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Young Urologist of the Year Award Winners
Established by the 2012-2013 AUA Young Urologists Committee (YUC) Chair, Dr. Michael C. Ost, the Young Urologist of the Year Award is presented annually to select early-career AUA members in recognition of their efforts and commitment to advancing the development of fellow young urologists. The following members were selected by their colleagues who serve on the Young Urologists Committee and endorsed by their respective Section/Society to receive this special honor for 2024.
Susan MacDonald, MD
Mid-Atlantic Section
Penn State University
Dr. Susan MacDonald has been instrumental to the education of her residents at Penn State serving as associate program director and soon to be program director. Her contributions have garnered her departmental awards including outstanding clinic educator (2021), and the outstanding clinic mentor award (2022 and 2023). In the MA-AUA Section, she was chair of the Mid-Atlantic Resident’s Day in 2023 and co-chair in 2022. She serves on the nominating committee, program committee and MA-AUA board. Nationally she continues to engage in research regarding women in urology and be an active participant in SWIU webinars and mentoring. She is an active participant on sectional and national levels and promotes the missions of education and inclusivity.
Sammy Elsamra, MD
New York Section
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Dr. Sammy Elsamra is an Associate Professor for Urology and Section Chief of General Urology, as well as former Residency Program Director at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He is passionate about robotic urologic surgery and also serves as Director of Robotic Surgical Services at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ. Since graduating from Endourology fellowship at the Smith Institute for Urology/Northwell Health, Dr. Elsamra has shown immense dedication to promoting, developing and educating fellow early-career urologists and trainees. He previously served as the New York Section representative to the AUA Young Urologists Committee and assumed the role of Chair from 2021-2022, leading the committee in its efforts to develop fellow young urologists. Dr. Elsamra has organized a number of hands-on training courses regionally for New Jersey area program residents, as well as nationally through directing and proctoring courses at the AUA Annual Meeting. He developed a state-wide Intern Boot Camp for NJ program residents and spearheaded a national AUA virtual intern boot camp, “Gearing Up For Residency.” He has also served as faculty/course director for the AUA Fundamentals of Urology Intern Academy and faculty for curriculum from the Society of Endourology and the Society of Urologic Robotic Surgeons. Dr. Elsamra has given over 60 lectures and presentations to fellow urologists and trainees and published 60 peer-reviewed publications as well as innumerable written and video abstracts, review articles and book chapters.
Helen Bernie, DO
North Central Section
Indiana University
Dr Helen L. Bernie is an assistant professor of urology and the Director of Male Sexual and Reproductive Medicine at Indiana University. She is also the Andrology Fellowship Director and first female in the US to develop an Andrology fellowship. She completed her urology residency training at the University of Rochester in Rochester NY and then went on to complete a 2-year fellowship in Male Sexual and Reproductive Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, NY. Dr Bernie is an active member of the International Society of Sexual Medicine (ISSM) and the Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA) and sits on the SMSNA Board of Directors. She is the Scientific Chair for the upcoming SMSNA annual meeting 2024 and is active on the SMSNA Fellowship and Residency, Young Clinicians, Social Media, and Men's Health Committees as well as the ISSM Young Researchers Committee. Dr Bernie writes the American Urological Association ( AUA) Core curriculum for Peyronie's disease and sits on the International Consultation on Sexual Medicine guideline committee for “Sexual Dysfunction in patients with Male Infertility". She was inducted into the AUA USMART Academy in 2023 and is an author on the SMSNA/AUA Telemedicine and Men’s Health White Paper. Dr Bernie is an early career editor for the Journal of Urology and enjoys mentoring and teaching medical students and residents on Andrology and Mens’ Health.
Scott Quarrier, MD, MPH
Northeastern Section
University of Rochester
Dr. Scott Quarrier is Assistant Professor in the Department of Urology at the University of Rochester. He completed an Endourology Fellowship at the University of Wisconsin in 2020 and has quickly built a thriving clinical practice specializing in endourology. He is an avid researcher and has had numerous abstracts and publications with particular focus on patient reported outcomes. Dr. Quarrier also serves as the Assistant Program Director for the urology residency and Co-Director of the endourology fellowship. His strong commitment to resident education and well-being have allowed him to be a mentee and positive role model to the residents. Institutionally, he serves as Associate Director of Informatics and coordinates implementation and adoption of new technology into clinical practice.
Col. Timothy Baumgartner, MC, USAF
Society of Government Service Urologists
Brooke Army Medical Center
Col Timothy Baumgartner is Chief of Air Force Pediatric Urology and currently serves as the Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) Chief of the Department of Surgery. Dr Baumgartner graduated from SAUSHEC Urology Residency program in 2015 and completed a Pediatric Urology Fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in 2017. He has been assigned to BAMC since this time leading and refining the Urologic care for pediatric patients in the Air Force community worldwide. Dr Baumgartner has also been a leader in military readiness, first as a flight surgeon with over 240 flying hours, and more recently as chief of Urologic readiness and training within the 59th Medical Wing at Lackland Air Force Base.
Col Baumgartner has dedicated the past several years leading three separate humanitarian missions to Honduras from 2021 to 2023 despite the challenges of COVID restrictions. These Air Force teams are composed of Urology faculty and residents along with Anesthesia and nursing personnel. In 2021 and 2022, he led surgical teams that evaluated over 150 adult and pediatric patients, and they performed over 90 complex Urological surgeries. In 2023, he led a dedicated Pediatric Urology humanitarian mission in which he collaborated with the host nation surgeons and residents to perform 10 complex pediatric urologic surgeries, as well as provided education and training in Pediatric urology surgical techniques.
Woodson Smelser, MD
South Central Section
Washington University in St. Louis
Dr. Smelser is a Urologic Surgical Oncologist and an Assistant Professor of Surgery at Washington University in St. Louis. He completed a Society of Urologic Oncology accredited fellowship in urologic surgical oncology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center before joining the faculty at Washington University. Dr. Smelser sees patients at Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Siteman Cancer Center and BJC West County. His research focuses on translational and clinical trials in bladder and upper tract urothelial cancer.
Hung-Jui (Ray) Tan, MD, MSHPM, FACS
Southeastern Section
University of North Carolina
Dr. Tan is an Associate Professor of Urology at the University of North Carolina, where he serves as Director of Urologic Oncology, Urologic Oncology Fellowship Program Director, and Director for Resident and Student Research in the Department of Urology. He is a prolific surgeon-scientist, amassing over $4 million in grants since 2018, and he has published nearly 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts. He leads in numerous intramural and extramural service roles, including the AUA Data Committee and AQUA subcommittee, and he was instrumental in launching the new AUA Data Research Program. While his achievements are many, he considers his 2021 Attending of the Year Award from the UNC Urology residents to be his greatest professional honor.
Kelly Swords, MD, MPH, FACS
Western Section
UC San Diego Health
Dr. Swords is an Associate Clinical Professor in Urology at UC San Diego and a staff Pediatric Urologist at Rady Children’s Hospital but recognized by her peers for being a tireless patient advocate and humanitarian. She has participated in global health efforts in Ghana and Ethiopia through IVU Med and serves on the Society of Pediatric Urology Global Task Force. She has also worked with Ukrainian refugees in Poland. Dr. Swords' clinical and research interests include the radiologic evaluation of the urinary tract, minimally invasive surgery and improving health information technology. She is an active mentor within her department and in support of Urology Unbound. She is also actively involved in health care policy and advocacy efforts through the AUA and the Society of Women in Urology.