The Great Debate is designed to encourage a spirit of camaraderie and showcase the art of persuasion. Selected residents from each AUA Section will participate in a series of eight 10-minute debates on designated topics from different fields of interest submitted by recognized experts.
Witness influential and skilled rhetoric in action, and cheer on your Section representatives!
Saturday, May 4
9:30-11:30 a.m.
Residents Pavilion (Booth #159), Science & Technology Hall
Learn more about The Great Debate game format.
Read FAQs about The Great Debate.
The Residents and Fellows Committee would like to extend a special thank you to this year's judges as well as the question writers who worked to create challenging and thoughtful debate cases for this year's event. View a full list of this year's Great Debate Judges and Question Writers.
Check out pictures from the 2023 Great Debate.
Congratulations to the 2024 Great Debate winners: Madeleine Burg, MD (Western Section); Kole Akula, MD (South Central Section); Phillip A. Westbrook, MD (New York Section); Cathy Nam, MD (North Central Section); Dora Schwartz, MD (New York Section); Elizabeth Ellis, MD (Northeastern Section); Karim Hanna, MD (New England Section); and Ankur Choksi, MD (New England Section) – not pictured
2024 Grand Debate Champion: Dr. Cathy Nam (North Central Section)
Mid-Atlantic Section
Jonathan Li, MD
Geisinger Medical Center
Graduation Date: 2024
Dr. Li grew up in Yonkers, NY. He obtained his B.S. at Binghamton University in NY and earned his medical degree at SUNY Upstate. His career interests include General Urology with special interests in HoLEP and Robotic Surgery.
Young Son, DO
Jefferson New Jersey
Graduation Date: 2025
Young is a PGY 4 at Jefferson New Jersey who is interested in robotic and urologic oncology. He lives in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
New England Section
Ankur Choksi, MD
Yale University School of Medicine
Graduation Date: 2025
Ankur is a fourth-year urology resident at Yale University. He completed his undergraduate studies in materials engineering at Rutgers University and medical school at the University of Maryland. He wants to pursue a career in Endourology/Minimally Invasive Surgery.
Karim Hanna, MD
Boston University Medical Center
Graduation Date: 2025
Karim Hanna is a fourth-year urology resident at Boston University Medical Center. He completed his undergraduate studies with a bachelor's degree in biochemistry and molecular biology at Boston University followed by a medical degree at Albany Medical College. He is planning to continue his urologic training with a fellowship in robotic surgery and minimally invasive urologic oncology.
New York Section
Dora Schwartz, MD
NYU Langone Health
Graduation Date: 2024
Dora Jericevic Schwartz is currently in her chief year of Urology residency at NYU Langone Health. After residency, she will start her Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery fellowship at NYU. She completed medical school at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, receiving the Excellence in Urology Award. Before medical school, Dora worked at Goldman Sachs as an analyst on the Quantitative Investment Strategies team. She graduated from Brown University with an ScB in Applied Mathematics and Economics. She was born in Houston, Texas and lives in Manhattan with her husband and daughter.
Phillip A. Westbrook, MD
NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine
Graduation Date: 2024
Phillip Westbrook is a PGY-5 Urology resident at the NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine. Dr. Westbrook is a native of Lexington, South Carolina and attended Clemson University for his undergraduate education. Dr. Westbrook earned his medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina. Following graduation from residency, Dr. Westbrook will be completing a Genitourinary Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois. In his free time, Dr. Westbrook enjoys spending time with his wife and 2 children, golfing, boating on Lake Murray, and college football Saturdays.
North Central Section
Cathy Nam, MD
University of Michigan
Graduation Date: 2024
Catherine Nam is a chief urology resident at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She attended Brown University and studied human biology and comparative literature and Emory University School of Medicine. She will be completing the andrology fellowship at Northwestern following completion of her residency. Dr. Nam has been a resident board member for Society of Women in Urology and has managed the social media platform for the organization for the past two years. Her research interests include outcomes research in male infertility, urology workforce, and women in urology.
Daniel Sidhom, DO
Detroit Medical Center
Graduation Date: 2024
Daniel Sidhom is currently at PGY-5 at the DMC Urology Residency Program. He is from California and attended medical school at A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona. He will be pursuing a fellowship at Indiana University Department of Urology in Minimally Invasive Urology/Robotics.
Northeastern Section
Haider Abed, MD
University of Western Ontario
Graduation Date: 2025
Haider Abed is the incoming chief resident at Western University in London (Canada). Dr. Abed enjoys spending time in the OR and spending time with his dog.
Elizabeth Ellis, MD
University of Rochester
Graduation Date: 2024
Elizabeth is a St. Louis native and now is a PGY6 resident at the University of Rochester Medical Center. She has a particular interest in renal cell carcinoma biomarkers and will be attending MD Anderson Cancer Center for her Society of Urologic Oncology Fellowship next year. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, traveling, barre exercise classes and spending time with her infant son.
South Central Section
Andrew (AJ) Blazek, MD
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Graduation Date: 2024
AJ Blazek was born in Atlanta, Georgia and now lives in the Midwest with plans to stay in Omaha to work post-graduation. Dr. Blazek loves spending time with his wife and 2 kids exploring Omaha and trying new restaurants. He enjoys playing golf, tennis, pickleball, and playing fantasy football.
Kole Akula, MD
University of Texas Health Sciences Center San Antonio
Graduation Date: 2025
Kole is an active duty Air Force Resident in San Antonio, Texas. He is a New Orleans native who enjoys working out almost as much as eating out. He spends his time away from work exploring central Texas with his wife and three kids. He is an expert in navigating any terrain with a triple stroller. He is also interested in Urologic Oncology.
Southeastern Section
Behzad Jazayeri, MD, EMHA
University of Florida, Jacksonville
Graduation Date: 2024
Behzad Jazayeri is a physician, researcher, and entrepreneur with numerous international awards. his passion is healthcare innovation, quality of life improvement, and personalized care in urologic oncology. In 2013, Behzad founded ReLinking, an application for the Middle East medical students and in 2017, MedAux, a text-message-based patient navigator solution. He has more than 75 publications in peer-reviewed journals,is currently the Chief Resident at the University of Florida, Jacksonville andwill continue his education with a SUO Fellowship at Moffitt Cancer Center next year.
Ethan Wajswol, MD
Mayo Clinic Jacksonville
Graduation Date: 2025
Ethan Wajswol is a native of New Jersey and attended Boston College to obtain his bachelors of science in Biochemistry prior to attending Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, NJ. Ethan is currently a PGY-4 in training at Mayo Clinic Florida’s Urology residency program. His urologic interests lie in robotics, benign prostatic hyperplasia, and prostate cancer. In his spare time, he enjoys working out, skiing, and cooking.
Western Section
Thalia Bajakian, MD
University of Southern California
Graduation Date: 2025
Thalia is an Angeleno, born and raised, with a brief stint in Philadelphia for medical school at Drexel University College of Medicine. She is currently a fourth year resident at USC and is planning to pursue a fellowship in endourology with the hopes of treating complex stones and BPH. In her free time, she likes to run, explore record shops throughout LA, and get to the beach whenever possible.
Madeleine Burg, MD
University of Southern California
Graduation Date: 2024
Madeleine grew up in Santa Maria, California. She was accepted to the combined baccalaureate/MD program at University of Southern California, completing degrees in Biological Sciences and Occupational Therapy. She took a year off in between undergraduate and medical school at USC to live in Guatemala for 6 months, learning Spanish and volunteering in local public health centers with sex-workers. In medical school, she spent a year doing research with Dr. Sia Daneshmand on frailty using perioperative physical fitness testing and wearable fitness trackers. She stayed at USC for residency and ultimately fell in love with URPS (formerly FPMRS). She is excited to be starting an URPS fellowship at UCLA this summer!