Professor Hashim Ahmed is Chair of Urology at Imperial College London, having taken on that position at the age of 41. He is currently Chair of the UK National Cancer Research Institute’s Prostate Research Group and inaugural Chair of NHS England’s Prostate Clinical Group.

His work has led to the award of the British Medical Journal Award for Innovation (2015) and the Health Services Journal Award for Innovation (2016 and 2018). He has an extensive research portfolio with £6 million in grant income as a principal applicant and co-applicant to a research programme of approximately £14 million.

He has published more than 200 peer-reviewed papers in areas that have led to key changes in the way we diagnose and treat men with localised prostate cancer. He currently holds a prestigious £2.1M Wellcome Trust Senior Clinical Research Fellowship and leads a team of 20 researchers with 10 active clinical trials.

Links to speaker’s research:

A Multicentre Study of 5-year Outcomes Following Focal Therapy in Treating Clinically Significant Nonmetastatic Prostate Cancer
Diagnostic accuracy of multi-parametric MRI and TRUS biopsy in prostate cancer (PROMIS): a paired validating confirmatory study
Do low-grade and low-volume prostate cancers bear the hallmarks of malignancy?
Population-Based Prostate Cancer Screening With Magnetic Resonance Imaging or Ultrasonography: The IP1-PROSTAGRAM Study

Jennifer Anger, MD, MPH is a dual fellowship-trained reconstructive urologist. She spent her first fellowship in urologic reconstruction with Dr. George Webster at Duke University Medical Center. This was followed by a second fellowship in urological health services research, in which she completed a master’s degree in public health at UCLA under the mentorship of Dr. Mark Litwin. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Urology Care Foundation. Dr. Anger is professor of urology and vice chair of research in the UC San Diego Department of Urology. She leads the new program in gender affirming pelvic surgery and is part of a large multidisciplinary transgender care team which provides comprehensive care for both adults and adolescents.

Links to speaker’s research

Robotic Compared With Laparoscopic Sacrocolpopexy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Comorbidities in a Nationwide, Heterogenous Population of Veterans with Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome

Human Factors in Robotic Assisted Surgery: Lessons from Studies ‘in the Wild’

Alberto Briganti (MD; PhD) is Professor of Urology at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University. Since 2018, Prof Briganti has been the Editor-in-Chief of European Urology Oncology, one of the official Journals of the European Association of Urology (IF 2021: 7.479). He has contributed to the development of several multi-institutional databases for prostate cancer staging and outcomes which have been used for improving currently available prediction models. He is the author of more than 1000 scientific works published in international peer-reviewed journals (H-Index is 82). In recognition of his academic career, in 2016 Prof Briganti received the Matula Award, assigned yearly to the most promising academic urologist younger than 40 years of age.

Links to speaker’s research:

MRI-Targeted or Standard Biopsy for Prostate-Cancer Diagnosis

IL-23 secreted by myeloid cells drives castration-resistant prostate cancer

Assessing the Role and Optimal Duration of Hormonal Treatment in Association with Salvage Radiation Therapy After Radical Prostatectomy

A Novel Nomogram to Identify Candidates for Extended Pelvic Lymph Node Dissection Among Patients with Clinically Localized Prostate Cancer Diagnosed with Magnetic Resonance Imaging-targeted and Systematic Biopsies

Sigrid V. Carlsson, MD, PhD, MPH is an Assistant Attending Epidemiologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, USA. She has 15 years of prostate cancer research experience and over 100 scientific publications. Her PhD thesis stemmed from the world’s largest study of prostate cancer screening, the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC). Dr Carlsson’s research focuses on developing risk-stratified approaches to screening, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of prostate cancer patients as well as improving shared decision making as funded by a K22 Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute.

Links to speaker’s research:

Influence of blood prostate specific antigen levels at age 60 on benefits and harms of prostate cancer screening: population based cohort study
Long-Term Outcomes of Active Surveillance for Prostate Cancer: The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Experience
Risk of Metastasis in Men with Grade Group 2 Prostate Cancer Managed with Active Surveillance at a Tertiary Cancer Center

Sam S. Chang, MD, MBA, Patricia and Rodes Hart Endowed Professor of Urologic Surgery at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee serves as the first Chief Surgical Officer at the Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center.

Since his return to Nashville, he has led efforts in integration of evidence-based medicine in clinical pathways, enhanced national guidelines formulation, improved urologic cancer staging, and promoted multi-disciplinary cancer treatment initiatives. Dr Chang has served as the Chair of the SUO Panel on Hormone Refractory Prostate Cancer, the Chair of the American Joint Committee on Cancer GU Staging Task Force, the Facilitator and Vice-Chair of the Renal Malignancy Follow-Up AUA Guidelines Panel, the Chair of the AUA/ASCO/ASTRO/SUO Guidelines on Non Invasive and Invasive Bladder Cancer, and the Chair of the AUA Prostate Cancer Core Curriculum Committee. He currently sits on the NCCN Bladder Cancer Panel, is the Chair of the AUA Public Policy Panel, and is the Editor in Chief of the American Board of Urology Examination Committee. An elected member of the AAGUS, he currently serves as Assistant Secretary of the American Urological Association. Most recently in 2021, Dr Chang was named to the AUA National Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion.

Dr Chang has authored more than 450 original publications. For his academic efforts, he received the CaPCURE Prostate Cancer Young Investigator award, SUO’s first-ever Distinguished Service Award, the AUA Gold Cystoscope Award, and the SWIU Christina Manthos Mentoring Award.

Links to speaker’s research:

Diagnosis and Treatment of Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer: AUA/SUO Guideline
Intravesical Anti-PD-1 Immune Checkpoint Inhibition Treats Urothelial Bladder Cancer in a Mouse Model
Renal mass and localized renal cancer: evaluation, management, and follow-up: AUA guideline
Treatment of non-metastatic muscle-invasive bladder cancer: AUA/ASCO/ASTRO/SUO Guideline (Amended 2020)

Dr Thomas Chi, MD, is Professor and Vice Chair for Clinical Programs with the UCSF Department of Urology. He graduated as a President’s Scholar from Stanford University with a BA in Human Biology and Masters degrees in both Sociology and Music. Dr Chi earned his medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine then completed urology residency at UCSF followed by a fellowship in Endourology and Laparoscopy.

Dr Chi has been awarded grant funding from the National Institutes of Health and the American Urological Association Urology Care Foundation to research the fundamental mechanisms underlying the formation of urinary stones. He is the 2020 recipient of the AUA Gold Cystoscope Award, which is presented annually to a urologist distinguished by outstanding contributions to the profession within ten years of completing residency training.

His clinical expertise focuses on the care of patients with urinary stone disease, benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) and those in need of minimally invasive surgery. He specialises in performing endoscopic, laparoscopic, and percutaneous stone surgeries. Dr Chi has used ultrasound guidance to create innovative radiation-free kidney stone surgeries for stone removal, representing the first program of its kind in the United States. He is also experienced in performing Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate (HoLEP) – a minimally invasive operation to treat men with an enlarged prostate.

Links to speaker’s research:

Rationale and Design of the Registry for Stones of the Kidney and Ureter (ReSKU™): A Prospective, Observational Registry to Study the Natural History of Urolithiasis Patients
The erector spinae plane block can facilitate outpatient stone surgery by reducing breakthrough pain
X-ray–free Ultrasound-guided Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy: How to Select the Right Patient?

Dr Djinovic is a General and Urogenital Reconstructive Surgeon and currently serves as Chairman and surgical team leader of the Sava Perovic Foundation.

Dr Djinovic professional memberships include: EUA (European Urological Association), ESGURS (European Society of Genito-Urinary Reconstructive Surgeons), ESSM (European Society of Sexual Medicine), ISSM (International Society of Sexual Medicine), ESAU (European Society of Andrological Urology), ESPU (European Society of Pediatric Urology), WPATH (World Professional Association for Transgender Health), SIU (Societe International de Urologie).

Links to speaker’s research

Genitoplasty in male-to-female transsexuals

Penile corporoplasty in Peyronie’s disease: which technique, which graft? 

New insight into surgical anatomy of epispadiac penis and its impact on repair. 

Tobias S. Köhler, MD, MPH, FACS, Professor of Urology, specialises in the treatment of erectile and sexual dysfunction, and BPH (enlarged prostate) in the Department of Urology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. He is head of Mayo Men’s Health and Program Director for the Mayo Andrology Fellowship. Dr Köhler is an active member of American Urological Association, North Central Section, and is the Secretary of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America. He has published more than 250 peer reviewed scientific articles, book chapters and scientific abstracts and presented both locally and nationally on various subjects including erectile dysfunction, low testosterone, BPH, surgical education, and penile prostheses.

Links to speaker’s research:

Incidence of Venous Thromboembolism and Safety of Perioperative Subcutaneous Heparin During Inflatable Penile Prosthesis Surgery
Penile implant infection prevention part 1: what is fact and what is fiction? Wilson’s Workshop #9
The Tubing, Hitch and Lasso, Intussusception Anchor (THALIA) Technique: A Novel Approach to Fixate the Penile Implant Reservoir

Silvia Proietti is a Consultant urologist at San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy. She trained in Perugia, Italy, and during her residency spent 4 months at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust of London for a clinical research fellowship in functional urology. From 2012 to 2015 she was a staff member of “Stone Center” of the Urology Department at Humanitas Clinical and Research Center in Milan. In 2015, she completed a 6-month fellowship in endourology at Tenon University Hospital under the supervision of Professor O. Traxer. She holds the position of Vice Director at the European Training Center of Endourology (ETCE) under the direction of Dr G. Giusti. Her main field of interest is in endourology, specifically in minimally invasive treatment of stones and upper urinary tract tumours. She has authored several papers published in peer-reviewed journals and won several awards at National and International meetings. She is Associate Editor of the European Urology Open Science Journal.

Links to speaker’s research:

Comparison of New Single-Use Digital Flexible Ureteroscope Versus Nondisposable Fiber Optic and Digital Ureteroscope in a Cadaveric Model
Endourological Stone Management in the Era of the COVID-19
Simultaneous Bilateral Endoscopic Surgery (SBES) for Patients with Bilateral Upper Tract Urolithiasis: Technique and Outcomes

Maria J. Ribal received her medical degree in 1994, followed by her PhD in 2002, both at the University of Barcelona. Specialist in Urology in 1999 after 5 years residency at the Hospital Clínic in Barcelona. Associated Professor of Surgery at the University of Barcelona from 2005. From December 2011 she is the Head of the multidisciplinary Uro-Oncology Unit at Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona. She is the author of over 150 international and national publications and > 350 invited lectures at conferences and courses.

Currently Chair of the EAU Guidelines since July 21 after being Vice-Chair during 2019-20 and Chair of the Dissemination EAU Guidelines Committee from 2014-2021. Member of Metastatic and Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer Guidelines 2006-2021. In 2009, during the EAU Annual Meeting held in Stockholm, she received the Crystal Matula award, a prestigious prize granted to a young promising European urological academician.

Links to speaker’s research

EAU-ESMO Consensus Statements on the Management of Advanced and Variant Bladder Cancer—An International Collaborative Multistakeholder Efforty Under the Auspices of the EAU-ESMO Guidelines Committees

A Quantitative Analysis Investigating the Prevalence of “Manels” in Major Urology Meetings

Introducing PIONEER: a project to harness big data in prostate cancer research

Dr Jeremy Teoh is the Assistant Dean (External Affairs) and Assistant Professor of the Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He has primary interest in bladder cancer and he has developed a global consensus statement on en bloc resection of bladder tumour. He is also heavily involved in the Asian Robot-Assisted Radical Cystectomy Consortium. Jeremy has published more than 200 articles in peer-reviewed journals such as European Urology, Journal of Urology and BJU International. He is also the founder of the UroSoMe (Urology Social Media) working group and he believes that social media plays an important role in the modern era of medicine.

Links to the speaker’s research:

An International Collaborative Consensus Statement on En Bloc Resection of Bladder Tumour Incorporating Two Systematic Reviews, a Two-round Delphi Survey, and a Consensus Meeting
Global Trends of Bladder Cancer Incidence and Mortality, and Their Associations with Tobacco Use and Gross Domestic Product Per Capita
Perioperative Outcomes of Robot-Assisted Radical Cystectomy with Intracorporeal Versus Extracorporeal Urinary Diversion

Professor Hana Yoon specialises in Voiding dysfunction, Neurourology, Female urology, Pelvic Rehabilitation and Reconstruction, Sexual Medicine.

She is Head Professor of the Department of Urology, at the Ewha Womans University College of Medicine in Seoul, and Chairman of the Department of Urology at the Ewha Medical Center Seoul Hospital. Prof Yoon is Chair of international exchange and affairs committee of the Korean Continence Society (KCS), and Secretary General of the
Korean Society of Study for Women’s Sexual Health (KoSSWSH). She is a member of AUA, ICS, IUGA, and ISSWSH. In the past Prof Yoon was a visiting scholar at Boston Medical Centre (Boston University School of Medicine), Beth-Israel Deaconess Medical Center Incontinence Center (Harvard Medical School), and UC San Diego.

Links to speaker’s research:

Future Targets for Female Sexual Dysfunction
Sexual pain and IC/BPS in women

Dr. Sujata Kiran Patwardhan is the Professor  & Head of Department of Urology at the premier King Edward Memorial Hospital & Seth G.S. Medical College in Mumbai, a 98 years old institute caring for 2200 patients. She graduated in 1995 from Mumbai and took charge of the Department in 2004.

She cleared the exit exams in 1995 and soon joined the Lokmanya Tilak Medical College, Mumbai as a lecturer in Urology. She was inclined to be in academics and hence dint opt for private practice.

She is a guide and teacher to 50 students who have graduated under her guidance. She has been the secretary for Zonal Transplant Coordinator Centre of Mumbai for 7 years and presently the director for Regional Organ Transplant & Tissue Organization by Central Government of India & in charge of 5 state transplant programs. She had established the Cadaver lab for training of surgeons in retrieval technique’s and responsible for allocation distribution & transplant guidelines for the region. She has a keen interest in Reconstructive Urology and Transplant and is the author of books related to these subjects & also genitourinary Tuberculosis. She was the member of the Council for West zone Urological Society & Member of the Board of Education. She is the secretary of the State Advisory Committee for Deceased Donor transplant.

The Department of urology at KEM hospital and GS Medical College has four admissions for M.Ch urology every year and indoor admission of 10,000 patients every year. It is well equipped with four Modular Operation theaters and two minor OT which function five days a week. Renal transplant, all types of endourology surgery, Laparoscopy, Reconstructive surgery are available for free to patients.

In addition Andrology and Infertility services, female urology services are available. We work in providing free services for Pediatric Transplant to Wadia General Hospital, Mumbai. .She loves to teach and is conducting online classes for urology students for the last 15 years regularly with her mentor and guide Dr Ganesh Gopalakrisnan.

Link to speaker’s research

Dr. Sarah Psutka MD, MSc is an Associate Professor of Urology in the Department of Urology at the University of Washington. She holds a co-appointment at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and is a member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Consortium. She received her undergraduate and medical degrees from Harvard University and urology residency training at the Massachusetts General Hospital. She completed a Society of Urologic Oncology Fellowship in Urologic Oncology at the Mayo Clinic, and concurrently obtained her Masters’ in Clinical and Translational Science. She previously served as the Director of Urologic Oncology at the John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County with a co-appointment as an Assistant Professor in Urology at the Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, prior to joining the faculty of the University of Washington.

Dr. Psutka’s clinical efforts focus on minimally-invasive and complex open urologic oncology, with a particular interest in advanced kidney cancer, particularly venous tumor thrombus, testicular cancer, and bladder cancer.  She leads the urologic oncology program at Harborview Medical Center and is the Associate Program Director of the UW Society of Urologic Oncology Fellowship Program.

Dr. Psutka’s research focuses on the study and development of personalized, comprehensive risk stratification measures in patients with advanced urologic malignancies. She leads research funded by the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network to study the integration of comprehensive geriatric assessments, body composition, and psychometric capital assessments in patients with advanced bladder cancer with a focus on patient-reported outcome research and development of prehabilitation interventions. She leads multiple clinical trials and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Society of Urologic Oncology Clinical Trials Consortium and the SWOG Clinical Trials Survivorship Committee. She is the Senior Editor for the Urologic Oncology Section of the AUA Core Curriculum, is on the Editorial Board of Bladder Cancer and is an Associate Editor for European Urology. She was a founder of the Society of Women in Urologic Oncology of which she is the current President.

Links to speaker’s research

Sarcopenia in Patients With Bladder Cancer Undergoing Radical Cystectomy

The European Urology Commitment to Gender Equity and Diversity: Expanding Cognitive Diversity through Inclusivity at the Podium

A Clinical Decision Aid to Support Personalized Treatment Selection for Patients with Clinical T1 Renal Masses: Results from a Multi-institutional Competing-risks Analysis

Staging the Host: Personalizing Risk Assessment for Radical Cystectomy Patients

Dr. Spiess is a senior member in the department of Genitourinary Oncology, with dual appointment in the department of Tumor Biology at the Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute as well as an appointment as full professor in the Department of Urology at the University of South Florida. Dr. Spiess serves as the assistant chief of surgical services and the medical director of Virtual Health at the Moffitt Cancer Center. He completed his urology residency at McGill University in Montreal, Canada and completed a 3-year urologic oncology fellowship at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Dr. Philippe Spiess’ clinical and research interests are in the field of penile and kidney cancer and has several research study collaborations on national and international levels. Dr. Spiess has published over 350 peer reviewed manuscripts and has edited 5 textbooks in urologic oncology. He currently serves as the director of publications for the Societe Internationale d’Urologie and on their board of directors. Dr Spiess is the vice-chair of the NCCN panel on bladder and penile cancer, president of the Global Society of Rare GU Tumors, and sits on several international editorial boards including Urologic Oncology: Seminars and Original Investigations, the Journal of the International Society of Urology (SIUJ), BJU International, World Journal of Urology, Nature Reviews Urology, Canadian Journal of Urology, and the International Brazilian Journal of Urology. Dr Spiess has served as the chair of the American Urological Association core curriculum of education. He has been invited to deliver numerous lectures both nationally and internationally.

Links to speaker’s research

NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) for Bladder Cancer

Converging Roads to Early Bladder Cancer

Updates on the use of intravesical therapies for non‑muscle invasive
bladder cancer: how, when and what

Paula has over 23 years experience in urology covering all urological subspecialities as a clinical nurse specialist.  She is currently the urology lead nurse for the largest NHS Trust in the UK and the President of the European Association of Urological Nursing (EAUN) until 2024, with the aim to facilitate the standardization of nursing care across Europe and globally.

Paula recognised in her career there was a lack of support for patients that had sexual difficulties whether this was related to psychological concerns, organic (ill health) or both.  She now sub-specialises as a psychosexual therapist after gaining a qualification in Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy. This has given her patients better access to help and support around their sexual and relationship needs. Since Covid the need to help people’s wellbeing, has become even more apparent, with a focus on more support on sexual issues and interpersonal relationships.

Achievements:

Paula completed a fast track Executive Master of Business Administration (eMBA) in Health Care, in 2013.  Which gave her the skills and knowledge to innovate change and improve on patient care and experience. She has won 10 national awards in Health and Civil Service including highly commended and proxime accessit in ‘Cancer Nurse of the Year Awards in 2016’ for raising standards of uro-oncological nursing care. In 2018 she won ‘The Urology Nurse of the Year’, based on a track record of innovation and delivering internationally on leadership.  Paula was invited to Hong Kong, China, Saudi and New Zealand to lecture on Urological Nursing Innovation and Patient Care.  In 2019 her team won the UK Macmillan Professionals Award in Quality Excellence, raising standards and improving equity across a healthcare network.

Specialist Interests:

Bladder cancer

Prostate cancer

Andrology

Psychosexual dysfunction