Genitourinary

As Professor of Medicine and Urology at Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Daniel P. Petrylak is a pioneer in the research and development of new drugs and treatments to fight prostate, bladder, kidney and testicular cancer. For patients fighting these types of cancers, Petrylak finds recent developments in the field of immunotherapy particularly promising. “Up until recently, bladder cancer had not seen any major advancement in more than 30 years,” he says. “Studies are ongoing, but interim results are exciting so far.” At the Smilow Cancer Hospital, Dr. Petrylak’s position as a national leader on clinical trials for men with prostate and bladder cancer has opened up a world of treatment options for patients in New England. “We offer the latest investigational drugs for these conditions, while providing the highest level of care,” he says. Dr. Petrylak received his MD from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and joined the Yale faculty in 2012. In addition to his role as professor, he is also a member of the Cancer Signaling Networks Research Program at Yale Cancer Center, which studies how cancer stem cells are regulated in the body and communicate with surrounding tissue. Roughly 40 physicians and scientists in the program work together to develop the best methods for matching patients with the appropriate cancer drugs. One of Dr. Petrylak’s key goals is to continue to successfully translate basic research into clinical practice. “One of the most significant accomplishments in my career was moving docetaxel (an antineoplastic agent) therapy for the most advanced form of prostate cancer from phase I to III,” he says. “We ran a trial which supported its approval for the most advanced form of prostate cancer.” Dr. Petrylak currently serves as either the principal investigator or co-principal investigator on seven Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) clinical trials for genitourinary cancers. To date, he has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles on prostate and bladder cancer research.

Dr. Adebowale Adeniran is an experienced surgical pathologist and cytopathologist, and currently Director of Cytopathology and the Cytology Laboratory and Director of Cytopathology Fellowship Program. Dr. Adeniran obtained his MD degree from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He did his anatomic/clinical pathology residency at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, followed by surgical pathology fellowship (with special interest in genitourinary pathology) at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and cytopathology fellowship at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Adeniran is a practicing surgical and cyto pathologist, with a research focus on clinico-pathologic and molecular pathologic aspects of kidney cancer as well as thyroid cancer. He is an editorial board member of Cancer Cytopathology and Journal of Clinical and Translational Pathology, and a reviewer of several peer-reviewed journals. He has authored more than 130 manuscripts and book chapters, and co-authored two textbooks - Common Diagnostic Pitfalls in Thyroid Cytopathology and Rapid On-site Evaluation (ROSE): A Practical Guide. He currently serves as a member of the education committee of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology.

Dr. An received his medical degree from Stanford University of School of Medicine and continued his specialty training in Radiation Oncology at Yale University School of Medicine and Yale New Haven Hospital. He served as chief resident prior to joining the faculty as Assistant Professor.  Dr. An is primarily based in Smilow Cancer Hospital Care Center in New Haven, CT and Trumbull, CT. His areas of clinical expertise and specialization include prostate cancer, bladder cancer, brain/spine radiosurgery, and brain cancers.

Demetrios Braddock was born in Tennessee, educated at the University of Chicago, trained at the NIH in Anatomic Pathology and Biophysical Chemistry, and came to Yale in 2004 where he practices hematopathology and heads a laboratory studying pathogenic mechanisms of severe and poorly addressed human diseases. His laboratory focuses on rare diseases of children, and on the design and engineering of novel biologics to modulate disease outcomes. Dr. Braddock’s laboratory has designed and validated an enzyme biologic for a lethal infantile calcification disorder called ‘Generalized Arterial Calcification of Infancy’ (GACI), which has been translated into infants, children, and adults with GACI, ARHR2, PXE, and CKD-MBD (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05734196, NCT06046820, NCT04686175, NCT06283589).

Dr. John W. Colberg is a graduate of Washington University School of Medicine and Yale University School of Medicine Urology Residency Program. He was a Clinical Instructor at Washington University School of Medicine from 1990 to 1998. He is currently a Professor of Urology and Director of Uro-Oncology in the department of Urology at Yale University School of Medicine. His active clinical practice focuses on urologic oncology with an emphasis on bladder and prostate cancer. Dr. Colberg’s primary research interests are in the area of invasive bladder cancer and bladder reconstruction. Watch a video with Dr. John Colberg>>

Dr. Hari Deshpande, Associate Professor of Medicine in the Section of Medical Oncology, cares for patients with sarcomas along with the sarcoma multidisciplinary team.Previously in practice at both the New London Cancer Center and Las Vegas Cancer Center, Dr. Deshpande also has clinical interests in sarcomas, cancers of unknown primary, and thyroid cancers. He is a member of the Head and Neck Cancer and GU cancer teams. He is the Director of the Medical Oncology Inpatient Consult service.Learn more about Dr. Deshpande>>

Clinical Interests: Female urology, urodynamics, neurogenic bladder, male and female urinary incontinence, interstitial cystitis; voiding dysfunction; benign prostatic hyperplasia, erectile dysfunction, urologic cancers.Dr. Harris E. Foster Jr. is board certified in urology and has specialized interests in voiding dysfunction and female urology. Particular to this area include treatment of female and male urinary incontinence, neurogenic bladder, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), interstitial cystitis, urethral diverticula and vesicovaginal fisulae. In addition, Dr. Foster treats general urological conditions such as kidney stones, erectile dysfunction, prostate cancer, superficial bladder cancer, and benign conditions involving the scrotum (hydrocele, epididymal cyst). He also performs circumcision and vasectomy in patients who desire these procedures. Dr. Foster has expertise in the evaluation of voiding dysfunction utilizing urodynamics.Dr. Foster earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He then graduated with honors from University of Miami School of Medicine, a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. Dr. Foster subsequently completed his urology residency at the University of Michigan Hospitals and joined the faculty at Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Foster is Chief of Urology for the Veteran’s Administration Connecticut Healthcare System and is a urology consultant at the Gaylord Rehabilitation Hospital in Wallingford, Conn. and The Hospital for Special Care in New Britain, Connecticut. He also provides urological care at the Yale Health Services. Dr. Foster has received grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to perform clinical trials investigating the pharmacologic and phytotherapeutic treatment of BPH. He was also the chairman for many years of the NIH sponsored Interstitial Cystitis Collaborative Research Network. Dr. Foster was a member of the American Board of Urology Examination Committee and has functioned as an oral board examiner for this organization. He has written numerous research publications and textbook chapters and is a reviewer for many of the major urology journals including The Journal of Urology, Urology, and Neurourology and Urodynamics. Finally, Dr. Foster has been a member of the guidelines committee for the evaluation and treatment of BPH and overactive bladder (OAB) sponsored by the American Urological Association.Dr. Foster is dedicated to treating patients suffering from urological diseases with a particular focus on those who have voiding dysfunction. He recognizes that although most of these disorders do not affect duration of life, they can in many instances have significant if not devastating effects on quality of life. Despite being a urological surgeon, he fully understands that surgery is not frequently indicated nor is it always the best option for many patients.

Practice locations: New Haven, Hamden, Madison, Old Saybrook Residency Institution: New York Hospital- Cornell Medical Center Fellowship: Cornell University Medical College 1986-1987 Clinical Interests: Management of prostate, bladder, kidney, testes, adrenal, penile cancer; Pelvic and retroperitoneal sarcoma; Minimally invasive robotic surgery; Complex intestinal urinary diversion Dr David Hesse is a board certified urologist. He graduated from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine with the Faculty Award for Excellence, before completing his surgical and urological training at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical College. During his research fellowship at Cornell Medical College/Rockefeller University he was part of the team instrumental to the discovery of Tumor Necrosis Factor. Dr Hesse came to New Haven in 1991 to develop a urology practice treating patients with urological cancers. In 2005 he developed the first urological robotics program in Southern Connecticut. He has trained urologists throughout Connecticut, as well as in Florida, Massachusetts, Ohio, Chicago, Boston and Seattle how to perform robotic prostatectomy. In addition to pioneering robotic radical prostatectomies, Dr Hesse is one of the few urologists in the country who performs robotic radical cystectomy for bladder cancer.Dr Hesse’s clinical interests are in improving minimally invasive approaches to curing urological malignancies, and in improving the quality of life for patients with urological cancer.

Peter A. Humphrey, M.D., Ph.D. obtained his B.A. in Chemistry and Biochemistry, and his MD and PhD (in biochemistry) from The University of Kansas. He did his anatomic pathology residency at Duke University Medical Center, and joined the faculty there for four years, followed by 21 years as a faculty member at Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Humphrey is a practicing surgical and urologic pathologist, with a research focus on clinico-pathologic and molecular pathologic aspects of prostate cancer. He is on the editorial boards of The American Journal of Surgical Pathology, Modern Pathology, and Human Pathology. He has 361 publications, has authored the textbook Prostate Pathology, co-authored the textbook Gleason Grading of Prostate Cancer, co-authored the AFIP Fascicle on the Prostate, co-authored the textbook Neoplastic Mimics in Genitourinary Pathology, is co-editor of The Washington Manual of Surgical Pathology, and is co-editor of the 2016 World Health Organization book on Classification of Tumors of the Urinary System and Male Genital Organs . He is past President of the International Society of Urological Pathology and is past President of The Arthur Purdy Stout Society of Surgical Pathologists. He has given lectures on 6 of the 7 continents.

Gary Israel, MD, Professor and Section Chief of Abdominal Section.  Dr. Israel earned his medical degree at New York Medical College, and completed a residency and fellowship in diagnostic radiology at Montefore Medical Center and New York University Medical Center, respectively. Dr. Israel’s expertise is abdominal imaging with a particular focus on genitourinary imaging (GU), using both CT and MRI. He has particular interest in the CT and MR evaluation of renal masses and CT and MR. He also has expertise in GI radiology including CT colonography.

Clinical interests: Localized, locally advanced and metastatic kidney cancer. Robotic surgery for kidney masses and kidney cancer. Robotic partial and radical nephrectomy, including robotic IVC tumor thrombectomy. Complex partial and radical nephrectomy. Caval tumor thrombectomy. Cytoreductive nephrectomy. Retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy. Renal Cell Carcinoma. Patrick Kenney, MD is a fellowship-trained urologic oncologist who cares for patients with cancers of the kidney. He performs robotic and open surgery for kidney cancer, with an emphasis on organ/function preservation and minimally invasive surgery whenever feasible. He is interested in the integration of surgery and systemic therapy for locally advanced, metastatic, and treatment-resistant kidney cancer. In his clinical practice, Dr. Kenney emphasizes the importance of the doctor-patient relationship. Dr. Kenney believes in the importance of effective communication with patients, family and referring physicians. He strives to treat his patients with compassion and respect. Dr. Kenney believes that the seamless integration of Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale New Haven Hospital, a full service academic general hospital, affords his patients an outstanding opportunity to receive the highest quality multidisciplinary care. In addition, Dr. Kenney has an active administrative role in the Yale New Haven Health System, having previously served as Interim Chair of the Department of Urology, Clinical Leader for Genitourinary Oncology at Smilow Cancer Hospital, Clinical Vice Chair of Yale Medicine Urology, Vice Chair of Quality and Safety of Yale Medicine Urology, as well as Medical Director of Corporate Supply Chain for Yale New Haven Health System and Medical Director of the Smilow Cancer Hospital Care Center at Greenwich Hospital. Dr. Kenney received his MD from Columbia University, where he was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society in recognition of academic excellence. While at Columbia, Dr. Kenney was also inducted to the Gold Humanism Honor Society in recognition of excellence in clinical care, leadership, compassion and dedication to patient service. Kenney completed a general surgery internship and urology residency at Lahey Clinic in Massachusetts. Dr. Kenney completed a Fellowship in Urologic Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. This was a two year Fellowship accredited by the Society of Urologic Oncology. Dr. Kenney is active in research and has authored chapters and reviews with a particular emphasis on kidney cancer, kidney surgery, and health services and outcomes. He has presented his work at regional, national, and international meetings. He is a member of the American Urologic Association and the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Dr. Isaac Kim is a urologic oncologist and surgeon who specializes in the treatment, management, and prevention of prostate cancer, with the goal of helping patients navigate and better understand their disease. He has expertise in minimally invasive robotic surgery and has completed more than 2,400 robotic surgeries for prostate cancer. Dr. Kim's surgical focus has been on advanced and metastatic prostate cancer, as well as recurrent disease after radiation. Dr. Kim’s clinical research is focused on mechanisms of treatment resistance and specifically immunosuppressive factors produced by prostate cancer cells. He also has a strong interest in inflammation in prostate cancer and the role of surgery in men with advanced or metastatic prostate cancer.

Dr. Joseph Kim is a board-certified medical oncologist and a Director of the Prostate Cancer Research Program for Prostate and Urological Cancers DART of Yale Cancer Center.  He is a recipient of the Cancer Clinical Investigator Team Leadership Award from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and a recipient of other awards from Conquer Cancer Foundation of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Dr. Kim has led several peer-reviewed, NCI-sponsored, investigator-initiated clinical trials in prostate cancer, bladder cancer, and other solid tumors as a study chair. Dr. Joseph Kim serves as an author/editor of the genitourinary (GU) cancers chapter of  ASCO-SEP, an educational textbook for medical oncologists, and a co-editor of the GU cancers section of a peer-reviewed journal, Current Oncology Report, and ad hoc reviewer of multiple oncology journals. He has been invited as a speaker for numerous international and national academic conferences including GU Cancers Symposium, ASCO Annual Meeting, CTEP/ NCI meeting, ASCO Direct highlights, International Genitourinary Cancer Conference, and many others. His passion lies in delivering compassionate, patient-centered, and evidence-based care for patients with genitourinary cancer including prostate cancer, bladder, and other urinary tract cancer, testicular cancer, and penile cancer.  He is also passionate about developing and executing hypothesis-driven clinical trials of novel therapies in GU cancers and other solid tumors.

Dr. Kluger is a medical oncologist who sees patients with melanoma and renal cell carcinoma. Her research interests focus on developing new drug regimens and biomarkers predictive of response to therapies in melanoma and renal cell carcinoma. She participates in a number of clinical trials studying new agents for the treatment of these diseases, both targeting the immune system and the cancer cell. She runs an active research laboratory that studies tumor and immune cells from patients treated with novel therapies to determine mechanisms of resistance to therapy and mediators of toxicity from immune checkpoint inhibitors. The laboratory also conducts pre-clinical studies to improve treatment regimens for patients with melanoma, renal cell carcinoma or brain metastasis. Please visit the lab website at: https://sites.google.com/yale.... Learn more about Dr. Kluger>>

Darryl T. Martin is a basic scientist with a strong background in translational science. Dr. Martin received his PhD from Memorial University of Newfoundland under the supervision of Drs. Robert Gendron and Hélène Paradis where he trained as a cancer molecular biologist studying tumor growth and differentiation. He then trained with Dr. Robert M. Weiss (Donald Guthrie Professor of Urology) at the Yale University School of Medicine, as a Postdoctoral Associate, where he focused on drug delivery and cancer progression. Currently, Dr. Martin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urology at the Yale School of Medicine. His laboratory primarily focuses on biological factors and molecular determinants that drive disease progression and metastatic formation through their interaction with the tumor microenvironment. Dr. Martin is a member of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the Society for Basic Urologic Research (SBUR) and the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB). Currently, the Martin Lab is funded by DoD and foundation grants.

Practice locations: Orchard Street Campus, Hamden and Madison Residency: Yale-New Haven Hospital Fellowship: New York Hospital/Cornell University Medical Center Clinical interests: General Urology, Robotic Surgery and Laparoscopy, Urologic Oncology Thomas V. Martin, MD is a native of Connecticut who received a Bachelor of Science (Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude) from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He then received his MD from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. After medical school, he completed a residency in urology at Yale-New Haven Hospital. After residency, he obtained a fellowship in Endourology and minimally invasive surgery at the New York Hospital/Cornell University Medical Center in New York. Since completing his fellowship in 1996, Dr. Martin has been in practice in New Haven. His practice has focused on minimally invasive surgical approaches to urologic cancers, urinary tract stone disease and prostate disease. He performed the first laparoscopic urologic procedures at the Hospital of St. Raphael and was involved in the establishment of the first robotic surgery program in southern Connecticut at St. Raphael as well. He was named director of robotic surgery at St. Raphael and has led multiple efforts to ensure that the newest technological advances in surgery and urology are available to the patients served by his practice. He has also been recognized as one of Connecticut’s top urologists by Connecticut Magazine. Dr. Martin has an interest in education and has won awards for teaching from both the urology residents and physician assistants at Yale-New Haven. He also has taught urologists throughout New England in both laparoscopic and robotic surgical techniques. He has published articles and textbook chapters on laparoscopic surgery, minimally invasive kidney stone and prostate surgeries, as well as bladder physiology. He also was the first author of the chapter on Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL), a non-invasive kidney stone therapy, in the seventh edition of Campbell’s Urology, the major textbook of urology. More importantly, his commitment to education is translated to patient care as he emphasizes the education of his patients as a critical step in managing their clinical problems. He firmly believes that the time taken to help a patient better understand their particular problem will help that patient achieve a better outcome. Dr. Martin resides in Madison with his wife and two sons. He has interests outside of urology in cycling, photography, and travel.

Dinesh Singh, MD, Associate Professor of Urology and Director of Laparoscopy and Endourology, earned his medical degree from Columbia University and completed his residency in general surgery at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and his residency in urology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Singh is Board Certified in Urology and completed fellowship training in laparoscopy and minimally invasive surgery. He specializes in treating patients with prostate cancer, adrenal gland tumors, ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) obstruction, testes cancer, and kidney stone disease. Dr. Singh is committed to helping patients with urologic conditions experience faster post-surgical recovery time, shorter hospital stays, and minimal scarring from incisions. He has extensive surgical expertise in advanced minimally invasive procedures, including laparoscopic partial and full nephrectomy, laparoscopic adrenalectomy, laparoscopic pyeloplasty, laparoscopic cryoablation of kidney tumors, laparoscopic retroperitoneal, robotic-assisted pyeloplasty, robotic-assisted prostatectomy, robotic-assisted partial nephrectomy, and minimally invasive approaches to kidney stone surgery. He has performed over 1,700 minimally invasive procedures for urologic conditions, and he continually trains in the most advanced surgical techniques. Working collaboratively with other top cancer care specialists from Yale and Smilow Cancer Hospital, Dr. Singh is a member of the tumor board that meets weekly to discuss new and complex cases. His research interests include minimally invasive surgery, urologic oncology, and kidney stone disease. His current research is focused on active surveillance protocol in kidney cancer, the reduction of radiation exposure for patients with kidney stones, and finding the predictors for patients who have kidney stones versus another diagnosis.

Dr. Preston C. Sprenkle specializes in the treatment of urologic cancers, primarily prostate cancer, but also including kidney cancer, bladder cancer, and testicular cancer. Dr. Sprenkle has dedicated his career to using the latest technologies to improve prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment that minimizes the impact on a man's quality of life. He was one of the first physicians nationwide to implement the use of the Artemis Device. This machine, introduced in 2009, allows a surgeon to use 3D ultrasound technology and merge it with even more precise magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to accurately identify cancerous tumors. “Skilled and experienced radiologists are rare for this relatively new technique,” Dr. Sprenkle explains. “At Yale, we are fortunate to have some of the world leaders in prostate MRI.” Dr. Sprenkle is also a pioneer in “focal therapy,” which allows a surgeon to treat tiny prostate lesions, rather than the whole organ. This avoids many of the side effects—such as erectile dysfunction and incontinence—that may follow the removal of the whole prostate. “Exciting technological advances are revolutionizing urology. Prostate cancer is very common and current treatments can majorly impact a man's sexual and urinary function,” Dr. Sprenkle says. “Developing ways to minimize the impact of prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment on a man's health and quality of life is tremendously rewarding.” Dr. Sprenkle believes in working with patients to come up with individualized treatment plans. “I want my patients to feel that I hear their concerns and treat them like a person. I am pleased at the end of a long consultation when they feel like they understand their disease and their options.”

Dr. Jeffrey C. Weinreb is Director of the MRI Service at Yale-New Haven Hospital and Professor in the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging at the Yale School of Medicine.  After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from the MIT, he received his MD from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.  He has held faculty positions at UT Southwestern Medical School, Columbia College for Physicians and Surgeons, and NYU School of Medicine, where he was Director of MRI for 15 years and led a group that pioneered the development of Body MRI.  For more than three decades, Dr. Weinreb has been an innovator in MRI. He is a leading authority on MRI contrast agents and MRI safety, and he has made seminal contributions to clinical applications of MRI in the abdomen, spine, breast, prostate, breast, vascular system, obstetrics, and gynecology. He has authored/co-authored three textbooks and more than 230 peer reviewed manuscripts, served on the editorial boards of numerous medical journals, and presented more than 1000 invited lectures throughout the world. Dr. Weinreb was the Principal Investigator for the NCI sponsored cooperative Multicenter Study of In Vivo MR Spectroscopy for the Evaluation of Prostate Cancer, and led an international effort to develop PI-RADS (Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System) to standardize the acquisition, interpretation, and reporting of prostate MRI. In 2018 he was one of the organizers for the NIH/NIBIB workshop on clinical manifestations of gadolinium deposition. He recently helped to develop joint ACR-National Kidney Foundation consensus recommendations for the use of intravenous contrast media in patients with renal disease.  Dr. Weinreb has had numerous leadership position in professional organizations, including Vice President of the American College of Radiology, Chairman of the ACR Forum, member of the ACR Board of Chancellors, President of the New York Roentgen Society, and President of the SCBT-MR. As Chairman of the ACR Commission on Quality and Safety and Chairman of the ACR MRI Accreditation Program, Dr. Weinreb spearheaded efforts to improve the quality of medical imaging in the United States. He has received numerous awards, including the Gold Medal Awards in 2017 from the ACR and the in 2019 from the SCBT-MR (now called the SABI).