ABU - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- CERTIFICATION COORDINATOR
Amy joined the ABU in 2006 and is the Certification and Subspecialty Certification Coordinator for the American Board of Urology. She has a strong urology background, as her previous work experience includes Administrative Assistant to two Urology physicians and a nurse practitioner at the University of Virginia Department of Urology. Amy is a native of picturesque Nelson County, Virginia, adjacent to the Charlottesville location of the ABU office. Amy lives on a farm with her three children, husband, and four Australian Cattle dogs. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, farming, and raising Australian Cattle dogs.
Charlie is the IT Coordinator at ABU. In his role, Charlie keeps the computer systems at ABU running while always keeping a finger on the pulse of new technologies to provide ABU Staff and diplomates with the best technological experience possible. In his free time, Charlie is a content creator, DJ, loving husband to his wife Amy, and father to their two children and a multitude of pets.
Job Titles:
- TRUSTEE
- Professor and Chair of the Department of Urology
Dr. Lee is Professor and Chair of the Department of Urology at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center where she holds the Dorothy M. Davis Endowed Chair in Cancer Research. She is also the Vice President of the OSU Physicians and Faculty Group Practice.
She obtained her undergraduate degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and her medical training at the Albany Medical College. She completed her Urology residency at the University of Michigan and her fellowship in Urologic Oncology at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She was a member of the faculty at the University of Michigan for 16 years, during which time she served as Fellowship Director in Urologic Oncology, was the Director of the Office of Continuous Professional Development within the College of Medicine, and was the inaugural holder of the Dr. Robert H. and Eva M. Moyad Research Professorship. She moved to OSU in 2016.
Her medical professional focus is dedicated to improving the care of bladder cancer patients through advocacy, education and research. She has served the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network as the President of the Scientific Advisory Board and a current member of its Board of Directors. She is a past-member of the SUO Board of Directors and currently serves as its liaison to the AJCC. She also previously served on the Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society, Lakeshore Division, and the National Medical Association. Throughout her career, she has worked to improve the surgical outcomes for bladder cancer patients through interdisciplinary research, clinical trials, and outcome studies.
Dr. Lee is active in the education of students, residents, and practicing urologists. She has supported educational initiatives through her roles on the AUA Education Council, AUA Science and Quality Council, and the AUA Update Editorial Board. She has played a key role in the board certification of urologists in America through her service on the ABU/AUA Examination Committee, the ABU Oral Board Examination Committee, and the Oncology Knowledge Assessment Test Committee of the SUO.
Dr. Lee is originally from New York, though has lived in the Midwest for most of her adult life. She is married to William (Bill) Amato, and has two children, Jackson and Ashton.
Dean of Clinical Affairs; Chief Executive Officer of UC San Diego Health Physician Group; Professor, Department of Urology, UC San Diego Health. Dr. Kane leads the clinical environment at UC San Diego Health including the sixty-five ambulatory clinics and the professional practices of the UC San Diego Faculty and providers. He serves on the Executive Governing Board of UC San Diego Health Sciences and the Executive Committee of UCSD's Clinical Integration Network.
Dr. Kane is an internationally recognized expert in prostate cancer and kidney cancer epidemiology, risk stratification and outcomes after treatment. He completed his urology residency at Oakland Naval Hospital and UC San Francisco. He earned his medical degree at Uniformed Services University and his BS degree in mechanical engineering at UC Davis. Kane served as the Urology residency director at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego from 1995-2001. He was also the Surgeon General's Advisor for Urology from 1998-2001. Dr. Kane then joined the faculty at UCSF, where he was Division Chief at the VAMC from 2001-2007. He joined UCSD as Division Chief and Urology Program Director in 2007. Urology became a clinical department in 2013 and became a new academic department at UCSD in 2017 with Kane as the Founding Chair. He also served as Interim Chair of the Department of Surgery from 2013-2015 and Senior Associate Director of Cancer Surgery from 2016-2018.
He was Co-Chair of the Renal Cell Carcinoma Advisory Task Force, National Cancer Institute from 2009-2016. He is on the NCCN treatment guidelines in prostate cancer committee. He was elected to the American Association of GU Surgeons in 2014 and to the Clinical Society of GU Surgeons in 2017. He was selected as a "Top Doctor" in San Diego in 2008-2019 and was selected as one of two Physician Healthcare Champions for 2010 in San Diego by the San Diego Business Journal. He was awarded the Distinguished Engineering Alumni Medal by UC Davis in 2011. He is a retired Navy Captain and a decorated veteran of Desert Storm. Dr. Kane has authored more than 360 publications and book chapters, primarily on prostate cancer risk factors and outcomes, prostate cancer surgery, and minimally invasive surgery for prostate and kidney cancer.
Chris M. Gonzalez, MD, MBA, FACS is a native of Toledo, Ohio. He graduated from Denison University in Granville, Ohio with a BS degree in 1989. Afterwards he obtained his MD degree from the University of Iowa College of Medicine in Iowa City, Iowa. Dr. Gonzalez then completed both his general surgical and urologic residency training at the McGaw Medical Center, Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Gonzalez served in the US Army National Guard from January 1991 - January 2001. He joined the Northwestern University Department of Urology in 2000 following residency, and was appointed Professor of Urology in 2011. He served as Chief of Urology for the VA Lakeside from 2003 - 2006 and completed his MBA degree from the Northwestern Kellogg School of Management in 2006. He was the Director of Surgery for the Northwestern Medicine Surgical Services Department from 2014 - 2015. Dr. Gonzalez was the Lester Persky Professor and Chair of the Urology Institute at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio from 2015 to 2018. He is currently the Albert J. Jr. and Claire Speh Professor and Chair of Urology for the Loyola University Medical Center and Stritch School of Medicine in August 2018. Dr. Gonzalez was named the Chief of Surgery for the Loyola University Medical Center in September 2021.
He is the Associate Editor for the Genitourinary Reconstruction Section of Urology, section editor for the "Hands On" section of Urology Times, and Section Editor for the Urology Practice journal. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Genitourinary Reconstructive Surgery Society, and he was a member of the first International Consultation on Urologic Stricture Disease, and the first Urethral Stricture guidelines panel for the American Urological Association (AUA).
Dr. Gonzalez served as the Chair for the AUA Public Policy and Practice Management from 2016-2020. Previous to this position he served as Vice Chairman of the AUA Quality Improvement and patient Safety Committee and Public Policy and Practice Management. He is a former AUA Gallagher Health Care Policy Scholar and was a member of the second AUA Leadership program class. Dr. Gonzalez has served on the AUA BPH Guidelines Committee, AUA expert panel to the AMA RUC, and he is now a senior editor on the ABU Examination Committee. He was the President of the Chicago Urological Society in 2014. Dr. Gonzalez is a member of the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons.
Dr. Gonzalez has published over 150 peer reveiwed manuscripts, review articles, invited editorials, and book chapters. He has had funded research in the past with a NIH pilot project in the area of prostate cancer screening in underserved populations, and an ambulatory care process improvement award from the Grant Healthcare Foundation. His recent focus has been on patient reported outcome measures in the area of genitourinary reconstruction, practice patterns in reconstructive urologic surgery, practice integration of advanced practice providers, and the urology workforce shortage in the United States. His areas of clinical specialty include urethral stricture disease, salvage of failed hypospadias surgery, genitourinary fistula disease, erectile dysfunction, penile prosthetic placement, Peyronie's disease, and penile curvature correction.
An extroverted Midwesterner, Cindy has been a Staff Associate at the ABU since 2015, where her communication skills, Anthropology degree and propensity to serve the common good all nicely come together. She handles verification provision for the Board and contributes writing and editorial work as needed. As the daughter of a retired urologist and nurse, she engages well with the constituency and even appreciates their humor(!). When not assisting Diplomates and Candidates, Cindy enjoys outdoor activities, art, cooking and volunteering.
Dr. Bock has been practicing urology in Kansas City since completing his training at the Mayo Clinic in 1991. He has special interest and expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of benign prostatic enlargement, kidney stone disease, male and female urinary incontinence, and cancers of the urinary tract. Additionally, Dr. Bock has extensive experience in the field of endoscopic urologic surgery.
Dr. Bock is actively involved in a number of clinical studies in many areas of urology. He serves as principal investigator in the majority of these studies.
Dr. Bock is certified by the American Board of Urology and is licensed in both Missouri and Kansas. He is a member of the American Urological Association, the American Association of Clinical Urologists, Metropolitan Medical Society, the South Central Section of the American Urological Association, and the Kansas City Urological Society.
Job Titles:
- LLL CHAIR
- Professor of Urology
Dr. Joseph is a native of Wisconsin and has an undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University. He completed medical school training at the University of Wisconsin and continued with urology residency at the University of Wisconsin. He went on to fellowship training in pediatric urology at Boston Children's Hospital/Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Joseph is currently Professor of Urology within the Department of Urology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is Chief of Pediatric Urology at Children's of Alabama and holds the Beverly P. Head endowed chair in pediatric urology. Dr. Joseph has a special interest in pediatric neurourology and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Spina Bifida Association.
Dr. Joseph is a member of several organizations including a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a past President of the Society for Pediatric Urology. Dr. Joseph has served on the ABU/AUA Joint Examination Committee as a member, consultant and past chair. He became a Diplomate of the ABU in 1987, recertified in 1995, 2005 and added Subspecialty Certification in Pediatrics in 2008.
Job Titles:
- LEARNING LEVEL 1 COORDINATOR
Donna joined the ABU in 2012, becoming the Level 1 Lifelong Learning Coordinator in 2016. Donna takes great pride in her work, guiding Diplomates through their first level of the Lifelong Learning program. In her casual time, she enjoys spending time with her family, music, reading, sports, her adopted cat Tiger, adopted pup Isabella, and the beach.
Dr. Christopher L. Amling, FACS, is the John Barry Professor and Chair of the Department of Urology at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) where he also serves as Director of Robotic Surgery. He received his undergraduate education from the University of Oregon and his medical degree from OHSU. He did his surgery and urology residency training at Duke University Medical Center and then completed a fellowship in urologic oncology at the Mayo Clinic. Dr. Amling served in the US Navy for 20 years, attaining the rank of Captain. Before coming to OHSU in 2009, he was Program Director and Chair of Urology at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego and then Chief of the Division of Urology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Dr. Amling has a longtime interest in resident training and experience in the development and assessment of resident evaluation tools. In collaboration with the ACGME, he developed the SECR resident competency evaluation system in 2001 which was made available via the ACGME website to program directors of all specialties. He served on the Urology Residency Review Committee (RRC) for six years and has been a member of other national committees related to resident education including the ACGME Urology Milestones Project Committee and the ACGME Advisory Committee on Education Outcome Assessment. Dr. Amling was Chair of the Fellowship Committee for the Society of Urologic Oncology and also served as President of the Society of University Urologists in 2009.
Dr. Amling has been on several national AUA committees including the Education Council, Research Council and the Public Media Committee, and is the recipient of the AUA Gold Cystoscope Award in 2009. He has served on the Board of Directors for both the WSAUA and SESAUA, and currently serves as President-Elect of the WSAUA. He is a member of multiple professional organizations including the American Surgical Association (ASA), the Western Urologic Forum (WUF), the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons (AAGUS) and the Clinical Society of Genitourinary Surgeons (CSGUS). Dr. Amling has contributed over 215 peer-reviewed publications, many of which have focused on prostate cancer risk assessment and treatment outcomes. His clinical practice focuses on the utilization of robotic and minimally invasive surgery for the treatment of genitourinary malignancies.
Job Titles:
- TRUSTEE
- Member of the Florida Urologic Society
- Member of the Mayo Clinic Florida Staff
- Professor of Urology
Dr. Gregory A. Broderick is Professor of Urology, Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine and Program Director of the Urology Residency Mayo Clinic in Florida. Dr. Broderick earned his M.D. from the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, following his degree he completed an internship at Yale-New Haven Hospital in general Surgery. He then returned to the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine to complete his residency in Urology. After residency, Dr. Broderick completed fellowship at the University of California Davis in the Neuro-Urology and Impotence. As a junior faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, he was a Fellow in Robert Wood Johnson Minority Medical Faculty Development Program.
Dr. Broderick has been a member of the Mayo Clinic Florida staff since 1998, and has served on Continuous Professional Development Committee, Graduate Medical Education Committee, Personnel Committee, and Academic Appointments and Promotions Committee. He established the Urologic Residency in 2000, and has served as Vice-Chair to the Graduate Education Committee in Florida. In recognition of his dedication to graduate education, he was honored by Jacksonville Business Magazine as an Innovator in Education and by Mayo Clinic Florida as Distinguished Educator of the Year, in 2016. The Distinguished Educator Award is given to faculty demonstrating long-term excellence, leadership and an unusually high level of commitment to learners in educational activities. Since 2000 he has been listed in America's Top Doctors, by Castle Connolly and has multiple recognitions as one of Jacksonville's Best Doctors in the Jacksonville Magazine. His practice is focused on Men's Health: Erectile Dysfunction, Peyronie's disease, Urethral Stricture Disease, Male Stress Incontinence, and BPH.
Dr. Broderick is an active member of the Florida Urologic Society, Southeastern Section AUA and the American Urological Association. He is a longstanding member and Fellow of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America; he is SMSNA past-President. He is currently an Executive Committee member to SMSNA and the SMSNA Foundation. In 2011 he served as Co-Chair to the first Cancer Survivorship and Sexual Health Symposium hosted by the International Society of Sexual Medicine. He has served as a co-author of AUA Clinical Guidelines for Priapism, Premature Ejaculation, and Erectile Dysfunction. He has served on the Sexual Health Function Council to AUA Foundation, Section Editor for AUA Core Curriculum on Priapism, Diversity and Inclusion Committee to AUA and Survivorship Committee to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN, 2018-2021).
Dr. J. Brantley Thrasher is the William L. Valk Distinguished Professor and former chair of the Department of Urology and the Co-Director of Operative Services at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas. A native of South Carolina, he completed his Medical Degree at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina, an internship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C., and his urology residency at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado. He subsequently completed a urologic oncology fellowship at Duke University Medical Center. He served for three years as Program Director for the Urology Residency Program at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington, and after completing his military obligation, he was appointed as Chair in 1998.
He is immediate Past-President of the American Urological Association (AUA), Past-President of the Society of Urology Chairpersons and Program Directors, Past-President of the Society of Urologic Oncology, and a previous member of the Residency Review Committee for Urology. He has served as the Vice-President of the American Board of Urology and as the South Central Section Representative to the AUA Board of Directors. He is a Diplomat of the American Board of Urology, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a member of the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons, and a member of the Clinical Society of Genitourinary Surgeons. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Award from the AUA in 2015, for 15 years of service to academic and organized urology, and was also awarded the Distinguished Service award from the Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO), in 2017. He stepped down as Chair of the Department of Urology in June 2016, in order to dedicate more time to his position and service for the AUA. He is currently Executive Director of the American Board of Urology.
Dr. Thrasher has served on numerous national committees, including the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC), as the Kansas State Representative to the Board of Directors of the South Central Section of the American Urological Association (AUA), as the Chair of the Fellowship Committee for the Society of Urologic Oncology, and as a member of the American College of Radiology Expert Advisory Panel on Prostate Cancer. He has served as Chairman of the Metropolitan Kansas City Committee on fellowship applicants for the American College of Surgeons, President of the South Central Section of the AUA, the South Central Section representative of the AUA Board of Directors, and the South Central Section Health Policy Committee. He was previously the Chair of the Public Media, Practice Guidelines and Prostate Cancer Guidelines (vice-chair) Committees, a mentor for the AUA Leadership Program, a member of the Best Practice Policy Panel on Cryotherapy for the Treatment of Prostate Cancer, the Chair of the Prostate Cancer Literature Review Panel and the Audio-Visual Committee of the AUA.
In addition to giving over 400 presentations at local, national, and international meetings, he has written over 200 manuscripts, book chapters, and monographs in the field of urology. He currently serves as Coordinating Editor for Practical Reviews in Urology, an Associate Editor for the book, "The 5-Minute Urology Consult;" and as an Editorial Consultant for Urology Times.
Job Titles:
- TRUSTEE
- Associate Editor for Journal of Urology
- Chairman of the Department of Urology
Dr. Toby C. Chai, is Chair of the Department of Urology at Boston University School of Medicine, Chief of Urology at Boston Medical Center, and President of Boston University Medical Center Urologists, Inc. Dr. Chai received his B.A. degree from Johns Hopkins University and M.D. degree from Indiana University School of Medicine. He completed a urology residency at University of Michigan Medical Center. Following residency, he did a post-doctoral research fellowship at University of Virginia Health Sciences Center.
Dr. Chai was on faculty at University of Maryland School of Medicine, rising to Professor with tenure and holder of the John D. Young endowed Professorship. He then moved to Yale University School of Medicine where he was Professor and Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Urology. In 2019, he assumed the position of Chair of Department of Urology at Boston University School of Medicine, Chief of Urology at Boston Medical Center, and President of Boston University Medical Center Urologists, Inc. Dr. Chai leads the urology service in an urban academic health center whose mission is to provide exceptional care without exception with a vision to make Boston the healthiest urban population in the world by 2030.
Dr. Chai has been actively involved in urologic research to seek improvements in urologic care. He received career development awards from the American Foundation for Urologic Diseases (AFUD) and a K08 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) prior to receiving independently funded investigator-initiated research awards from the NIH as principal investigator including R01, U01 and P20 grant mechanisms. He has been recognized for his academic accomplishments including the Society of Basic Urologic Research (SBUR) Young Investigator Award; the Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine & Urogenital Reconstruction (SUFU) Zimskind Award and Distinguished Service Award; the American Urological Association (AUA) Victor A. Politano Award for outstanding work in treatment of urinary incontinence and innovations in bladder research and Distinguished Service Award for work on urologic research advocacy. He is a recipient of the Continence Champion award from the advocacy group, National Association for Continence.
Dr. Chai serves as an Associate Editor for Journal of Urology and on the Editorial Board for American Journal of Physiology - Renal Physiology. He has served as both a charter member and ad hoc member of numerous NIH grant review committees. He was a charter member for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Bone, Reproductive, and Urologic Drug Advisory Committee.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- TRUSTEE
- Professor of Surgery
Dr. Gormley is a Professor of Surgery (Urology) at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire. She received a BA in English and her medical degree at the University of Saskatchewan. While completing her residency in Urology at the University of Alberta, she earned an MSc in Experimental Surgery. She then completed a fellowship in Female Urology and Voiding Dysfunction. Dr. Gormley is a member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and is Board Certified by the American Board of Urology with sub-certification in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery.
Dr. Gormley' s interests are in female urology, voiding dysfunction and resident education. She was the Program Director for the Urology Program at Dartmouth-Hitchcock from 2001-2020 and now serves as the Associate Program Director. Dr. Gormley was awarded the ACGME "Courage to Teach" Award and is a member of the Geisel Academy of Master Educators. She is a member of the Appointments, Promotions and Titles Committee for the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.
Dr. Gormley was the Chairman of the NIDDK's Urinary Incontinence Network and is a Past President of the Society for Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine and Urogenital Reconstruction (SUFU). She is a Past President of the Society of Urology Chairmen and Program Directors (SUCPD). Dr. Gormley served on the AUA/ABU Exam Committee as a member and consultant and is an oral board examiner for the American Board of Urology. She was on the ACGME Urology Residency Review Committee. Dr. Gormley previously served on the AUA Stress Incontinence Guidelines Committee and Chaired the AUA Overactive Guidelines Panel. She is a former Assistant Editor for the Journal of Urology and Urology Practice. She is the Assistant Editor for AUA Updates. Dr. Gormley is a member of the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons.
Dr. Gormley is an Associate Member of the Committee on Certification for the American Board of Medical Specialties. A Past President and former Secretary for the New England Section of the AUA, Dr. Gormley currently serves as the New England Section's representative to the Board of the American Urologic Association.
Fran has been with the ABU for six years. Fran started as a Staff Associate and has evolved into an IT Associate. Fran oversees application processing for both subspecialties (Pediatric Urology and FPMRS). She handles all practice log submissions, working diligently with candidates and Diplomates to ascertain a smooth process. In her free time, Fran enjoys reading, puzzles, cruising around the world with her boyfriend and friends, and spending time with her God-girls.
Job Titles:
- Professor and Vice Chair of Education
Gary Lemack, M.D., is a Professor and Vice Chair of Education in the Department of Urology UT Southwestern Medical Center and is the holder of the Rose Mary Haggar and Helen J. and Robert S. Strauss Professorships. He and has a secondary appointment in the Department of Neurology. He is board certified in Urology and Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery. He served as the Residency Program Director in the Department of Urology from 2006-2021 and was the Program Director for the Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship from 2014-2019.
His clinical specialties include urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, overactive bladder, and voiding dysfunction in the setting of neurologic disease. In particular, he cares for patients with bladder conditions stemming from spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, and movement disorders such as Parkinson's Disease. He performs complex urinary diversions for patients with severe bladder disorders due to congenital and advanced neurological diseases.
Dr. Lemack earned his medical degree from Cornell University and performed his residency at The New York Hospital - Cornell Medical Center. His fellowship training at UT Southwestern focused on incontinence, urodynamics, and neurourology. Dr. Lemack has been a faculty member at UT Southwestern since 1999.
Dr. Lemack's clinical research has focused on the use of urodynamic studies in patients with lower urinary tract dysfunction/incontinence, and on establishing best urological practices in the care of patients with multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, and other neurological conditions. He was one of the original nine sites for the NIDDK funded Urinary Incontinence Treatment Network.
Dr. Lemack is a Past President of the Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine, and Urogenital Reconstruction (SUFU). He has earned both the Paul Zimskind and Distinguished Service awards from SUFU, two of the highest honors that the Society bestows. He is President of The American Board of Urology and currently serves at the Chair of the Oral Examination Committee for the Board.
Dr. Lemack has been a co-author for three guidelines from the American Urological Association (Urodynamics, Stress Urinary Incontinence and Neurogenic Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction). He also served as the lone American representative on The European Association of Urology Incontinence Guidelines. He has authored over 160 original articles and over 25 book chapters. He has been Visiting Professor at 25 locations throughout the United States, South and Central America and Australia.
Dr. Wolf has served on the Boards of Directors of the Michigan Urologic Society, the Endourological Society, and the Society of Academic Urologists. He currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Texas Urological Society. He chaired the American Urological Association (AUA) Practice Guidelines Committee, and was the inaugural chair of the AUA Science & Quality Council. At the University of Michigan, Dr. Wolf received the Silver Cystoscope Award for Urology Residency Teaching Excellence 3 times (1999, 2002 and 2005). He was appointed the inaugural David A. Bloom Professor of Urology in 2006. The Department of Urology awarded him the Faculty Service Award in 2011 and the Outstanding Achievement Award in 2012. He was inducted into the League of Educational Excellence of the University of Michigan Medical School in 2015, and that year he also received the inaugural Program Director's Award from the Endourological Society and was the Malcolm Coptcoat Lecturer for The British Association of Urologic Surgeons. In 2010, Dr. Wolf was elected to the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons. In 2018, he started a 6-year term as a Trustee of the American Board of Urology. In 2019, Dr. Wolf received a Distinguished Service Award from the AUA.
An author of over 325 peer-reviewed articles and videos, and over 175 invited publications, Dr. Wolf has served on the editorial boards of 12 journals. His scholarly work has been recognized by awards and/or research grants from the American Foundation for Urologic Disease, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Endourological Society, the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, and the AUA and 2 of its Sections.
James McKiernan, MD, the John K. Lattimer Professor of Urology, is the chair of the Department of Urology of the College of Physicians and Surgeons and urologist-in-chief at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia. Dr. McKiernan is only the sixth physician to hold this title since the founding of the department in 1917. The Department of Urology, one of the oldest and most distinguished in the nation, consistently ranks among the top in New York and throughout the United States. New York-Presbyterian's urology program ranked No. 5 in the latest U.S. News & World Report ranking of America's best hospitals. In 2015, the department ranked No. 7 in NIH grant funding among academic Urology departments in America.
Dr. McKiernan graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a BA in biology and received his MD from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He completed his training in urology and general surgery at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, followed by a urologic surgical oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. McKiernan's clinical practice is focused in urologic oncology and particularly on surgical therapy in high-risk patients with bladder and kidney cancers. Dr. McKiernan evaluates and treats over 1000 patients with bladder cancer every year. His research, funded by NIH and biotechnology industry grants, focuses on developing novel therapeutics for bladder cancer treatment as well as comparative effectiveness research in urologic oncology. In the management of kidney and bladder cancer, he has special expertise in organ preservation and reconstructive surgery to maximize quality of life. Dr. McKiernan's research has been published in Cancer, Cancer Research, the Journal of Clinical Oncology, JAMA Oncology, Journal of Urology, Urologic Oncology, and Urology. He has authored and co-authored more than 220 scientific articles and book chapters on urologic cancer and related issues.
For the past 10 years, he has directed a research team at Columbia University Medical Center investigating quality outcomes and effectiveness in urologic cancer surgery. He has served as the Vice Chairman for the AJCC TNM Staging Task Force, Co-Chair of the AUA Guidelines Panel on non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, as well as on the American Board of Urology and Society of Urologic Oncology Examination Committees. In addition, Dr. McKiernan is the principal investigator of the NIH-funded clinical trials program of experimental therapeutics in bladder cancer at Columbia University/NYPH, which is investigating new agents for bladder preservation in patients whose cancer has recurred after standard therapy. In collaboration with researchers at Columbia's Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, his team continues to develop new therapeutic strategies for managing bladder cancer.
Job Titles:
- LEARNING LEVEL 2 COORDINATOR
- Learning Level 2 Coordinator and Policy Coordinator
Jim Surgener is the Lifelong Learning Level 2 Coordinator and Policy Coordinator for the Board. When he is not assisting Diplomates with their recertification requirements, he enjoys spending as much time as possible participating in activities with his family.
Job Titles:
- TRUSTEE
- Chief of the Department of Urology at Houston Methodist Hospital
Kathleen Kobashi is Chief of the Department of Urology at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas. Prior to this, she served as Section Head of Urology and Renal Transplantation at Virginia Mason Medical Center for 14 years and Director of VM's Pelvic Floor Center. She received her B.A. at Wellesley College and her M.D. at Hahnemann University in Philadelphia, and completed her urologic residency at the University of California, Irvine followed by a Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery (FPMRS) fellowship at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles before joining Virginia Mason in 1999. She is currently pursuing her Executive MBA at the University of Michigan.
In addition to her passion around clinical medicine, Dr. Kobashi is dedicated to research and education of patients and future urologists. She is a mentor for the AUA Leadership program, and she founded the VM FPMRS fellowship in 2003 and a new Urology residency in 2014, for which she served as the Program Director. Dr. Kobashi has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on topics related to urinary incontinence and pelvic prolapse and has been invited faculty on the subject around the globe. She is the Immediate Past President of SUFU (Society for Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine and Urogenital Reconstruction), the Immediate Past President (first female) of the Western Section AUA and will begin her term as a Trustee of the American Board of Urology in 2022. She is the Associate Editor of Urology Practice, and the Societe Internationale d'Urologie Journal. She received the 2006 Continence Care Champion award from the National Association for Continence, the prestigious Paul Zimskind Award from SUFU in 2010, and a Presidential Citation from the American Urological Association in 2013.
Job Titles:
- DIRECTOR of OPERATIONS
- EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
Lindsay joined the ABU in 2006, acting as Executive Assistant/Director of Operations since 2016. She is the mother of three adventurous, lively, and fun-loving kids. A graduate of Virginia Tech (VT), achieving VT literary recognition, Lindsay is an avid writer and poetry enthusiast. In her free time, Lindsay enjoys traveling, photography, rock shows, the outdoors, and her two dogs.
Job Titles:
- TRUSTEE
- Professor of Urology
Dr. Cain is a Professor of Urology in the Department of Urology, University of Washington School of Medicine. He is Co-Chief of the Division of Urology, Director of Regional Surgical Services, and Director of Surgical Ambulatory Care for Seattle Children's Hospital.
Dr. Cain graduated from medical school at Oregon Health Sciences University in 1987. He completed his residency in urology at Albany Medical Center, followed by a two-year fellowship in pediatric urology at the Mayo Clinic.
He was a member of the urology faculty at Georgetown University for two years, then spent the next 23 years at Riley Hospital for Children and the Indiana University Department of Urology. He served as the Robert Garrett Professor of Urology and Chief of Pediatric Urology until moving to Seattle in 2019. His primary clinical interests are surgical reconstruction of congenital anomalies of the genitalia, complex lower urinary tract reconstruction, management of prenatal urologic abnormalities, and surgical management of urinary tract obstruction. Dr. Cain has published over 290 articles and book chapters regarding various topics in pediatric urology, but with a focus on both long-term and patient centered outcomes of urologic reconstruction. He has been an invited lecturer and Visiting Professor internationally in multiple countries throughout North America, Europe, India, Africa, South America and Asia.
Dr. Cain has served on the Examination Committee for the ABU for several years, most recently as chair of the Pediatric Urology Exam Committee and is an Oral Exam Committee member. He recently served as the Assistant Editor for Pediatric Urology for the Journal of Urology. He is a past member of the Executive Committee of the Society for Pediatric Urology and Section on Urology of the AAP, and Past Chair for the Section on Urology of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He is Past-President and Executive Committee member of the Society for Fetal Urology.
Dr. Cain is a native of the Pacific Northwest, and he enjoys the many fruits of the area including hiking mountains in the high Cascades, fly fishing on remote streams with his family, and Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. He is married to Charla Cain, has three adult children; Chelsea (Cain) Maclin, Alexandra (Cain) Wildeson, and James Cain, and a grandson Quinn Maclin-Cain.
Job Titles:
- SYSTEMS ENGINEER
- in 2020 As a Systems Engineer
Matt joined the ABU in 2020 as a Systems Engineer. In his role, Matt helps keep computer systems running smoothly while doubling as a developer for the candidate/Diplomate portal. In his free time, Matt enjoys playing games, both tabletop and on his computer.
Job Titles:
- STAFF ASSOCIATE & ASSISTANT EXAM COORDINATOR
Melissa joined the ABU in 2016 from upstate New York. Melissa has dual roles at the ABU, serving as both Staff Associate and Assistant Exam Committee (EC) Coordinator. Her MBA from the University of Phoenix serves her role as Assistant EC Coordinator quite well as she is responsible for each ABU exam publication. Melissa has been married to her best friend, Steve, for fourteen years. In her spare time, Melissa enjoys watching her son, Aiden, explore the world, kayaking, hiking, and spending time with JR, the family dog.
Pam Hall is a Staff Associate at the American Board of Urology. She joined the American Board of Urology in 2019. Her previous work experience includes employment at the University of Virginia Department of Urology as a medical coder. Pam is a native of charming Nelson County, Virginia. Pam lives on the scenic Rockfish River with her dog and her life partner. In her spare time, she enjoys the outdoors and is an avid birdwatcher.
Rachel is a Staff Associate at the American Board of Urology. She joined the American Board of Urology in 2019. Her previous work experience includes employment at the University of Virginia Department of Urology as a medical coder. Rachel is a native of captivating Nelson County, Virginia. Rachel lives in a historic district of the county with her dog, Remi. In her spare time, she enjoys travel, the beach, and spending time with her niece and nephews.
Wulan joined the ABU in 2010 and promptly acquired the role of Meetings Coordinator in 2012. Her savvy negotiating skills are untouchable. Before joining the ABU, Wulan resided in Jakarta, Indonesia, where she graduated from the University of Indonesia and subsequently taught English at a private elementary school. Wu is the mother of a fiery and charming young lady, Skye. She is passionate about traveling, history, food, and fashion.