Fellowship History & Highlights

Candidates for a position of Urologic Oncology Fellow at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Department of Urology training program should have the following qualifications:

• Successful completion of Urology residency with board certification or eligibility.
  

• Commitment to a career involving basic or translational urologic research.

• Excellence in Urology or laboratory investigation with evidence for leadership potential as documented by letters of recommendation from program directors and faculty.

• Interest in productive urological research with a commitment to complete one or two years of basic or translational research.

• Excellence in interpersonal relationships as documented by letters of recommendation and verified by personal interview.

• Registered member of the Society of Urologic Oncology.

The selection process requires a formal application as outlined in MD Anderson GME Site, and a personal interview. Applicants are interviewed by selected faculty and scientists, including members of the Steering Committee. Written assessments are made by each interviewer. A preliminary recommendation is made following this interview. Additional documentation of individual candidates is obtained by contact with the applicant's department Chairman's and others as necessary. This additional information has been very helpful and has changed the ranking of individual candidates in the past.

Please refer to the GME Eligibility Requirements for a complete list and additional information.

Our program participates in the Society of Urologic Oncology Fellowship Match Program. Please refer to the SUO Website to view the fellowship match application, along with registration instructions and the timeline for the match. Candidates for our fellowship program must be eligible to hold a Texas medical license. Foreign medical school graduates need to have a valid ECFMG certificate and complete all three parts of the USMLE.

All applications and required documents must be received in our office two weeks before your scheduled interview dates. Interviews will be held, Monday, February 24, 2025 and Monday, April 7, 2025 for the 2026-2027 academic year. Candidates will be contacted regarding an interview date. Please send completed packets to cimedina@mdanderson.org

The following items should be incorporated into your interview packet prior to the fellowship year you are interested in:

• SUO Match Program - Registration

• SUO application

• Most current curriculum vitae

• Three letters of recommendation (one must be from your program director)

• Personal Statement

• Photo

If you are recommended for a fellowship appointment, the following are required:

• Medical school diploma

• Official medical school transcript (English translation required for foreign graduates)

• Certificates of completion from all residencies or fellowships

• Letter of good standing from current program director

• Official USMLE transcript

Additional documents required for foreign medical school applicants:

• Valid ECFMG certificate
  
  

The goals of the Urology Oncology Fellowship Program at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center are to train academic urology oncologists who are highly skilled and knowledgeable clinical surgeons who are capable of establishing comprehensive academic urologic oncology programs at other academic institutions.

The training program focuses on developing basic academic, technical, and judgmental skills and the framework necessary for conducting effective cancer management, research, and teaching. To this end, the curriculum provides each trainee with opportunities to develop fully the following characteristics of an academic urologic oncologist. The curriculum of the fellowship is based on the ACGME general competencies.

• The urologic oncologist performs complex cancer operative procedures and has acquired the knowledge necessary to plan the most appropriate therapeutic regimen.
  

• The urologic oncologist effectively integrates the principles, applications, and risks of the various therapeutic modalities into a treatment plan appropriate for each patient, based upon the tumor's natural history and proper staging.
  

• The urologic oncologist designs and executes innovative laboratory and clinical investigation strategies based upon principles of sound scientific methodology, accurate data analysis, and effective communication of results.
  

• The urologic oncologist effectively teaches clinical skills involving surgical management and multidisciplinary cancer care, based on both biological principles and research methodology.
  

• The urologic oncologist combines leadership qualities with effective interpersonal, communication, and management skills.
  

The Department of Urology is one of seven specialty departments within the Division of Surgery. UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center enjoys the unique position of being a premium clinical facility for cancer treatment and clinical and laboratory research activities conducted as part of The University of Texas. UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center is a component institution within the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest medical and health center for high quality patient care, research, and education.

Research in Urology

Our Faculty’s Research Experience:

Our Urology faculty have extensive research backgrounds in addition to their clinical experience. 

Colin P. N. Dinney, M.D., is the Professor and Chairman of Urology and the former PI of the GU SPORE in Bladder Cancer which was funded from 2001 through 2019. He maintains an active clinical practice focused on bladder cancer and a research laboratory, and continues to make significant contributions to understanding the biology of bladder cancer and the development of novel therapy for this disease. He is a former member of the Society of Urologic Oncology Executive Committee and the Founding President of the SUO’s Clinical Trial Consortium.

Research Focus

Intravesical gene therapy-The major focus of the laboratory is to develop strategies that enhance the utility of intravesical Nadofaragene firadenovec (adenoviral Interferon-© gene therapy, Ad-IFN©) for BCG Unresponsive NMIBC. Dr. Dinney is part of the original team that developed this agent, and he has overseen the clinical development of Nadofaragene firadenovec from Phase 1 through Phase 3 clinical trials.

The lab is pursuing several approaches to enhance intravesical gene therapy including:

• The identification of biomarkers that predict sensitivity and resistance to Nadofaragene firadenovec. These studies are geared to improve the response to this agent by identifying likely responders for subsequent therapy.
  

• Characterize the immune response to intravesical interferon gene therapy. Studies indicate that Ad-IFN© activates both innate and adaptive immune responses.

• Develop novel combination therapy that targets resistance mechanisms to Ad-IFN©. Preclinical and clinical studies identified that PD-1 and PD-L1 are upregulated by tumors resistant to Ad-IFN© and may mediate a resistance mechanism, namely immune exhaustion. Preclinical studies in immune competent murine models identified the increased efficacy of combination therapy of Ad-IFN© with an anti-PD-1 antibody.
  
  

Identification of predictive biomarkers for BCG therapy-The laboratory maintains an active collaboration with Dr. McConkey at Johns Hopkins to develop predictive biomarkers for BCG therapy. The initial efforts focused on identifying urine miRNA expression panels that predict response to BCG. Subsequent studies will evaluate the efficiency of isolating DNA and mRNA biomarkers from urine exosomes.

Understanding the biology of bladder cancer metastasis-The lab has a longstanding interest in understanding the biology of bladder cancer metastasis. There are actually very few preclinical models of spontaneous human bladder cancer metastasis that are available for mechanistic interrogation. The group has played a pioneering role in developing preclinical models of spontaneous bladder cancer metastasis using luciferase- and GFP labeled human bladder cancer cell lines, enabling them to quantify primary tumor growth and metastasis continuously throughout the course of experiments. They are using these models to identify the mechanisms regulating metastasis and for preclinical therapeutic studies.

Louis L. Pisters, M.D., is a professor of Urology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. His practice is limited to urologic oncology with emphasis on complex robotic and open cases. Dr. Pisters teaches surgery in African mission hospitals that are teaching hospitals affiliated with the Pan African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS). Dr. Pisters is on the PAACS board and typically travels to Africa several times a year. He has taught surgery in mission hospitals in Cameroon, Gabon and Malawi and has travelled to many other African countries for surgical meetings or examinations. Dr. Pisters is a fellow of the College of Surgeons of East, Central, and South Africa (COSECSA), which governs surgery in 14 east African countries. Dr. Pisters gives oral board examinations for COSECSA urology candidates. He has 239 publications in PubMed.

Ashish M. Kamat, M.D., is an endowed professor of Urology and Cancer Research in the Department of Urology. He is also associate editor for European Urology Oncology, editor for the UroToday Bladder Cancer Center of Excellence, and an alumnus of the AUA Leadership Program.

In the clinical and research arenas, Dr. Kamat’s emphasis is on developing novel therapies for bladder cancer, with a focus on immuno-oncology and identifying predictors of response to such therapies (e.g. the CyPRIT assay for BCG) and has designed and led several national and international studies in this area. Dr. Kamat is an exceptional educator and as Fellowship Program Director from 2005 – 2016, grew our Urologic Oncology Fellowship into the premier program in the US.  In 2016, a scholarly endowment, the "Wayne B. Duddlesten Professorship in Honor of Dr. Ashish Kamat," was created in honor of Dr. Kamatfor his work in Cancer Research and Education at MD Anderson. A full curriculum vitae and detailed list of publications can be found at https://faculty.mdanderson.org/profiles/ashish_kamat.html 

Fellows who elect to work with Dr. Kamat are always encouraged to study what interests them. You will be challenged to envision a niche for yourselves and, with his guidance, to use the opportunity in the lab as a conduit to build that academic niche, bringing your unique strengths to the table whilst simultaneously building on areas that need refinement (skill sets include lab work, cell culture, animal work, statistical analysis, grant writing, manuscript writing, trial design, networking/collaborating, IRB submission etc.). This symbiotic relationship will continue throughout your time here so that you are working on projects that you are personally invested in, rather than simply being ‘plugged into’ an existing project. 

Opportunities will also exist for fellows who are so inclined to build a network early – for mentorship and collaboration to enhance your research experience and for career support – that include national and international experts. This includes, but is not limited to resources such as the IBCG and IBCN (where Dr. Kamat is president); the AUA (Dr. Kamat is member of the AUA Leadership Program and mentor for the USSMART program); EAU (Dr. Kamat is associate editor European Urology Oncology); BCAN Think Tank; and Society of Immunotherapy for Cancer (SITC, Dr. Kamat is chair of the CIG Committee and Bladder Cancer Task Force).

This strategy – a blend of mentoring and coaching – has resulted in a successful track record of successful funding and awards for Dr. Kamat’s fellows from sources such as BCAN, ASCO, and AUA Urology Care Foundation to name a few. Additionally, his commitment to the MD Anderson alumni community parlays into many past fellows currently being in leadership positions at IBCN and IBCG, on AUA and EUA Research Councils, Study Panels, etc.

John W. Davis, M.D. is a professor and director of the Urosurgical Prostate Program in the department of Urology. His clinical interests are in patients with prostate cancer and prostate cancer screenings. Academic interests include quality of life after prostate cancer treatment, outcomes for novel techniques of robotic radical prostatectomy (single port robot, retzius sparing), and novel biopsy techniques such as transperineal. Since my appointment at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, I have been dedicated to mentoring residents, fellows and junior faculty. Recent collaborative projects include Co-Investigator for Dr. Hung’s R01 funded project "Automated Assessment for Robotic Suturing Utilizing Deep Learning Algorithms" and several neoadjuvant projects with GU Medical Oncology.

Neema Navai, M.D., is an associate professor, Urology, a native of Michigan who completed his undergraduate degree in cellular and molecular biology at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, earning class honors. He then attended the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, where he completed his medical doctorate and was admitted to the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society. Dr. Navai remained at Northwestern University for his general surgery internship and urology Residency after which he began his time here at MD Anderson as a fellow in the Urologic Oncology program. Under the mentorship of Drs. Dinney and McConkey, Dr. Navai completed two years of basic science research elucidating molecular signatures of aggressive bladder cancer and successfully competed for the prestigious AUA Foundation Research Scholars grant.

Upon completing his fellowship Dr. Navai joined as faculty in the Urology department where he has been awarded Career Development grants from the bladder cancer SPORE to study novel tools aimed at improving current staging shortfalls in muscle invasive bladder cancer through enhanced imaging and molecular profiling. He maintains a diverse portfolio of research efforts in bladder cancer, including the role of urinary and fecal microbiome signatures and treatment response, biological signatures of platinum response in nodal metastatic disease, novel clinical trials examining immunotherapy prior to surgery and improving the postoperative outcomes following radical cystectomy. In his role as surgeon scientist, Dr. Navai will focus on minimally invasive surgery for bladder cancer and urinary reconstruction.

Dr. Brian Chapin is a professor, fellowship program director and co-director of the Clinical Research Program in the department of Urology. He completed his medical school degree at Georgetown University and his urology residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. A former New Yorker, he moved to Houston in 2010 for fellowship and was recruited to the faculty at MD Anderson.

Dr. Chapin provides comprehensive care for men with prostate cancer, including counseling/diagnostics, active surveillance, open surgery or minimally invasive/robotic surgery and survivorship. His major clinical and research focus is on the treatment of high-risk localized, locally advanced and metastatic prostate cancers. He has active clinical research protocols developing the integration of surgical, radiation and medical therapies in the treatment of advanced disease. He also works closely with radiology and nuclear imaging in development of novel imaging for prostate cancer and use of theranostics in the treatment of advanced disease, through the MD Anderson Theranostic Task Force. Dr. Chapin is involved with prostate basic science/translational research program at MD Anderson, closely collaborating with several scientists and laboratories. His interest is in identifying predictive signatures to determine which patients with advanced prostate cancer will benefit most from specific therapies. Using a comprehensive multimodality approach to this disease, Dr. Chapin’s goal is to ease suffering and prolong survival in men with advanced prostate cancer.

Dr. Chapin has focused on providing active mentorship to the fellows and alumni since becoming the program director in 2016. He has been a primary mentor for fellows interested in prostate cancer, clinical trials and/or translational research. He views the success of his fellows as the primary goal of being a mentor and has demonstrated this through his unwavering support, transparency and honest approach with providing both positive feedback and constructive criticism. He and his collaborators have supported fellows with their applications to the Urology Care Foundation, to the DOD, and to multiple other funding agencies. He believes in facilitating the fellows in identifying their interest, focusing them on developing a body of work and teaching them to push back against the status quo. His efforts have demonstrated successes, which can be shown through his fellows’ high impact publications, abstract acceptances, presentations and awards. He continues to work with the MD Anderson alumni to remain involved in the fellowship program and increase their exposure and involvement in the Society of Urologic Oncology, the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the American Urologic Association.
 

As a professor of Urology, the clinical and basic science research of Curtis A. Pettaway, M.D., is centered on prostate and penile cancers with an emphasis on high-risk localized disease. The goal of my penile cancer related studies is to 1) further define host and molecular markers of cancer progression, 2) develop novel therapeutic strategies to cure locally advanced disease, and 3) to reduce the morbidity of therapy for patients with penile cancer. Our group has a wealth of experience in the management of penile cancer with the largest clinical practice in the United States that emphasizes novel strategies to reduce the morbidity of therapy while enhancing multimodal therapy for advanced penile cancer. We evaluate more than 50 new patients per year with this disease, and our prospective penile cancer database has more than 500 patients enrolled. Internationally, Dr. Pettaway serves as the United States site principal investigator for the International Penile Advanced Cancer Trial (InPACT). Nationally, he serves on the American Joint Committee on Staging for Penile Cancer. As project co-leader of our Collaborative NCI grant entitled, “Understanding and targeting of convergent immunosuppressive pathways and molecular signaling in HPV-positive and HPV-negative penile cancer,” Dr. Pettaway’s team is involved in collaborative studies defining the molecular phenotype of penile cancer with the goal of developing novel therapy.

Current prostate cancer studies are focused on defining biologic correlates of aggressive disease that may help to define a potential biologic basis for prostate cancer outcome disparities among men of African descent.
 

Surena F. Matin, M.D., a professor of Urology, has an active clinical practice treating mostly patients with kidney cancer and upper tract urothelial cancer (UTUC). His primary research efforts are based on clinical research in these two disease states, with most of his research dedicated to UTUC. He collaborates closely with Drs. Karam and Wood on clinical research and clinical trials for RCC and is the PI of our active surveillance registry. There are multiple areas of active research in UTUC, driven either by a proactively maintained clinical database, which includes several multi-institutional collaborations, or by genomic studies supported by an active UTUC tissue bank. All of these efforts are supported by private donors and former patients.

From a practice perspective, he does the entire vertical spectrum of urologic care for UTUC (from endoscopy to salvage surgery after chemo or salvage after surgical misadventures elsewhere) and RCC (active surveillance, transperitoneal and retroperitoneal robotic partials, complex open partial nephrectomy, IVC thrombectomy and cytoreductive nephrectomy). He is the lead urologist for the VHL Care Center and over the years has taken care of over 40 VHL patients, and he also sees most of the patients who are referred with Lynch Syndrome.

His administrative role as medical director of the Minimally Invasive New Technology in Oncologic Surgery (MINTOS) Collaborative Program at MD Anderson is a position encompassing all surgical departments, and which has administered the robotic surgical program since 2006 as well as supported an annual multidisciplinary MIS/robotic course for surgical trainees at no cost to the institution. Several years ago, Dr Matin also instituted a multidisciplinary cadaveric surgical anatomy course. His other extramural activities include roles as associate editor of Oncology for Urology (the Gold Journal), associate editor for Bladder Cancer, and co-chair of the Society of Urologic Oncology Winter meetings 2014-2016 and Spring meetings 2019-2020.

John F. Ward, M.D. is a professor of surgery in Urology. Fellowship trained in Urologic Oncology at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., he returned to the U.S. Navy to complete a career serving his country before joining the clinical faculty at MD Anderson in 2006. At MD Anderson, his clinical practice has become narrowly focused on patients with prostate and testicular neoplasms. His clinical practice supports his research interests in prostate cancer imaging, biopsy and ablation technology, with an emphasis on the expansion of targeted prostate cancer therapies. He has led some of the critical clinical trials and authored multiple definitive manuscripts/ book chapters that now underpin the basis for prostate cancer focal therapy. He introduced MRI/US image fusion prostate biopsy techniques to the department more than a decade ago and has grown it into one of the nation’s highest volume programs. Always looking over the horizon, he continues to expand our prostate cancer screening, diagnosis and ablative service line with novel technologies. In testicular cancer, Dr. Ward developed the department’s expansion of robotics into retroperitoneal lymph node dissection. He has been a pioneer at extending this surgery into the post-chemotherapy metastatic testicular cancer patient and for the primary surgical management of men with metastatic seminoma. He manages two large data repositories for the prostate biopsy program and patients undergoing retroperitoneal lymph node dissection. These have served as fertile ground for ongoing research.

Jose A. Karam, M.D., is a professor in Urology and Translational Molecular Pathology. He received his bachelor's degree in Biology with Distinction and earned his medical degree with Distinction from the American University of Beirut. Dr. Karam’s primary clinical and research interest is renal cell carcinoma. He is certified by the American Board of Urology, and performs open, laparoscopic, and robotic surgery, individually tailored for the needs of patients with cancers of the kidney, testis and adrenal, with a special interest in surgery for locally advanced and locally recurrent disease. Dr. Karam has a research interest in integration of targeted therapy with surgery, sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma, rare kidney cancer histologies, mouse models of renal cell carcinoma and molecular markers. He is also involved in clinical trials investigating systemic therapy in the neoadjuvant, presurgical and adjuvant settings. Dr. Karam has authored more than 220 articles, including original research, book chapters, reviews, and invited editorials. He is on the Editorial Boards of Cancer, BJU International, Clinical Genitourinary Cancer, European Urology Oncology, and serves as Section Editor (Urologic Oncology) for Annals of Surgical Oncology, and Associate Editor for Frontiers in Oncology (Genitourinary Oncology), and is a member of the American Urological Association Testicular Cancer Guideline Panel. Dr. Karam is on the Medical Steering Committee and is chair of the Grant Review Committee of the Kidney Cancer Association, and a member of the Programmatic Panel of the U.S. Department of Defense Kidney Cancer Research Program.

Justin R. Gregg, M.D., is an assistant professor of Urology and Health Disparities Research. Dr. Gregg grew up in Connecticut before moving to Nashville, where he lived 13 years during his undergraduate and medical student degrees at Vanderbilt University and Urology residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He completed the urologic oncology fellowship at MD Anderson before being recruited as a faculty member at MD Anderson. His clinical time is spent at a county facility, LBJ Hospital, where he treats all urologic malignancies, and the MD Anderson Main Campus, where he specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer.

Dr. Gregg’s research program is focused on prostate cancer biomarkers, epidemiology, dietary interventions and racial disparities. During fellowship at MD Anderson, he worked with mentors within the fields of basic science (Dr. Timothy Thompson), non-invasive biomarker discovery (Dr. Samir Hanash), and nutritional epidemiology and diet intervention (Dr. Carrie Daniel-MacDougall). During this time, he completed several analyses related to prostate cancer reclassification among men managed on active surveillance, using techniques such as proteomic and metabolomic technology, ELISA, and various analytic methods. His investigation of non-invasive proteomic-based biomarkers of disease progression on active surveillance led to an Early Career Award through the Department of Defense. In addition, as part of a collaborative prostate research team, he was involved in the discovery of a signature of metabolites and a circulating protein, Caveolin-1, that is associated with disease progression and appears mechanistically linked to a program of altered lipid metabolism in a subset of prostate cancers. Finally, through work with Dr. Daniel-MacDougall, Dr. Gregg was able to learn skills required to complete nutritional epidemiology analyses, and he has completed multiple projects related to associations of dietary factors with progression risk on active surveillance. This work led to his receipt of a Career Enhancement Award through the MD Anderson Prostate SPORE grant and an institutional research grant focused on lipid-based signature investigation and the creation of a pilot dietary intervention designed to potentially mitigate the effects of altered lipid metabolism in men with prostate cancer.

In working with Dr. Gregg as part of the urologic oncology fellowship at MD Anderson, fellows would have the opportunity to participate in investigations and clinical trials centered on diet and physical activity in men with prostate cancer. Through work with Dr. Gregg and his collaborators, interested fellows would also have the opportunity to learn skills required to perform epidemiologic analyses, particularly as they relate to nutrition and prostate cancer outcomes. Fellows may also participate in translational laboratory research related to nutritional interventions, such as biomarker discovery and correlative analyses. Finally, along with Dr. John Ward, Dr. Gregg is active in developing a focal prostate cancer therapy program at MD Anderson and interested fellows would have the opportunity to help in the design and execution of clinical trials’ investigating selection criteria and deployment of ablative therapies.

Mehrad Adibi, M.D., assistant professor, Urology, is a urologic oncologist specializing in the surgical treatment of cancers of the genitourinary system, and primarily sees patients at the MD Anderson League City Houston Area Location. He earned his medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, where he also went on to complete an internship in general surgery and residency in Urology. After residency, he completed a two-year fellowship in Urologic Oncology at MD Anderson. Dr. Adibi also holds a master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. He participated in a multitude of clinical research projects at MD Anderson and has numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals. His clinical interests include the screening, diagnosis, and surgical treatment of the full spectrum of urologic cancers, including prostate, bladder, kidney and other genitourinary cancers with expertise in open, minimally invasive and robotic surgical approaches.

Lisly Chéry, M.D., is an assistant professor in Urology. His clinical practice is exclusively in urologic oncology, and he performs open, laparoscopic and robotic surgery for prostate, bladder and kidney cancer. His research interests focuses on prostate cancer, specifically looking at prostate cancer detection and treatment in high-risk populations.

John Papadopoulos, M.D., is an associate professor, Urology., runs a busy clinical practice in the West Houston campus where he primarily sees patients with bladder, prostate and kidney cancer. He is an early adopter of MRI fusion targeted biopsy techniques to improve detection and accurate risk stratification of prostate cancer. He is a collaborator of the prostate cancer active surveillance program and prostate MRI quality improvement effort. His research interests include the evaluation of presurgical strategies to improve outcomes in the high risk, clinically localized prostate cancer space. Dr. Papadopoulos enjoys teaching residents and fellows robotic techniques in the management of urologic malignancies. In his free time, he is an avid water sports enthusiast.

Kelly Bree, M.D., assistant professor, Urology, was born and raised in Delaware and earned her medical degree from the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. She subsequently completed her urology residency at the University of California San Diego. After residency, she completed a two-year fellowship in Urologic Oncology at MD Anderson and remained in Houston to join the faculty at MD Anderson. She runs a busy clinical practice at The Woodlands campus where she sees patients with bladder, prostate and kidney cancer. Her research interests include clinical and health services research in bladder cancer. She also has special interests in quality improvement projects aimed at improving perioperative care to patients with urologic malignancies.

Byron Lee, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor, Urology, attended medical and graduate school at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where he developed an interest in urologic cancer research with a focus on cancer epigenetics. After finishing urology residency at Cleveland Clinic, he spent one year at Stanford University as a postdoctoral fellow. He then completed urologic oncology fellowship training at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He returned to Cleveland Clinic as a staff surgeon-scientist before joining the faculty at MD Anderson.

In addition to performing endoscopic and robotic surgery for bladder cancer patients, Dr. Lee leads a basic and translational research laboratory that focuses on examining the biologic effects of chromatin modifier gene mutations on the urothelium and tumor microenvironment. He has successfully competed for a Kimmel Scholar Award from the Sidney Kimmel Foundation, a Young Investigator Award from the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network, a K08 career development award from the National Cancer Institute, and a multi-PI U01 from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases that seeks to generate a single cell transcriptome and regulatory map of the human ureter and bladder. His long-term career goal is to improve the lives of bladder cancer patients through excellent surgical care and impactful research.

Brittney H. Cotta, M.D., assistant professor, Urology, specializes in the surgical treatment of cancers of the genitourinary system, with expertise in both open and minimally invasive robotic surgical techniques. She earned her medical degree from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield, Ill., followed by an internship in general surgery and residency and chief residency in Urology at University of California San Diego. She then completed a Society of Urologic Oncology accredited fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York and a NIH T32 research fellowship at University of Michigan. Dr. Cotta has numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals, and her research interests include molecular characterization and biomarker development in kidney cancer.

Brian Chapin, M.D., FACS

Professor

Program Director, Urologic Oncology Fellowship

bfchapin@mdanderson.org

Kelly Bree, MD   

Assistant Professor

Associate Program Director, Urologic Oncology Fellowship

KBree@mdanderson.org