identify new ways to help prevent, diagnose, prognose and treat lethal prostate cancer. UCLA Health News Release >
January 8, 2021
Jeffrey Veale, MD -- CNN en Español aired a story about Diego Quiroz, a toddler who is UCLA’s youngest patient to receive a kidney transplant during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jeffrey Veale, MD, director of the UCLA Kidney Exchange Transplantation Program, performed the transplant and was interviewed.
January 7, 2021
Robert Reiter, MD -- A study led by researchers at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has found that magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, frequently underestimates the size of prostate tumors, potentially leading to undertreatment. The senior author is Dr. Robert Reiter, Professor of UCLA Urology and director of UCLA’s prostate cancer program. Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Newsroom >
January 7, 2021
UCLA gains approval for prostate cancer imaging technique. HealthDay, My News LA, Medscape, Becker’s Hospital Review and six other outlets reported on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of a new imaging technique for prostate cancer that locates lesions in the pelvic area and other parts of the body to which the tumors have migrated. The prostate-specific membrane antigen PET imaging, or PSMA PET, was a collaboration between the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. The UCLA research team, led by nuclear medicine faculty, includes UCLA Urology’s Robert Reiter, MD, Professor and Director of the Prostate Cancer Program, and Matthew Rettig, MD, Professor and Medical Director of the Prostate Cancer Program. Both were lead investigators for the clinical trials that led to the FDA approval.
