The 2025 graduation season celebrated Division of Urology trainees, beginning with a day of trainee research recognition and culminating in a graduation dinner and ceremony. Four residents graduated on June 27 and were celebrated at the Charles F. Knight Executive Education & Conference Center with an evening among colleagues, family and faculty mentors. Congratulations to the graduates.
Justin J. Cordonnier Visiting Professorship
On Friday, May 30 the division hosted the 2025 Justin J. Cordonnier Visiting Professorship at The Eric P. Newman Education Center (EPNEC). David Penson, MD, MPH, MMHC, was the invited professor. He is the chair of Urologic Oncology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Penson gave lectures on clinical practice and the nature of being ushered into leadership as a surgeon who is not seeking a leadership position.
Michael Johnson, MD, the director of the Division of Urology, gave a welcome address and introduced the visiting professor, giving a summary of his esteemed career and contributions to urologic surgery.
Penson first presented his clinical lecture, titled “Understanding the long-term patient-reported experience in localized prostate cancer.” His lecture discussed the experiences of patients with prostate cancer that is wholly contained within the prostate.
After Penson’s first lecture, residents held a debate regarding the efficacy of different prostate cancer treatments. The debate titled Favorable Intermediate Risk Prostate Cancer, discussed the respective effects of prostatectomy, focal ablation, active surveillance and radiation.
Penson gave his leadership lecture, called Taking the Reluctant Path: Choosing to lead when you would rather follow, in which he discussed facing and traversing the path of leadership.
Sam Bhayani, MD, rounded out the lecture portion of the day with a leadership talk regarding the unpredictable and complex nature of leading an academic medical center.
After Penson gave his final lecture for the day, he joined Bhayani, Johnson, and Henry Lai, MD, for a roundtable question-and-answer session for the audience of faculty and trainees.
The professorship is named after Justin J. Cordonnier, MD, who became the first full-time director of the division in 1953, serving through 1970. In 1975, the professorship was established in his honor by former residents who trained under his tutelage, and the Cordonnier Society has invited guest lecturers each year to address graduating residents.
Graduation celebration
On Friday, June 27, the Division of Urology residency and fellowship held their graduation celebration. This year, four residents and four fellows celebrated their academic accomplishments of the past several years among colleagues, family, friends, and faculty mentors.
Michael Johnson, MD, the director of the Division of Urology, gave opening remarks and introduced the incoming interns.
Clayton Brinkley, MD, Dylan Mittauer, MD, Victoria Mityul, MD, and Sarah Wu, MD, are the new 2025-2026 urology interns. Brinkley earned his medical degree at University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine, Wu earned her medical degree from Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine in Phoenix, Arizona. Mittauer and Mityul both earned their medical degrees at WashU Medicine.
Honors
After welcoming the interns, Johnson then introduced Lai, the current program director of the urologic surgery residency, who took over to present division awards to residents.
- Sajya Singh, MD, received the Scholarship Award for junior residents.
- Connor McCormick, MD, received the Scholarship Award for senior residents.
- The Resident Research Award was presented to Daniel Wong, MD.
- Kendrick Campbell, MD, received the Resident in Excellence Award.
- The Morris Abrams Award was presented to Sajya Singh, MD.
After presenting awards to residents, Lai invited the graduating residents to announce the Charles Manley Teaching Award. This award is given to a member of the faculty for their tireless efforts in mentorship and is voted upon by all trainees in the residency program. The chief residents then presented the award to Kefu Du, MD.
Residency recognition
Faculty mentors took turns introducing and offering remarks about trainees and their journeys through the residency program. Mentors gave insights into each resident’s development and achievements, and brief glimpse into what’s next on the horizon for each of them in their practice.
Figenshau offered warm remarks and congratulations as he introduced Helen Kim, MD. Kim will be entering practice as a urologist.
Lewis Thomas, MD, introduced Connor McCormick, MD, giving a brief review of his time in residence. He will be entering practice as a urologist in his home state of Montana.
Jonathan Maldonado, MD, introduced Steven Ngo, MD. Ngo is entering practice as a urologist in California.
Du introduced Daniel Wong, MD. Wong is going into fellowship at Stanford University in California for endourology.
Johnson and Lai gave closing remarks, encouraging the residency and fellowship graduates to stay in contact with each other as they continue to traverse their academic and clinical professional journeys.
Fellowship recognition
Gilbert Comola, PA, presented Raquel Porporis, NP, who graduated from the Urology Nurse Practitioner Fellowship program.
R. Sherburne Figenshau, MD, director of the endourology fellowship, announced Vijay Vishwanath, MD, remarking on their accomplishments. Vishwanath joins the ranks of excellent urologists trained in this program.
Johnson announced Nathan Colon, MD, who graduated from the Society of Urologic Oncology fellowship program.
Gregory Murphy, MD, program director for the urologic trauma and reconstruction fellowship, presented Joseph Baiocco, MD.
After each fellowship graduate was recognized, Lai took the podium to announce and recognize the chief residents, offering remarks about their time during residency and the strong network they developed over the past several years working alongside each other. He then conferred certificates, congratulating them for their excellent efforts and bright future after residency.