Larissa Bresler, MD, DABMA

Chair & Chief Diversity Officer

Dr. Bresler is a professor of urology with a joint appointment in the Loyola Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Female Pelvic Medicine and Hines VA Hospital. She is an AOA graduate of the Oregon Health and Sciences University and completed her urology residency at Loyola followed by formal medical acupuncture training achieving  the title of DABMA (Diplomate/Doctor of American Board of Medical Acupuncture). Since 2016 she has been serving on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture and is chairperson of their Research Committee. 

Dr. Bresler is an immediate past president, and was the first woman president, of the Medical Acupuncture Research Foundation (MARF). In addition to the inaugural AUA CDO position, Dr. Bresler served and continues to serve in a number of leadership positions including as a senior editor of the National Urology Core Curriculum, President of the Chicago Urological Society, Chairperson of the Women in Urology Committee of the North Central Section of the AUA, Education Committee and the Long Range Planning Committee. 

Dr. Bresler is also a physician scientist with a variety of research interests including male and female pelvic medicine, pain management, bladder dysfunction and resident wellness. She is the recipient of funding from the Industry, the Interstitial Cystitis Association, Merit Award VA funding system grants, and is an applicant for NIH for her work on the microbiome of the urinary tract and acupuncture for genitourinary pain disorders. 

Dr. Bresler was chosen to participate in the prestigious AUA Leadership Program and graduated with the completion of her research leadership project in 2019.

Denise Asafu-Adjei MD, MPH

Director of Male Reproductive Medicine; Assistant Professor - Department of Urology and Department of Public Health Sciences

Denise Asafu-Adjei MD, MPH, is director of Male Reproductive Medicine, Assistant Professor in the Department of Urology and Department of Public Health Sciences at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. She received her medical education at the University of Michigan Medical School and completed her internship and residency training at the New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Asafu-Adjei serves as the Loyola University Chicago Institute for Racial Justice Liaison, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine Equity Advocate and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force among other leadership positions in diversity & inclusion programs.

Gregory A. Broderick, MD

Professor of Urology Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine; Program Director Urology Residency Mayo Clinic Florida

Gregory A. Broderick, MD, is a physician with the Department of Urology at Mayo Clinic in Florida, specializing in the areas of men's health, Erectile Dysfunction, Peyronie's disease, rethral Stricture Disease, Male Stress Incontinence, and Benign prostatic hyperplasia, also known as BPH. He is a Professor of Urology, Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, and Program Director of the Urology Residency Mayo Clinic Florida. Dr. Broderick has been a member of the Mayo Clinic in Florida staff since 1998.

Dr. Broderick earned his MD from the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, following his degree he completed an internship at Yale-New Haven Hospital in general Surgery. He then returned to the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine to complete his residency in General Surgery, and Urology. Following his residency, Dr. Broderick completed his fellowship at the University of California Davis in the Neurourology and Impotence.

Dr. Broderick is an active member of the Florida Urologic Society and the American Urological Association. He is Fellow of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America, and its past-President. He has served as a co-author of AUA Clinical Guidelines for Priapism, Premature Ejaculation and Erectile Dysfunction. He is a member of the Sexual Health Function Council to AUA Foundation and Survivorship Committee to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN).

Pamela W. Coleman, MD, FACS,FPMRS

Associate Professor of Urology; Department of Surgery/ OB GYN; Howard University College of Medicine

Pamela W. Coleman, MD, FACS, FPMRS, is associate professor in the department of urology, surgery and the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the Howard University Hospital. She serves as the interim chief of urology at the Howard University Hospital. Dr. Coleman is a seasoned urologist with 36 years of clinical experience and 22 years in private practice. Dr. Coleman received her Doctor of Medicine at Howard University College of Medicine and conducted her residency at the Albert Einstein-Montefiore Medical Center in New York.

Jimena Cubillos, MD

Associate Professor of Urology and Pediatrics; Diversity Office and Vice Chair of Quality, Safety, and Patient Outcomes, University of Rochester

Jimena Cubillos, MD, is an associate professor of urology and pediatrics at the University of Rochester.  She received her medical degree from the University of Rochester and then completed her residency at Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC and her pediatric urology fellowship at Long Island Jewish Hospital/Schneider’s Children’s Hospital in Long Island, NY.  She then returned to Rochester to start the minimally invasive/robotic pediatric urology program. 

She served as the Director of the Latino Health Pathway for 7 years, an educational pathway for the medical students interested in providing care to the LatinX population and as the Diversity Liaison Officer to the Senior Associate Dean for Inclusion and Culture Development.  She is the Diversity Officer and the Vice Chair of Quality, Safety, and Patient Outcomes for the Department of Urology.  She is fluent in Spanish and conversant in ASL.

Gabriela Gonzalez

Urology Resident Physician, PGY-3

Gabriela Gonzalez, MD, is a PGY-3 urology resident physician at the University of California, Davis. She received her medical training at the University of California Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine. Dr. Gonzalez is committed to mentorship in medical training and has collaborated with physicians, medical students, and undergraduates to create mimentor.org, an online mentorship platform focused on diversity and inclusion in healthcare. Dr. Gonzalez’s has also conducted scholarly work about disparities in urinary incontinence care and is currently leading a study about the Latinx urology trainee experience.

Gwen M. Grimsby, MD

Pediatric Urology Specialist at Pheonix Children's Hospital

Raised in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Dr. Gwen Grimsby completed medical school at the Medical College of Wisconsin, urology residency at Mayo Clinic in Arizona, and pediatric urology fellowship at Children's Medical Center/University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. She became the first female pediatric urologist in the state of Arizona when she joined Phoenix Children's division of Urology in 2015. At Phoenix Children’s she is the clerkship director for rotating residents and students and active in research having published over 50 peer-reviewed articles.

Dr. Grimsby is an Assistant Professor of Urology at Mayo Clinic, University of Arizona, and Creighton University. Her interests include neurogenic bladder and genitourinary reconstruction, the advancement of women in medicine, and global health and volunteerism. She is an active participant in the Phoenix Children’s multi-disciplinary cloaca clinic as well as started a Urology Transition Clinic for young adults with congenital urologic conditions. She is a founding member of the Phoenix Children’s Women’s Surgical Collaborative (a faculty group formed to recruit, promote, and retain female surgeons), and has completed eight medical missions to Ecuador, Haiti, and Peru. Recently published in Annals of Surgery, she completed a survey study of over 4,500 female physicians and found a significantly higher incidence of miscarriage, infertility, and pregnancy complications than the general population. She the chair of the 2023-2024 Society of Women in Urology Task Force on Parenting Resources in Urology and a member of the 2023-2024 AUA Leadership Class.

Nathan D. Grunewald, MD, FACS

Chief Medical Innovation Officer at Sauk Prairie Healthcare

Nathan Grunewald is the Chief Medical Innovation Officer at Sauk Prairie Healthcare. He received his Doctor of Medicine from the Medical College of Wisconsin, completed a residency in urologic surgery and an internship in general surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals. In his clinical work, Grunewald champions the needs of the 20% of U.S. citizens relying on rural health facilities and the needs of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Lourdes Guerrios Rivera

Urologist at VA Caribbean Healthcare System; Assistant Professor and Puerto Rico Trauma Center Research Program Director at University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine

Lourdes Guerrios Rivera is assistant professor of surgery at the University Of Puerto Rico School Of Medicine. Guerrios received her Doctor of Medicine at the University Of Puerto Rico School Of Medicine and completed her research, residency and internship programs at the Puerto Rico Medical Center. Guerrios was a member of a team that engages the United States Department of Defense to create a proposal to advance health equity and reduce disparities in prostate cancer among Puerto Ricans and African American Veterans.

Justin Han, MD

Assistant Professor of Urology at Hofstra-Northwell Zucker School of Medicine; Director for Male Reconstructive Urology, Smith Institute for Urology, Northwell Health; Chair for Quality, Department of Urology, North Shore University Hospital

Justin Han, MD, is a specialist in urologic reconstruction and male incontinence. His clinical interests include urethral strictures, urologic trauma, erectile dysfunction and male voiding dysfunction. He is the only fellowship-trained urologist in Queens and Long Island specializing in male urologic reconstruction. Dr. Han joined the Smith Institute for Urology at North Shore-LIJ following a fellowship in Genitourinary Reconstruction and Prosthetics. His fellowship training focused on a variety of reconstructive surgeries, including urethroplasty, artificial urinary sphincter, male slings, Peyronie s reconstruction, and minimally invasive surgery.

Michelle Jo Semins, MD

Professor, West Virginia University School of Medicine; Chief, Division of Urology, West Virginia University Wheeling Hospital

Michelle Semins, MD, is a professor at West Virginia University School of Medicine and the chief of the division of urology at the West Virginia University Wheeling Hospital. She received her undergraduate degree from The University of Michigan and her medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She then completed her internship in surgery and residency urology training at Johns Hopkins Hospital with additional specialty training in the field of endourology.

Dr. Semins is a board member of the Northeastern Section of the AUA. She is a member of the Endourological Society and serves as Chair of their Diversity and Inclusivity Committee. She is also a member of Research on Calculus Kinetics Society and the Society of Women in Urology. She has a clinical research focus in kidney stones and is a past awardee of a Young Investigator Research Grant by the Northeastern Section of the AUA. She was also named the Young Urologist of the Year by the AUA in 2016. Dr. Semins is a reviewer for the Journal of Urology and many other peer-review journals, and an Associate Editor of Urology. She is a published author of over 40 articles, more than 50 abstracts, and 9 book chapters.

Gjanje Smith-Mathus, MD, MPH

Urologist, WakeMed Physician Practices, Raleigh, NC

Gjanje Smith-Mathus, MD, MPH, is a board-certified urologist with subspecialty certification in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery (FPMRS/urogynecology). Her clinical interests include male and female incontinence and voiding dysfunction, pelvic organ prolapse, vaginal native tissue prolapse repairs and robotic assisted sacrocolpopexy, vesicovaginal fistulae, urethral diverticula and complications related to vaginal mesh.

Dr. Smith-Mathus received her medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine. She completed her urology residency training at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, and her fellowship at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, Washington. She serves on the Society of Women in Urology’s task force on the Role of Women Urologists in Advancing Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) in Urology Residency Recruitment, and the Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine and Urogenital Reconstruction (SUFU) DEI Taskforce.

Simone Thavaseelan, MD

Associate Professor of Surgery/Urology and Chief Director Urology Residency at Brown University

Simone Thavaseelan, MD, completed her fellowship training at Brown University in Minimally Invasive Urology/Endourology/Robotics in 2011. She joined as full time faculty in urology and serves as Chief of Urology at the VA Hospital, overseeing all clinical care and resident training. She is actively involved in resident training at all clinical sites and is an active participant for staffing urology clinic cases. Her interests including stone disease, endourology and robotics. Dr. Thavaseelan is a member of the urology staff at Rhode Island Hospital, the Miriam Hospital, Providence VA Medical Center, Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island and Women & Infants Hospital.

Vijaya M. Vemulakonda, JD, MD

Professor of Pediatric Urology, Director of Research and Residency Program Director, Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, University of Colorado School of Medicine

Vijaya Vemulakonda, MD, is a professor of pediatric urology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine an affiliate faculty member at the Colorado Fetal Care Center and an affiliate faculty member at the Center for Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Colorado. Dr. Vemulakonda received a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, a surgical internship at the Baylor College of Medicine, a residency in the Scott Department of Urology at the Baylor College of Medicine and a fellowship in pediatric urology at the University of Washington. Dr. Vemulakonda has conducted work in ethics and law focused on prenatal intervention and the potential impact of fetal status under the law on at risk populations, including immigrant women. As an educator and residency program director at the University of Colorado, Dr. Vemulakonda has worked to develop programs focused on URM representation, including a urology-focused preliminary internship program and a one-year medical research fellowship program, that have offered alternative pathways to successfully place URM and female applicants in urology residency programs. Dr. Vemulakonda has also served on D&l committees locally and nationally, most recently serving as co-chair of the SAU DEI committee and as a member of the AUA Task Force on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.