The Department of Urology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill delivers excellence in patient care, education, and research. At UNC Urology, we provide patients with a continuum of care and support throughout their recovery process. We strive to find better techniques and treatment options, provide education for patients and their families, and continue to advocate for their needs long after they leave our program.
In addition to their work in Chapel Hill, our faculty are leaders nationally and internationally, advancing the field and mentoring the next generation of leaders in Urology.
Please join us in celebrating the many recent accomplishments of the Department:
Awards
We are proud to have the excellence and leadership of our faculty at UNC Urology, across the mission areas, recognized by patients, peers, and national organizations.
Borawski Awarded “Friend of Nursing Award”
Congratulations to Kristy Borawski, MD who this past May was recognized with the 2022 Nursing Staff Recognition Week “Friend of Nursing” Award, which recognizes the collaborative relationship between Nursing and Medical Colleagues.
Katy Reines, MD 2022 Recipient of the Robert C. Cefalo House Officer Award
Urology Resident Katy Reines, MD has been awarded one of the 2022 Robert C. Cefalo House Officer Awards. Recipients of this award demonstrate empathy for patients and their families, effectiveness in listening to and communicating with patients and families, advocacy for and demonstration of the highest standards of patient care, and maintain exemplary professional and interpersonal interactions with colleagues, staff, patients, and visitors.
2022 End of Year Department of Urology Awards
Each year as part of the annual department banquet to celebrate the graduating resident and fellows, other standout residents and attendings are acknowledged for their accomplishments throughout the preceding academic year.
Dr. Kathryn Gessner Recipient of 2022 BCAN John Quale Travel Fellowship Award
Congratulations to Dr. Kathryn Hacker Gessner who has been awarded one of BCAN’s 2022 John Quale Travel Fellowship Awards. This award will support Dr. Gessner’s attendance the 2022 BCAN Bladder Cancer Think Tank, which is being held this August in Denver, Colorado.
Ibardo Zambrano, MD, MS Receives Prestigious Pope Clinical Trainee Award
Congratulations to Dr. Ibardo A. Zambrano who has been selected to receive one of 2022’s prestigious Pope Clinical Trainee Awards. Supported by the John William Pope Foundation, awardees are named by the University of North Carolina’s Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and honors emerging physician-researchers for excellence, accomplishment, and dedication to cancer research and clinical care.
Drs. Milowsky, Nielsen, Smith “World Experts” in Urinary Bladder Diseases
Expertscape’s PubMed-based algorithms have recently labeled three notable UNC Physician Researchers as “World Experts,” placing them in the top 0.1% of scholars writing about Urinary Bladder Diseases over the past 10 years. Drs. Matthew Milowsky, Matthew Nielsen, and Angela Smith are all listed in the top 50 of the researchers pulled into Expertscape’s web-based algorithm designed to act as a resource for physician and patients alike.
Nielsen Honored with H. Fleming Fuller Award
Matt Nielsen, MD, MS, Rhodes Distinguished Professor and Chair, Department of Urology, was honored with UNC Health’s H. Fleming Fuller Award at a meeting of the UNC Health Board of Directors. Dr. Nielsen received extensive nominations submitted from colleagues from across UNC Health and the UNC School of Medicine.
American Urological Association Honors Smith With Gold Cystoscope Award
The American Urological Association presented Angela B. Smith, MD, MS, FACS with the 2022 Gold Cystoscope Award, an award presented annually to a urologist distinguished by outstanding contributions to the field of urology. Dr. Smith is being honored for her outstanding leadership and contributions in bladder cancer outcomes research and is only the third woman to earn the award since its inception in 1977. In addition to providing clinical and surgical care focused on bladder cancer, Dr. Smith is the principal investigator or co-principal investigator of several national studies, and she is an internationally recognized expert in bladder cancer, stakeholder engagement, patient-reported outcomes in urology, and mHealth interventions.
View Last Year’s (2021) Awards and Recognition News
National Leadership
Alongside their efforts in Chapel Hill, UNC Urology faculty members provide substantive leadership in service to multiple national organizations in urology.
Bjurlin Featured on AUA’s Podcast About Prostate Cancer and mpMRI
Marc Bjurlin, DO, MSc, FACOS was recently interviewed by Dr. John Davis of The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas for the American Urological Association’s podcast, the AUA PUB Stream. On the podcast Drs. Bjurlin and Davis covered Dr. Bjulrin’s recent work on multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) and the standard operating procedures for diagnosis, staging and management of prostate cancer.
Smith Talks Bladder Cancer on AUA’s Podcast – PUB Stream
Angela Smith, MD, MS was recently interviewed by Dr. John Davis of The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas for the American Urological Association’s podcast, the AUA PUB Stream. On the podcast Drs. Smith and Davis talked about using social media to curate journal content along with some recent Bladder research highlights and the significance of these studies for patient treatment and outcomes.
UNC Urology at 2022 Southeastern Section AUA Meeting
Dr. Angela Smith provides a first-hand account of the 86th Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Section of the AUA from Puerto Rico where multiple faculty, and residents participated including Drs. Bjurlin Borawski, Figler, Smith, and Hayon.
Dr. Nielsen Approved as Next Chair of the AUA Science & Quality Council
Congratulations to Matthew Nielsen, MD, MS, FACS who has been approved by the Board of Directors of the American Urological Association’s (AUA) as the next chair of the Science and Quality (S&Q) Council. Dr. Nielsen will assume the role of chair-elect on June 1, 2021 and serve a four-year term as Chair, starting 2022. As the S&Q Council Chair, Dr. Nielsen will provide strategic oversight to shape and execute on the broad science, quality, and data agenda of the AUA including: Creation, dissemination, and implementation of clinical guidelines and white papers, Maintenance of the AUA Quality (AQUA) Registry, Development and implementation of physician performance measures, Advancement of patient safety initiatives, Monitoring of federal, state, and local quality healthcare programs, and Formation and execution of data projects.
View Last Year’s (2021) National Leadership News
Education
The UNC Urology residency, ranked #17 in the country in the US News / Doximity Residency Rankings, attracts candidates from top medical schools around the country, who go on to be leaders in urology across the spectrum of practice settings.
UNC and Duke Urology Residents Hold Friendly Axe-throwing Social Meetup
While they may be “cross-town rivals,” the collegiality between the two urology residency programs is continually being fostered. Recently, the UNC Urology Residents joined up with fellow future Urologist at Duke for a friendly axe-throwing competition held at downtown Durham’s Urban Axes.
UNC Urology’s 2022 Residency Program Rankings
Since the first rankings in 2014, UNC Urology’s Residency Program has steadily climbed the national rankings published annually by Doximity as part of their Residency Navigator Tool. The camaraderie among our residents and between faculty makes UNC a unique program and our residents have been extraordinarily successful in obtaining top fellowship matches if they choose to pursue additional training.
Celebrating the Department of Urology’s 2022 Graduating Residents and Fellows
While saying, “see you later” to our graduating residents is never easy – we’re thrilled to watch them move to the next phases of their careers. Dr. Mark Ehlers will be starting their practice at Aurora Health Care in Milwaukee, WI. Dr. Solomon Hayon is starting a fellowship in Andrology at Northwestern University in Chicago, IL. And Dr. Liem Snyder is starting a fellowship in Transgender Medicine at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, UT.
UNC Urology matches Zach Feuer, MD for Urologic Oncology Fellowship
We are excited to welcome Zach Feuer, MD as our 2023-2025 Urologic Oncology Fellow. Dr. Feuer is interested in exploring value-based care initiatives for urologic oncology patients, which serve to incentivize high-quality care.
Borawski named Director of Learning Environment for Undergraduate Medical Education
Dr. Kristy Borawski has been named Director of the Learning Environment for Undergraduate Medical Education starting June 1st, 2022. In this new role, Borawski will manage all learning environment reports for Undergraduate Medical Education.
Match Day 2022 – UNC Urology Residency Class of ’27
Congratulations to Drs. Emma Bethel (University of Michigan), Brooke Spratte (UNC Chapel Hill), and Hersh Trivedi (UT Southwestern) – our UNC Urology Residency Class of ’27. We look forward to greeting you all in Chapel Hill later this year.
View Last Year’s (2021) Education News
Patient Care
UNC Urology is committed to providing our patients with a personalized and caring experience that supports health, delivers value, and is free from harm.
UNC Urology and Pediatric Urology Ranked #29 & #37 in the Nation in U.S. News & World Report
UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill was recently ranked nationally across four adult specialties in the latest edition of the U.S. News’s “Best Hospitals” report. UNC Hospitals is cited as the #2 hospital in North Carolina while UNC Health Rex in Raleigh is rated as the #3 and CarolinaEast Medical Center in New Bern is 12th.
UNC Urology Walks to End Bladder Cancer
The Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network held its annual 2022 Walk to End Bladder Cancer, presented by the NC Triangle Chapter of the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network on Saturday, April 30 in Southern Community Park in Chapel Hill. The event was organized by Mary Dunn, a UNC Urology Nurse Practitioner and tireless advocate for patients with bladder cancer. Mary was joined by our UNC Genitourinary Oncology team as well as many other patients, advocates, healthcare professionals, and families.
KOELIS® MRI Fusion Biopsy System Introduced at UNC Health
Recently, as a result of generous funding from the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, the KOELIS® MRI Fusion Biopsy System was brought to UNC by the Prostate Cancer Diagnostic & Treatment Research Program. This all-in-one solution is currently one of the most advanced medical MRI-Ultrasound fusion system for providing accuracy at every step of the prostate cancer patient journey from biopsy and active surveillance to treatment and follow-up.
Cousins team up to support oncologist, research
Hall said she wants to support Smith, and that her work has really impressed her. “I have known Dr. Smith for several years, and her research is brilliant,” Hall said. “She’s a tremendous asset, not only to us in North Carolina, but anywhere in the world. We’re lucky to have doctors like her here.”
View Last Year’s (2021) Patient Care News
Professional Development
UNC Urology attracts talented faculty from around the country, and we are proud of our faculty’s development into leaders in the field.
Angela Smith, MD, MS Promoted to Professor with Tenure
lease join us in congratulating Dr. Angela Smith! With this promotion, Dr. Smith is the first female Professor with Tenure in the UNC Department of Urology and, to our knowledge, the youngest faculty member in a surgical discipline to achieve this rank at UNC.
Borawski named Director of Learning Environment for Undergraduate Medical Education
Dr. Kristy Borawski has been named Director of the Learning Environment for Undergraduate Medical Education starting June 1st, 2022. In this new role, Borawski will manage all learning environment reports for Undergraduate Medical Education.
View Last Year’s (2021) Professional Development News
Research
Our faculty are leading a variety of practice-changing research efforts to define the standards of care in the field.
Bjurlin Member of Research Team Awarded NIH R01 Grant
Congratulations to Marc Bjurlin, DO, MSc who, alongside Primary Investigator and NYU Associate Professor Stella Kang, MD, MSc, have be awarded a National Institute of Health R01 Grant for “Tailored Screening for Urinary System Cancers in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease.” The R01 Grant is backed by $2.7M from the National Cancer Institute and will support the efforts of creating a simulation model for urinary system cancer screenings that account for cancer-specific morbidity and mortality as well as competing mortality risks. The project will also include stakeholder input on the acceptability of the benefits and harms for patients.
Chan Awarded Funding from UNC Caregivers at Carolina Program for Latinx Adaptation of the Hypospadias Hub
Congratulations to Katherine Chan, MD, MPH who has received a 2022 UNC Caregivers at Carolina Program Award. This award will further support Dr. Chan’s ongoing research in hypospadias care.
Friedlander Awarded NC TraCS Pilot Grant to Lay Foundation for Point of Care Decision Aid for At-risk BPH Populations
Congratulations to David Friedlander, MD, MPH on being awarded an NC TraCS $5-50K pilot grant. This grant will fund 1 year of Dr. Friedlander’s continued research into the medical and surgical management of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Part of the grant is supported by matching funds from the UNC Men’s Health Program led by fellow UNC Urologists Drs. Eric Wallen and Cully Carson.
Drs. Milowsky, Nielsen, Smith “World Experts” in Urinary Bladder Diseases
Expertscape’s PubMed-based algorithms have recently labeled three notable UNC Physician Researchers as “World Experts,” placing them in the top 0.1% of scholars writing about Urinary Bladder Diseases over the past 10 years. Drs. Matthew Milowsky, Matthew Nielsen, and Angela Smith are all listed in the top 50 of the researchers pulled into Expertscape’s web-based algorithm designed to act as a resource for physician and patients alike.
UNC Urology at 2022 Southeastern Section AUA Meeting
Dr. Angela Smith provides a first-hand account of the 86th Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Section of the AUA from Puerto Rico where multiple faculty, and residents participated including Drs. Bjurlin Borawski, Figler, Smith, and Hayon.
UNC Urology Releases Impact Measurement Visualizations for Department Publications
In conjunction with the Research Hub at the UNC Health Science Library, The Department of Urology recently published Impact Measurement Visualizations for the last 5-years of department publications. The data summary and visualizations can be viewed on the Department of Urology’s website and feature interactive maps of our vast publication community network and breadth of publication topics.
Tan, Lazard, Song, and Nielsen Awarded Nearly $1M US Department of Defense Kidney Cancer Research Grant
It is with great enthusiasm that the Department of Urology announces that a multidisciplinary research team at UNC has been awarded a prestigious Idea Development Award from the US Department of Defense Kidney Cancer Research Program (KCRP). Hung-Jui (Ray) Tan, MD, MSHPM (UNC School of Medicine Department of Urology), alongside co-investigators Alison Lazard, PhD (School of Media and Journalism), Lixin (LEE) Song, RN, PHD, FAAN (School of Nursing), and Matthew Nielsen, MD, MS, FACS (UNC School of Medicine Department of Urology) have been awarded a 3-year, $929,618 grant to improve the decision-making experience for patients by personalizing how they receive information about their possible kidney cancer. The project will build from an existing clinical trial supported by the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.