Robert Martin Weiss MD, FACS, FAAP

Donald Guthrie Professor of Urology; Director, Pediatric Urology

Biographical Info

Robert M. Weiss, M.D. is Donald Guthrie Professor of Surgery/Urology and Director of Pediatric Urology at the Yale University School of Medicine / Yale New Haven Hospital. Bob Weiss was Chief of Urology at the Yale University School of Medicine / Yale New Haven Hospital from 1986-2011 and was the Interim Chair of Surgery from 1999-2001. Following graduation from Franklin and Marshall College he received his M.D. Degree from the State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center. He took an internship in medicine on the Cornell Division at Bellevue Hospital. Following a tour in the Army at Camp Century, Greenland, a base located 50 feet under the Greenland icecap and 800 miles from the North Pole, Dr. Weiss took his urology residency at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. In addition to his clinical training he was a fellow in the Department of Pharmacology at the Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons and subsequently achieved the rank of Adjunct Professor of Pharmacology at Columbia.

In 1990 he received a "Lifetime Achievement Award" from the Urodynamic Society, in recognition of significant contributions and leadership in the field of Neurourology. His research interests have centered around smooth muscle pharmacology and signal transduction and in 1991 he received NIH Merit Award for research on Age Dependent Factors in Ureteral-Vesical Function. Dr. Weiss was the first urologist to receive a NIH Merit Award. His laboratory was the first to show the presence of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in human inflammatory cells and his group showed that survivin, an anti-apoptotic gene, can serve as an urinary marker for the diagnosis of transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. From 2009-2011 he had a NIH Challenge Grant to study Targeted siRNA Nanotechnology for Intravesical Treatment of Urological Diseases. He has had over 30 years of NIH funding.

Dr. Weiss is a fellow of both the American College of Surgeons and the American Academy of Pediatrics. He is a member of the American Association of Genito-Urinary Surgeons, the Clinical Society of Genito Urinary Surgeons, and the American Surgical Association. In 1995-96 he served as President of the New England Section of the American Urological Association and from 1998-2004 he served as a Trustee of the American Board of Urology. From 2004-2006 he was President of the Medical Staff of the Yale New Haven Hospital. He has served as Associate Editor of the Investigative Urology Section of the Journal of Urology and as a Section Editor of Neurourology and Urodynamics. From 1987-1991 he served as a member of the NIH Surgical Study Section A (Surgery, Anesthesia, and Trauma) and he has Chaired a number of NIH, NIDDK Urology Special Emphasis Panels and numerous NIH Site Visits. Dr. Weiss has lectured nationally and internationally and has contributed over 300 publications to the scientific literature and is the Editor of the textbook, Comprehensive Urology.

Robert M. Weiss, M.D. is the Donald Guthrie Professor of Surgery, Chief of the Section of Urology and Director of Pediatric Urology at the Yale University School of Medicine / Yale New Haven Hospital. Dr. Weiss received his undergraduate degree from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and his M.D. Degree from the State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center. He took an internship in medicine on the Cornell Division at Bellevue Hospital. Following a tour in the Army at Camp Century, Greenland, a base located 50 feet under the Greenland icecap and 800 miles from the North Pole, Dr. Weiss took his urology residency at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. In addition to his clinical training he was a fellow in the Department of Pharmacology at the Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons and subsequently achieved the rank of Adjunct Professor of Pharmacology at Columbia. Dr. Weiss served as Interim Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the Yale University School of Medicine from 1999-2001.

His area of clinical interest is pediatric urology and in 1990 he received a "Lifetime Achievement Award" from the Urodynamic Society, in recognition of significant contributions and leadership in the field of Neurourology. His research interests have centered around smooth muscle pharmacology and signal transduction and in 1991 he received NIH Merit Award for research on Age Dependent Factors in Ureteral-Vesical Function. Dr. Weiss was the first urologist to receive a NIH Merit Award. His laboratory was the first to show the presence of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in human inflammatory cells and his group showed that survivin, an anti-apoptotic gene, can serve as an urinary marker for the diagnosis of transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. He has had over 30 years of NIH funding.

Dr. Weiss is a fellow of both the American College of Surgeons and the American Academy of Pediatrics. He is a member of the American Association of Genito-Urinary Surgeons, the Clinical Society of Genito Urinary Surgeons, and the American Surgical Association. In 1995-96 he served as President of the New England Section of the American Urological Association and from 1998-2004 he served as a Trustee of the American Board of Urology. He has served as Associate Editor of the Investigative Urology Section of the Journal of Urology and as a Section Editor of Neurourology and Urodynamics. From 1987-1991 he served as a member of the NIH Surgical Study Section A (Surgery, Anesthesia, and Trauma) and he has Chaired a number of NIH, NIDDK Urology Special Emphasis Panels (SEP), including one on Vesico-ureteral Reflux and numerous NIH Site Visits. Dr. Weiss has lectured nationally and internationally and has contributed over 300 publications to the scientific literature and is the Editor of the textbook, Comprehensive Urology.

Education & Training

M.D.

SUNY Downstate Medical Center (1960)

Intern

Bellevue Hospital, New York, NY, Second (Cornell) Medical Division, (1960 - 1961)

Resident

Beth Israel Hospital, New York, NY, General Surgery (1961 - 1962)

Resident

Squier Urological Clinic/Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, Urology (1963 - 1964)

Visiting Fellow

Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, New York, NY, Urology/Pharmacology (1964 - 1965)

Fellow

Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, Urology (1965 - 1967)

Board Certification

Urology, Board Certified  (1970)

Honors & Recognition

• Mathematics Honors
  Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, PA (1954)
• Mathematics Honors
  Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, PA (1955)
• Phi Beta Kappa
  Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, PA (1956)
• Magna Cum Laude
  Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, PA (1957)
• Honorable Mention at Annual Prize Essay Contest
  Meeting of the New York Section of the American Urological Association (1967)
• Sigma Xi
  Yale University, New Haven, CT (1970)
• Second Prize, Exhibition on New Instruments, Procedures and Apparatus
  66th Annual Meeting, American Urological Association (1971)
• Master of Arts, Honoris Causa
  Yale University, New Haven, CT (1976)
• "Lifetime Achievement Award", in recognition of significant contributions and leadership in the field of Neurology
  Urodynamic Society (1990)
• NIH Merit Award
  National Institute of Health (1991)