Northwestern Medicine Urology 2025 Year in Review: Breakthroughs in Research & Care

Advancing Urologic Research and Care
2025: A Year in Review

2025 was a landmark year for Northwestern Medicine Urology as we proudly celebrated our 125th anniversary. It was a year marked by remarkable progress, from groundbreaking research discoveries to practice-changing advances and departmental milestones. Our team continues to lead innovation in urologic care, through achievements that shaped patient outcomes, advanced scientific understanding and strengthened our commitment to excellence. Together we will continue to advance urologic care through research, education and discovery.

Department milestones

Northwestern Medicine Urology Leads Nation in NIH Funding and Care
The Department of Urology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is No. 1 in NIH funding in fiscal year 2024, generating over $7.1 million in NIH funding. We are also honored to have the nation's highest-funded urology principal investigator, Sarki A. Abdulkadir, PhD, as well as Qi Cao, PhD, who ranks fourth.

Urology Department Celebrates 125 Years of Excellence
Founded in 1900, Northwestern Medicine Department of Urology at Northwestern Medicine was among the first urology departments in the country. Over the past 125 years, we’ve advanced urologic care through pioneering research, exceptional education and innovative clinical practices.

Ziho Lee, MD: Taking the Cases Others Won't
Ziho Lee, MD, is one of only a few genitourinary reconstructive surgeons in the nation, specializing in complex robotic reconstruction of both the upper and lower urinary tracts, often performing surgeries considered too risky or advanced for traditional approaches.

Leadership Through Training: Northwestern Medicine Urology’s Legacy
Edward M. Schaeffer, MD, PhD, moderates a thoughtful conversation with two former Northwestern Medicine residents, Richard Matulewicz, MD, and Neema Navai, MD. Together, they reflect on their training at Northwestern Medicine, share where their journeys have taken them, and explore how their experiences shaped their career paths and approach to patient care today.

Clinical Advances and Insights

FDA Approval of Inlexzo: A Breakthrough in Bladder Cancer Care
Joshua Meeks, MD, PhD, discusses the gemcitabine intravesical system Inlexzo (formerly TAR-200), a novel therapy for BCG-unresponsive, non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. Having played a key role in its clinical development through Northwestern Medicine's leadership in SunRISe studies, Dr. Meeks explores its potential to transform patient care.

Case Report: HoLEP for Persistent LUTs After Aquablation
Amy E. Krambeck, MD, performs a HoLEP on a 70-year-old male with a history of lower urinary tract symptoms, chronic UTIs and an obstructed prosthetic urethra.

Complex Bilateral Epididymovasostomy Results in Healthy Semen Analysis
A 47-year-old patient faced difficulties in conceiving following an unsuccessful vasectomy reversal. After failed attempts of IVF and sperm freezing, he consulted Robert E. Brannigan, MD, who performed a bilateral epididymovasostomy to bypass a suspected blockage.

Insights on Clinical Guidelines for Complicated UTI Treatment and Management
Jennifer U. Miles-Thomas, MD, moderates a thoughtful conversation with Anthony Schaeffer, MD, discussing complicated urinary tract infections (cUTIs) and their management. Dr. Schaeffer, who contributed to the recent IDSA guidelines on cUTIs, emphasizes the need to understand underlying causes of recurrent infections rather than treating them as isolated events.

CME: Strategies for Managing Overactive Bladder in Women
Jennifer U. Miles-Thomas, MD, explores the diagnosis and treatment of overactive bladder in women. She covers underlying causes, impact on quality of life and the range of treatment options.

Vesicourethral Anastomotic Stricture Reconstruction Using a Combined Perineal and Abdomino Approach
Ziho Lee, MD, navigates a complex surgical case involving a 70-year-old patient with a post-prostatectomy urinary stricture. The patient had a challenging history, including recurrent urinary retention and dilations.

Research Discoveries

Key Drivers Found to Predict NMIBC Recurrence and BCG Response
A Northwestern Medicine study published by Joshua Meeks, MD, PhD, in European Urology defined molecular subtypes of T1 non-muscle invasive bladder cancer and developed a framework to predict recurrence risk and guide treatment.

Combination Treatment Extends Survival in Advanced Bladder Cancer
Immunotherapy administered before and after chemotherapy along with surgical removal of the bladder improved survival compared to chemotherapy alone in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, according to results of a recent clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The findings demonstrate the potential of a new treatment regimen for patients with locally advanced bladder cancer, according to Joshua Meeks, MD, PhD, a co-author of the study.

Novel Biomarkers Offer New Path for Personalized Prostate Cancer Care
“This is a coming-of-age for precision medicine in the field of prostate oncology,” says Edward M. Schaeffer, MD, PhD, co-author of the study published in Cell. “This has a lot of potential power to enhance the precision with which we deploy a variety of treatments for prostate cancer.”

Blood Test May Reduce Unnecessary Prostate Cancer Biopsies
A blood test may help reduce unnecessary prostate biopsies and can detect prostate cancer with similar sensitivity to standard screening in patients across racial and ethnic groups, according to a multi-center trial published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Led by Adam Murphy, MD, Northwestern Medicine was the lead U.S. site for the study.

Combo Therapy Boosts MYC Inhibitor Efficacy Against Aggressive Cancers
Northwestern Medicine researchers have discovered a new combination approach that may improve the efficacy of MYC inhibitor drugs for treating aggressive and treatment-resistant cancers, according to a recent Northwestern Medicine study published in Science Advances.

Novel Longcoding RNA May Serve as Therapeutic Target for Prostate Cancer
Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered that a novel long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) could serve as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for prostate cancer, according to a recent study published in Science Advances.

Physician Recognition and Leadership Appointments

Robert E. Brannigan, MD
Elected President, American Society for Reproductive Medicine

Jennifer U. Miles-Thomas, MD
Named Treasurer of the American Urological Association
Gold Circle Award for Outstanding Podcast, American Society of Association Executives

Edward M. Schaeffer, MD, PhD
Named Chief Clinical Officer for Cancer at Northwestern Medicine

Channa Amarasekera, MD
Excellence in Medical Student Teaching, Feinberg School of Medicine

Amy E. Krambeck, MD
2nd Place, Best Lecture, Jackson Hole Urology Conference

Ziho Lee, MD
Best Abstract Award, Society of Genitourinary Reconstructive Surgeons Annual Meeting
Best Video Award, North Central Section, American Urological Association Annual Meeting
Best Video Award, American Urological Association Annual Meeting
Best Video Award, North American Robotic Urology Society Annual Meeting

Peter N. Tsambarlis, MD
Outstanding Reviewer Award, Asian Journal of Andrology