2025 Yale Urology Visiting Professor and Graduation Day

It was a full day of research, awards, and camaraderie during the 2025 Bernard Lytton Visiting Professor Day and Yale Urology Graduation Reception.

After a welcome from Yale Urology Chair Isaac Kim, MD, PhD, MBA, the keynote and presentations began.

Christopher Gonzalez, MD, MBA, was this year's Bernard Lytton visiting professor. The chair of urology at Loyola University Medical Center presented on “Management of Adults with Pediatric Hypospadias Repair.”

Research speed talks and a case presentation made up the first half of the scientific session:

• Christopher Hayden, MD, “Resident Initiated Surgical Feedback: A Survey of Attending and Resident Physicians”
• Ankur Choksi, MD, “Does Peripheral Nerve Block Reduce Opioid Requirements in Patients Undergoing Mini-PCNL?”
• Syed Rahman, MD, “Modeling Survival Outcomes of KEYNOTE-564 with Standard of Care Control Arm Treatment: A Simulation Study"
• Maximilian Rabil, MD, “Clinical Management Following PSMA-PET for Biochemically Recurrent Prostate Cancer”
• Ellen Cahill, MD, “Mail-In Semen Analysis vs Fresh Sample for Post-Vasectomy Semen Analysis: Identifying an Efficient Approach to Achieving Post-Vasectomy Clearance”
• Olamide Olawoyin, MD, “The Use of E-Consents Improve Delay in First Case Start Time”
• Michael Jalfon, MD, “Simulating the Impact of Adjuvant Immunotherapy in the NIAGARA Trial Using Gated Counterfactual Survival Modeling”
• Sharath Reddy, MD, “Clinical Impact and Attitudes Towards Ambient Artificial Intelligence Scribes in an Academic Urology Practice”
• Mursal Gardezi, MD, “Salvage Laser Enucleation of the Prostate (LEP) after Aquablation: Results from the LUMEN Network”
• Michael Jalfon, MD, case presentation

The second half of the scientific session was dedicated to resident debates:

• First debate - “One and Done or Take It in Stages?” Jeffrey Carbonella, MD, presented for “Single Stage,” and Christopher Hayden, MD, presented for “Staged Repair.” The winner was Hayden.
• Second Debate - “Sphincter Showdown.” Sharath Reddy, MD, presented for “AUS” and Syed Rahman, MD, presented for “ProAct.” Rahman was the winner.
• Third Debate - “The Great Debate: Immediate Implant or Tactical Timeout?” Olamide Olawoyin, MD, presented for “Early Placement,” and Dylan Heckscher, MD, presented for “Delayed.” Heckscher won.

After the visiting professor portion came to an end, residents, fellows, faculty, staff, family, and friends made their way to the Yale Urology graduation dinner.

Several awards were presented throughout the evening:

• Resident Award for Research Excellence - Syed Rahman, MD
• Resident Award for Academic Excellence - Ellen Cahill, MD
• Advanced Practice Provider of the Year Award - Cynthia Curto, MSN, FNP, APRN
• Faculty Award for Research Excellence - Joseph Renzulli, MD
• Faculty Award for Clinical Excellence - Adam Hittelman, MD, PhD
• Most Influential Technician - Myungsook Park
• Most Influential Nurse(s) - Myrna Equitan, BSN, and Rosita Mosot, BSN
• Patient Safety Award - James Curley
• Compassionate Care Award - Dawn Parson, CST
• Robert M. Weiss Outstanding Teaching Award - Piruz Motamedinia, MD
• Dean Compassionate Care Award - Ankur Choksi, MD

Certificates were also given to the graduates:

• QI Fellow - Peter Palencia
• Oncology Research Fellow - Gabriella Diaz, MD
• Oncology Research Fellow - Nethusan Sivanesan
• Endourology Clinical Fellow - Ganesh Sanekommu, MD
• Graduating Chiefs - Ankur Choksi, MD; Tashzna Jones, MD; and Soum Lokeshwar, MD, MBA