Chief, Uro-Oncology Program, Memorial Healthcare System

I am the chief of urologic oncology at Memorial Healthcare System. I care for patients with urologic malignancies including prostate cancer, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, testis cancer and penile cancer. I also specialize in laparoscopic and robotic surgery and perform robotic prostatectomies, robotic partial and radical nephrectomies, robotic cystectomies, vasectomies and other procedures. Robotics allow us to perform the same surgeries with minimal incisions and blood loss, rapid recovery and short hospital stays.

At Memorial, I work closely with medical oncologists, radiation oncologists and other medical specialists to create and execute personalized treatment plans for patients. This individualized approach to care, as well as our dedication to patient engagement and superior outcomes, ensures we are delivering the most comprehensive care.

In addition to providing excellent patient care, I am proud to consider myself a leader in my field helping to educate others through my leadership in our local, regional and national organizations as well as my academic publications aimed at pushing the field forward. I’m very involved in national urology associations and write extensively about urologic oncology. I am an associate editor of both Advance Prostate Cancer Practice Updates Advanced Prostate Cancer and Clinical Genitourinary Cancer, and a reviewer for several other medical journals. I have published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters.

I am also actively involved in clinical research exploring various aspects of prostate cancer, and have received numerous grants to fund further exploration.

Before joining Memorial, I served as associate professor of urology and chief of section urologic oncology at Tulane University School of Medicine, and chief of urology and  robotics at Southeast Louisiana Veterans Heath Care System in New Orleans. I have complete extensive oncologic fellowship training at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York where I was also junior faculty.

Related Medical Services

• Urological Cancer

Hospital Affiliations

• Memorial Hospital Miramar
• Memorial Hospital Pembroke
• Memorial Hospital West
• Memorial Regional Hospital

Gender

• Male

Languages

• English

• Aquablation Therapy

Education

State Univ Of Ny Syracuse College Of Medicine, 2004

Internships

University Of California San Diego, 2005, Surgery

Residency

University Of California San Diego, 2010, Urology

Fellowships

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 2013, Urology

Certifications

American Board of Urology-Urology

Publications

Research

My research focuses on prostate cancer, exploring new treatment options as well as racial disparities and potential connections between the disease and other conditions, such as obesity. 

Recent and ongoing projects include:

• The role of IL-17 in obesity-associated prostate cancer progression, 2018-22
• High-speed automated intraoperative microscopy of the prostate circumference to ensure tumor-free margins in radical prostatectomy, 2018-22
• The role of active surveillance for prostate cancer in African American men, 2017-18
• AR-V7 Splice Variants in Prostate cancer and Racial Disparity, 2018-22
• GSK3 as a checkpoint between obesity and prostate cancer progression, 2018-22
• Blood-circulating exosomes as biomarkers for highrisk prostate cancer, 2019-22

Professional Organizations

• Alpha Omega Alpha 
• American Urological Association 
• Society of Urologic Oncology 
• American Society of Clinical Oncology 
• American College of Surgeons 
• Society of Laproendoscopic Surgeons 
• Society of Robotic Surgery 
• Endourological Society 
• National Cancer Institute Member

Awards

• Masters of Business Administration 2018
• Fellow Academy of the College of Surgeons (FACS) 2017 
• SESAUA 2016, Finalist Montague Boyd Essay Contest 2016 
• CityBusiness Health Care Hero 2015 
• AUA 2015, New Orleans: Best Video Abstract- Award Winning Video 2015 
• European Association of Urologists 26th Congress, Vienna, Best of Session 2011 
• Western Section AUA: Best of session Poster; 1st place 2009 
• Western Section AUA: Miley B. Wesson Resident Essay Contest winner 2008 
• UCSD Laurence F. Greene Award for AUA In-service Performance 2008, 2010 
• Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) 2003 
• Student Investigator Scholarship, American Society of Hematology 2002 
• Commendation from the Committee on Academic Promotions, SUNY 2001, 2002 
• Dean’s List: University of Pennsylvania 1999