Physicians and Research Faculty

Jean B. DeKernion, MD
Dr. DeKernion is the Chair of the UCLA Department of Urology, Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Operations, Professor of Urology, served on the National Cancer Advisory Board. Dr. deKernion graduated from Louisiana State University , completed his residency at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland , and was awarded a fellowship at the Surgery Branch of the National Cancer Institute. He is certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Urology. He is a world leader in Urologic Oncology, and co-authored the first textbook on the subject. He was a founder of the Society of Urologic Oncology, a member of the American Board of Urology, and Chair of the Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research program. Kidney, bladder and prostate cancer are the areas in which he has made the most significant contributions, and has developed a regional and international reputation in innovative surgery for these tumors.

Jennifer T. Anger, MD
Jennifer Anger, MD, MPH joined the UCLA faculty in 2006 after completing three years of fellowship training. As part of the Division of Pelvic Medicine, Incontinence and Reconstructive Urology, Dr. Anger specializes in urologic reconstruction in both men and women. Her clinical interests include male urethral reconstruction for trauma and stricture disease, post-prostatectomy incontinence and post-radiation voiding dysfunction, female pelvic floor reconstruction for vaginal prolapse and incontinence, and neurogenic voiding dysfunction. Dr. Anger performs the latest male sling techniques for urinary incontinence after radical prostatectomy, and uses state-of-the-art robotic technology for vaginal prolapse.

William Aronson, MD
Dr. Aronson has clinical interests in nutrition, urologic oncology, prostate cancer and nutrition, and the role of low fat diets and lifestyle factors as they relate to prostate cancer. He is funded by the National Cancer Institute to research the role of low-fat diets for prostate cancer prevention and treatment. He is also funded by the Department of Defense to study prostate cancer in African American men.  He has numerous publications in peer reviewed journals including the Journal of Urology, the Journal of Clinical Oncology and the New England Journal of Medicine.

Arie Belldegrun, MD
Dr. Belldegrun is the Director of the Institute of Urologic Oncology at UCLA, Professor of Urology, Chief of the Division of Urologic Oncology, and holds the Roy and Carol Doumani Chair in Urologic Oncology. He also serves as the Director of the Urologic Oncology Fellowship Program at UCLA, which was accredited by the Society of Urologic Oncology in 2001.

Carol Bennett, MD
Dr. Bennett has served as the Chief of Urology at the West Los Angeles VA Healthcare Center for the past 8 years. Her research interests are focused upon the treatment of neurogenic bladder disorder, sexual dysfunction, and infertility.  She has published over 50 original articles, numerous review articles and chapters in these areas. She is currently a board member of the American Foundation of Urologic Diseases, and the Pfizer/AUA Visiting Professorships in Urology.  Dr. Bennett is also a Professor at David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA.

Bernard M. Churchill, MD
Dr. Churchill is the Judith and Robert Winston Chair in Pediatric Urology and founding director of Clark Morrison Children's Urological Center at UCLA. Previously he was Chief of Urology at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. Dr. Churchill is the 25th Recipient of the Urology Medal granted by the American Academy of Pediatrics in recognition of outstanding career accomplishments.

Isla Garraway, MD
Assistant Professor of Urology at UCLA, Attending Urologist, Greater Los Angeles-VA Medical Center. Dr. Garraway’s primary clinical and research focus is on prostate cancer. She is a member of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and heads a laboratory investigating prostate development and carcinogenesis.

H. Albin Gritsch, MD
Dr. Gritsch serves as Surgical Director of the Kidney Transplantation Program at UCLA. The program performs both deceased and living donor transplants. A number of novel techniques have been developed to increase the opportunities of receiving a living donor renal transplant. His basic research interest is in the development of new ways of monitoring the immune system after transplant to reduce the risk of rejection and the complications of the immune suppressing drugs.

David A. Leff, MD
Dr. Leff has been in private practice for over 35 years and is currently an Assistant Clinical Professor of Urology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Dr. Leff has a clinical interest in the treatment of diseases of the prostate, urinary stone disease, erectile dystunction and general urology.

Steve Lerman, MD, FAAP
Dr. Lerman has been on the forefront of developing minimally invasive procedures for the care of pediatric urology patients. Dr. Lerman has helped to advance the use of laparoscopic surgery in children with great success. He participates in clinical trials investigating new treatments for urological conditions in children. In addition, Dr Lerman has advanced the use of minimally invasive techniques in the treatment of vesicoureteral reflux, a common reason for pediatric urologic referral.

Mark S. Litwin, MD, MPH
Mark S. Litwin, MD, MPH, FACS, is Professor of Urology and Public Health. He trained at Harvard and specializes in testicular, bladder, prostate and kidney cancer. As a cancer survivor himself, Dr. Litwin understands health care from both sides of the white coat. He provides care that is skilled, personalized, and responsive. Dr. Litwin 's research focuses on improving quality of life and quality of care in urologic oncology. He also created and directs IMPACT, a state-funded program that provides free prostate cancer care statewide to low-income, uninsured men throughout California (www.california-impact.org).

Leonard S. Marks, MD
Dr. Marks, Professor of Urology, completed his training at UCLA in 1978, following which he practiced urology in Los Angeles, re-joining the faculty full-time in 2009. He received an American Foundation for Urologic Diseases scholarship award in 1992 and a Prostate Cancer Foundation research award in 2000. He remains founding website editor for the journal Urology. He has authored more than 100 scientific publications. His current research interests involve prostate markers, imaging, and minimally-invasive treatments.

James A. Orecklin, MD, MPH
Dr. Orecklin received his M.D. from the University of Michigan in 1965.  After serving two years in the U.S. Air Force, he completed his Urology residency at UCLA in 1973.  He was in private practice in Santa Monica, while remaining a clinical faculty member at UCLA,from 1973 until 1999 when he joined the UCLA faculty fulltime.  In 1997, he received a Masters in Public Health in Healthcare Policy and Administration from UCLA.

Allan Pantuck, MD, MS, FACS 
Dr. Allan Pantuck is Associate Professor of Urology at the David Geffen School of Medicine’s Department of Urology. Specializing in urologic cancers, he has a long standing interest in kidney, prostate, and bladder cancers, in developing new treatment strategies for both localized and advanced cancers through both basic and clinical research, and in the study of nutritional approaches to their prevention and treatment.

Jacob Rajfer, MD
Dr. Jacob Rajfer is the Chief of Urology at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and is head of the male infertility and male sexual dysfunction clinic within the UCLA Department of Urology. Many of the treatments currently in use today for these men emanated from studies and trials performed at UCLA. For example, the first aspiration of sperm from a man’s reproductive tract that led to a pregnancy was done by Dr. Rajfer at one of the UCLA affiliated hospitals and that technique has been expanded universally to its current use in the ICSI procedure that is done in tandem with in vitro fertilization (IVF). In addition, Dr. Rajfer was one of the discoverers of the mechanism by which a man’s erection occurs and this ultimately led to the discovery of drugs like Viagra, etc. Besides these specific male health issues, Dr. Rajfer also treats men with both benign and malignant prostate disorders.

Shlomo Raz, MD
Dr. Raz joined UCLA in 1975 and oversees the Division of Female Urology, Reconstructive Surgery and Urodynamics. Dr. Raz  has been a recognized leader in developing new treatments for female urology conditions for over 28 years. Dr. Raz pioneered many of the innovations that today are the standards of care worldwide for such conditions as vaginal and uterine prolapse, urinary incontinence, pelvic floor disorders, voiding dysfunction, and surgical reconstruction after cancer for urethral abnormalities

Robert E. Reiter, MD 
Dr. Reiter is a Professor of Urology and Molecular Biology, Co-Director of the Prostate and Genitourinary Oncology Program in UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center, and Director of Urologic Research.  He studied at Stanford Medical School and completed his urologic training at Stanford and Baylor College of Medicine (in Houston) under Dr. Peter Scardino, one of the world's formeost prostate cancer surgeons. He completed additional fellowship training in urological cancer at the National Cancer Institute.

Matthew Rettig, MD

Larissa Rodriguez, MD
Dr. Rodriguez joined the UCLA faculty in 2001 as co-director of the Division of Female Urology, Reconstructive Surgery, and Urodynamics, and Director of Female Urology Research. Dr. Rodrí­guez is involved in all aspects of female urology and reconstructive surgery, and brings a solid background in clinical research on benign urologic conditions such as incontinence, prolapse, interstitial cystitis and overactive bladder.

J. Thomas Rosenthal, MD 
Dr. Rosenthal joined the faculty of UCLA School of Medicine in 1986 as Director of Renal Transplantation. Under Dr. Rosenthal's leadership, the Renal Transplant program tripled in size while maintaining the highest graft survival results in the country. Clinical research was developed as an important part of the program, culminating in the program receiving NIH funding for participation in the first NIH sponsored clinical trials in transplantation. Dr. Rosenthal now serves as the Chief Medical Officer of the UCLA Hospital System and is Associate Vice Chancellor in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Jonathan Said, MD
Dr. Jonathan Said is Professor of Pathology and Urology at the David Geffen School of Medicine and Chief of Anatmic and Surgical Pathology at UCLA Medical Center. He is an expert in the pathology diagnosis of urologic diseases, and has published extensively on neoplastic diseases of the kidney and prostate.

Christopher Saigal, MD, MPH
Dr. Saigal has had a longstanding clinical interest in urologic cancers and the surgical treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia. His research is focused on patient-centered decision support and quality of care for urologic conditions. He currently serves as an Associate Professor of Urology within the David Geffen School of Medicine's Department of Urology. His clinical practice is located at UCLA's Santa Monica campus. He also is on the staff of the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the UCLA-Olive View Medical Center.

Peter Schulam, MD
Dr. Schulam currently serves as Vice Chair of the Department of Urology, Chief of the Division of Endourology and Minimally Invasive Surgery, Associate Professor of Urology and Co-Director of the Center for Advanced Surgical and Interventional Technology (CASIT). He has a longstanding clinical interest in minimally invasive surgery and laparscopic techniques. This includes developing novel biological sensors, instruments, and surgical techniques to be employed in minimally invasive surgery, as well as the effects minimally invasive surgery has on a patient's immunological status and quality of life.

Jennifer Sandra Singer, MD
Dr. Singer’s clinical interests include adult and pediatric renal transplantation and end-stage renal disease.  She has special interests and training in congenital urologic anomalies.  Her research interests include the use of transplant immunosuppression and the molecular aspects of chronic allograft rejection.  She also has a special interest in urinary tract dysfunction in pediatric patients with end-stage renal disease.

Robert B. Smith, MD
Robert B. Smith, MJ.D. is Professor in the Department of Urology at the UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Smith has been a member of the faculty since completing his residency in Urology at UCLA in 1969. Dr. Smith was invited to join the faculty at that time, and was appointed Assistant Professor of Urology, and Chief of the Renal Transplant service for 18 years. He was promoted to Associated Professor of Urology in 1975, and to Professor of Urology in 1981. During the years 1971 to 1973, he served in the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel, and as Chief of Urology at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. Dr. Smith has service as Vice-Chairman of the Department of Urology, and also as Chief of Staff of the UCLA Medical Center. He served as Director of the Urology residency training program from 1998 to 2005. His clinical interests are in the treatment of urologic malignancies, and in reconstrutive urologic cases. Over 70% of his surgical referrals are from other urologic surgeons.

Jeffrey Veale, MD
Dr. Veale is an assistant Professor of surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine in the UCLA Department of Urology. He specializes in Renal Transplantation and is the Director of the UCLA Donor Exchange Program. This innovative program helped pioneer the first transcontinental "chain" transplantation.

Nestor Fadrique Gonzalez-Cadavid, PhD 
Adjunct Professor of Urology at UCLA, Director of the Urology Research Laboratory at LABioMed-Harbor/UCLA, and Professor of Endocrinology at The Charles Drew University . Dr. Gonzalez-Cadavid graduated with consecutive PhDs in Biochemistry from the University of Buenos Aires ( Argentina ) and London ( England ), and prior to joining the department of urology at UCLA was Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at the Central University of Venezuela ( Caracas ), and Visiting Professor/scholar at MIT, Caltech, City of Hope , and UCLA. His current research interests focus on the modulation of stem cell differentiation by nitric oxide/cGMP, and myostatin, and its application to the therapy of erectile dysfunction, diabetic nephropathy, and other forms of urogenital disease associated with tissue fibrosis. He is funded by NIH, the Department of Defense, and other agencies.

Christina Jamieson, PhD
Dr. Jamieson brings expertise on functional genomics and molecular biology and immunology. Her research focuses on understanding how steroid hormones regulate cell death and survival in normal and cancerous cells. Dr. Jamison completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco following her Ph.D. work at Brandeis University.

Eric Vilain, MD, PhD
Dr. Vilain is Assistant Professor of Human Genetics, Pediatrics and Urology at UCLA.  He studies genetics of mammalian sexual development and his work has shown that normal sexual development is highly dependent on strict gene dosage at all major steps of the sex determination pathway.  He is also developing mouse models for disorders of sexual development and studying direct genetic effects on behavioral sex differences. Dr. Vilain earned his B.S. in Biochemistry and Ph.D. in Genetics at Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris; and his M.D. at Faculte de Medicine Necker Enfants Malades.  He has received a number of awards, most recently the Basil O'Connor Award from the March of Dimes.

Lily Wu, MD, PhD
Dr. Wu  has been a faculty member in the Department of Urology since 1998.  She graduated as a member of the inaugural class of Medical Scientist Training Program (M.D., Ph.D. program) at UCLA.  Her education training ranges from clinical disciplines such as pediatrics and hematology/oncology to molecular and cellular fields such as adenovirus biology, transcription regulation, and gene therapy.  Besides her research endeavors, a major part of her effort involves mentoring students at all levels, from undergraduates, graduate, postdoctoral fellows to clinical residents.  Her diverse background creates a fertile ground for the interdisciplinary approaches she has taken in her work.

Gang Zeng, PhD
Associate Professor in Urologic Oncology and Member of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. His current work is focused on cancer immunodiagnosis, immunotherapy, and prostate cancer stem cell biology.