A s all of you know, we suffered a great loss when Dr. Jack Grayhack died in August. The impact of

his leadership on the department and its graduates has been profound. It was a pleasure to see the Grayhack children and their families at Jack’s and Betty’s wakes this year. They are a remarkably tal-ented, friendly, and generous group of individuals. Many of you contributed your thoughts to a written legacy as a surprise for Jack’s family, which is availa-ble online, and we hope to keep a copy of it within the department. One of Jack’s greatest achievements was instilling a love of urology in his residents and faculty members. He was very proud of all their accomplishments. Two of his former residents have recently accepted chair-manships: Dean Assimos was named the inaugural chair of the Department of Urology at the University of Alabama Birmingham School of Medicine and Kevin McVary at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield, IL. Both of these gentlemen are highly accomplished clinician-scientists and will make a significant impact on their new respective institutions. It is also a pleasure to see that 13 Northwestern medical students have elected to go into urology this year. As you all know, more students have entered urology from Northwestern by several fold greater than the next closest institution. When these stu-dents crisscross the country, they are delighted to interact with the multitude of Northwestern students, residents, and faculty who are populating the best urology programs. We look forward to seeing many of you at the AUA meeting in San Diego with George and Susan Kaplan and Franklin and Jean Gaylis as the hosts. With best regards.

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R E M E M B E R I N G J O H N T . G R A Y H A C K , M D

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M E E T T H E N E W R E S I D E N T S , C L A S S O F 2 0 1 9

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J O O ’ C O N O R P A S S E S

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N U B I D S F A R E W E L L T O K E V I N T . M C V A R Y , M D

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N O R T H W E S T E R N U N I V E R S I T Y ’ S D E P A R T M E N T O F U R O L O G Y N E W S L E T T E R

M E S S A G E F R O M T H E C H A I R M A N

Anthony J. Schaeffer, MD

Herman L. Kretschmer Professor and Chair

A world-renowned physician, surgeon, researcher, and scholar, John T. Grayhack, MD, professor emer-

itus and former chairman of urology, died August 8, 2012.

“He was a professor, chief, colleague, and mentor,” said Anthony J. Schaeffer, MD, chair

of Department of Urology and Herman L. Kretschmer Professor of Urology, who has known and

worked with Grayhack since 1976. “He was highly regarded by everyone and had a commitment to

improve patient care.”

“He was a thoughtful, understanding, and inspiring clinician, scientist, and leader. He made an imme-

diate impact on the Department of Urology by being a tremendous surgeon-scientist and as a mentor

whose students will continue his legacy,” he said. “He had a high level of excellence and expected the

highest levels of integrity and scientific rigor from everyone. He was an outstanding caregiver, who

had an individual zest for life.”

Grayhack received his BA and MD from the University of Chicago. After a general surgery internship and residency at Johns Hopkins,

Grayhack spent a year in their research labs and became interested in all phases of urology. He completed his urological training in 1953.

He was an assistant professor at Hopkins and served two years in the Air Force before being recruited to Northwestern University in 1956.

At the medical school, he was appointed the chair and Herman Kretchmer Professor of Urology in 1963, a position he held until 1989.

Grayhack also distinguished himself as an inspiring teacher and investigator. When he became chair, the Northwestern urology residency

was extended to include a year of research fellowship in his laboratory. The residency program grew under his direction and was strength-

ened by an affiliation with Children’s Memorial and Evanston Hospitals in 1970. Approximately one-third of residents completing the program

have entered academic careers.

During his tenure as chairman, he established the Kretschmer Urological Research Laboratories, which today is a premier research center.

Grayhack received some of the most prestigious awards in urology, including the American Urological Association (AUA)'s Hugh Hampton

Young Award in 1979, the Eugene Fuller Prostate Award in 1989, the Russell and Mary Hugh Scott Education Award in 1991, the Ramon

Guiteras Award in 1994, and the Presidential Citation in 2002.

He served on numerous AUA committees, as well as president of the American Board of Urology, the American Association of Genitourinary

Surgeons, the Clinical Society of Genitourinary Surgeons, and the Society of University Urologists. Grayhack was editor of the Yearbook of

Urology from 1963 to 1978 and editor of the Journal of Urology from 1985 to 1994.

Grayhack was the beloved husband for 62 years of the late Elizabeth "Betty" Grayhack and the loving father of Beth, John, Bill, and Anne

Grayhack and Linda Replogle.

Page 2 T H E U R O L O G Y F L O W

John Thomas Grayhack

F O R M E R C H A I R M A N A N D H E R M A N K R E T C H M E R P R O F E S S O R , J O H N T H O M A S G R A Y H A C K , P A S S E S A W A Y

Page 3 T H E U R O L O G Y F L O W

U R O L O G Y D E P A R T M E N T L E A D S J U M P I N N I H F U N D I N G

For the last decade, Northwestern’s Department of Urology has ranked in the top 10 in funding by the National Institutes of Health(NIH). As of 2013 the Department of Urology has ascended to number three in the entire country for medical school funding according to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research.

The Department of Urology isn’t the only department excelling, however. Eight of Feinberg’s departments rank in the top 10 of their

research areas, and 11 departments rank in the top 20, with the Department of Urology ranking the highest among Feinberg departments.

Urology (3); Physiology (3); Obstetrics and Gynecology (4); Preventive Medicine (4); Dermatology (7); Physical Medicine and Rehabilita-

tion (8); Cell and Molecular Biology (9); Neurology (10); Medicine (17); Otolaryngology (20); Surgery (20).

Also included are two affiliated specialty hospitals: Rehabilitation Institute (1); Children’s Memorial Hospital (8).

Overall, Northwestern ranks 21st among the 130 institutions awarded grants directly from NIH. This qualifies Northwestern as the biggest gainer, 19 spots, since 2001. The ranking is also the highest Feinberg has achieved to date, an increase from 24 in 2011 and 41 in 1997. “This vital NIH funding enables our investigators to make breakthrough discoveries while mentoring and training the next generation of scien-tists and physician-scientists,” said Eric G. Neilson, MD, vice president for medical affairs and Lewis Landsberg Dean. “Our new ranking is a validation of our superb Feinberg faculty and their diligent efforts to conduct important biomedical research.” The growth isn’t coming from NIH, either. Thanks to the unstable economic climate of the last few years, NIH hasn’t changed significantly, but that has not stopped Northwestern from progressing. “The NIH budget has been relatively flat for the last several years,” said Rex Chisholm, PhD, vice dean of scientific affairs and graduate edu-cation, and associate vice president for research at Northwestern University. “The medical school faculty hasn’t grown significantly. Feinberg faculty have been focused and effective in securing funding; we’ve been more successful than other institutions in competing for awards by increasing our market share.”

When PGY5, Laurie Bachrach, signed up for her IVUMed trip, she had high hopes for a great experience. This was tempered by her

previous international experiences where she felt limited in her ability to leave a lasting impact. She was more hopeful for this trip

based on the experiences of other IVUMed participants and the strong mission of “teach one, reach many.” She is delighted to say

that this trip exceeded all of her hopes and expectations. A combination of receptive and competent hosts and realistic goals made

this a worthwhile experience, which she believes will have a lasting impact on the Mongolian urologists and patients.

The trip started with a late arrival to Ulan Bator on a Wednesday night. The next morning they went to the hospital around 8 am and

were immediately ushered into a conference room. With very little introduction they immediately began to see patients who were pre-

selected by their Mongolian colleagues as potential operative candidates. As their trip was focused on reconstruction and laparosco-

py, the patients they saw were almost exclusively candidates for urethroplasty or laparoscopy. The IVUmed team evaluated the pa-

tients’ brief histories and appropriate imaging and

rapidly filled their schedule for the entire trip over

the course of a morning, including their first case to

be performed that afternoon. For Dr. Bachrach’s own

records she took notes and photos of every patient

along with relevant imaging and organized it into an

ad hoc medical record. This ended up being utilized

by the rest of the team and enhanced their experi-

ence, as it allowed them to think about and discuss

their surgical approaches in advance and anticipate

challenges in the operating room. There were sever-

al notable things about the process of meeting pa-

tients and scheduling their surgeries. Many of the

patients were waiting in the hospital for IVUmed’s

arrival with their families, and were very assertive

about being seen. Patients also seemed surprisingly

well informed about their disease process and the

treatment options available. Dr. Bachrach believes

this is a testament to the Mongolian doctors. The

existing knowledge and skill of the Mongolian doc-

tors, coupled with a very focused teaching mission, contributed strongly to the success of the trip. This was made possible in no

small part by the participation of Dr. Jeremy Myers, who had been there a year ago. Because they knew his expertise and had been

exposed to some of the techniques he had taught the previous year, they seemed ready to use this trip to solidify their skills. Dr.

Bachrach says it was a professionally and personally gratifying experience.

One of her concerns early on was that it would be tough to balance her desire to pursue her own training and education without tak-

ing away from their training. Dr. Myers was very helpful in negotiating this by defining specific roles for each case. In the end, they

became so busy that there was room for all of the IVUmed members to work at the same time. That allowed them to take care of

more patients, while also permitting everyone to get a richer training opportunity. Dr. Bachrach says she was very impressed with the

organization of the trip and the impact they had and she hopes to make IVUmed a part of her professional life once she goes into

practice.

R E S I D E N T E L E C T I V E R O T A T I O N P R O F I L E :

M O N G O L I A

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This past year all of the residents were given iPads to assist in

training. They have taken full advantage, not only for learning but

teaching as well. During chief conference (left) recently, the resi-

dents were able to use the application DrawMD to assist with

teaching as they marked up anatomy photos which they then pro-

jected.

R E S I D E N T S I N T E G R A T E T E C H N O L O G Y

Brian Jordan was born in Seattle, Washington. He received his undergraduate degree in Biology-Chemistry and Legal Studies from Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California. He will graduate from the University of Washington School of Medicine in May, 2013.

Christopher Morrison was born in San Francisco, California. He earned his BA in Biological Sciences from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He will graduate from University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine in May, 2013.

John DeLancey was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He completed his undergraduate education at the University of Michigan and his M.P.H in Epidemiol-ogy from Emory University in Atlanta. John will graduate from University of Michigan Medical School in May, 2013.

N O R T H W E S T E R N U N I V E R S I T Y F E I N B E R G S C H O O L O F M E D I C I N E

R E S I D E N T S I N U R O L O G Y — C L A S S O F 2 0 1 9

Please Welcome… Page 5

Joan Barbara Mundie O'Conor, of Glenview, Illinois and San Diego

California, passed away at her home in California on Saturday,

February 2nd, 2013. Joan, known affectionately as "Jo," was born

in Los Angeles in 1930, the daughter of Mary Margaret Kirwin and

Paul Howard Mundie. Jo attended Flintridge Sacred Heart Acade-

my in Pasadena, California and graduated from Beverly Hills High

School, going on to earn a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education at

Northwestern University. She met her husband of forty years, Dr.

Vincent John O'Conor, Jr., while attending Northwestern. After

college she settled in to life as a wife and mother, raising four

children and traveling the world with her husband. She assisted

Vince with medical relief work in Algeria and Haiti, and was an

active supporter of Boy's Town, the Susan G. Komen Foundation,

and several other charities. A generous, free spirit and active trav-

eler, she spent several years living part-time on a small island in

the Bahamas, hiked The Grand Canyon in her sixties, and traveled

to Mexico and Cuba with her son Sean at the age of eighty.

Assistant Professor Praveen Thumbikat have been named to the O’Conor Family Research

Professorship. Praveen has been awarded a second R01 grant from NIDDK, T Cells in Chronic

Pelvic Pain. Chronic pelvic pain is the hallmark of patients with chronic pelvic pain syndrome

(CPPS), a category of prostatitis that is a significant source of morbidity in American men. The

cause of CPPS is unknown and there is an urgent need for understanding the disease mecha-

nism, to drive targeted therapy. This project will attempt to define the role of the Th1/Th17

immune response in CP/CPPS and to identify novel methods to achieve disease resolution.

Assistant Professor Praveen Thumbikat have been named to the O’Conor Family Research

Professorship. Praveen has been awarded a second R01 grant from NIDDK, T Cells in Chronic

Pelvic Pain. Chronic pelvic pain is the hallmark of patients with chronic pelvic pain syndrome

(CPPS), a category of prostatitis that is a significant source of morbidity in American men. The

cause of CPPS is unknown and there is an urgent need for understanding the disease mecha-

nism, to drive targeted therapy. This project will attempt to define the role of the Th1/Th17

immune response in CP/CPPS and to identify novel methods to achieve disease resolution.

J O A N N A O ’ C O N O R P A S S E S A W A Y

Page 6 T H E U R O L O G Y F L O W

She is survived by sons Rory O'Conor, Vincent John (Sean)

O'Conor III, and daughter Andrea Duncan (Andi) O'Conor. She is

predeceased by Vincent John O'Conor Jr. (1927-1992) and son

Peter Carey O'Conor (1962-1988.) In lieu of flowers, memorials

may be sent to The Vincent J. O’Conor Fund at Northwestern Uni-

versity Feinberg School of Medicine, 420 E. Superior St., Rubloff

Bldg., 9th floor, attn: Ross Crampton, Chicago, IL 60611. Memorial

services to be announced.

I N S I D E T H E D E P A R T M E N T

Associate Professor David Klumpp is the first recipient of the Anthony J. Schaeffer Chair. The

formal investiture ceremony will be held on June 5, 2013, and will be attended by many of the

donors who contributed to the endowment.

Dr. Joshua Meeks joined the faculty

at Northwestern University as an

Assistant Professor of Urology and

the Section Chief of Robotic Surgery

at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Cen-

ter in January 2013. Josh splits his

time between the VA Medical Cen-

ter doing robotic surgery, oncology

at NMH, and his basic science re-

search focused on the genetics and

epigenetics of bladder cancer. Prior

to this appointment, Josh complet-

ed his residency at Northwestern

University, and a fellowship in uro-

logic oncology at Memorial Sloan-

Kettering in New York City.

Dr. Sarah Flury joined the faculty as

an NMFF member in January

2013. She is a general urologist with

specific interest in kidney stone man-

agement and work up, hematuria

evaluation, and prostate cancer

screening. She is working in three

locations including our Galter office

downtown, the Jesse Brown VA Medi-

cal Center, and the Northwestern

Medicine Glenview office which

opened on March 1, 2013.

Dr. William Kaplan will be stepping

down from the position of Division

Head of Children’s Memorial Hospital,

effective July 1, 2013. Bill was ap-

pointed to this position in 2003, and

under his leadership the Division has

grown in both size and stature to be

ranked 6th in the nation by US News

and World Report. In addition, he has

served as the President of the Chil-

dren’s Surgical Foundation and was

instrumental in developing the busi-

ness relationship between CSF and

the Hospital. Bill will remain an active

and engaged member of the Division.

A N N O U N C E M E N T S

Page 7 T H E U R O L O G Y F L O W

2 0 1 3 A U A N O R T H W E S T E R N A L U M N I D I N N E R

The Annual AUA meeting will be held in San Diego,

CA, this year at the San Diego Convention Center.

The meeting will include more than 100 courses,

with more than two dozen hands-on courses, includ-

ing nine robotics courses, and nine hours of live sur-

gery.

As always, Northwestern will be hosting an Alumni

dinner, this year to be held at Bandar on Sunday,

May 5th.

Bandar is located at 845 4th Ave in San Diego, CA.

Details will be mailed to alumni soon. The event

coordinator is Brittani Miller (brittani-

miller@northwestern.edu)

K E V I N T . M C V A R Y , M D , L E A V E S T H E D E P A R T M E N T A F T E R 2 5 Y E A R S

"Few achieve the level of clinical and academic success that

Kevin has achieved. He is a true role model for his students,

his residents, and his peers. He is a dear

friend, and he is already missed here at

Northwestern,” says Dr. Robert Brannigan,

who co-chaired the Andrology fellowship

with Dr. McVary.

He has generated more than 300 publica-

tions including refereed journal articles,

books, book chapters and abstracts. He

currently serves as an Associate Editor of

the Journal of Urology. Here are some of his

most prominent publications from his time

at Northwestern:

McVary, K.T., Clinical practice. Erectile dysfunction. N

Engl J Med, Dec 13, 2007. 357(24): p. 2472-81.

McVary KT, Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and

urinary retention. Lancet, Jan 21 2006. 367(9506): p.

195-6.

Gacci M, Corona G, Salvi M, Vignozzi L, McVary KT, et al.

A systematic review and meta-analysis on the use of

phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors alone or in combination

with α-blockers for lower urinary tract symptoms due to

benign prostatic hyperplasia. Eur Urol. 2012 May;61

(5):994-1003.

Helfand BT, Evans RM, McVary KT. A Comparison of the

Frequencies of Medical Therapies for Overactive Blad-

der in Men and Women: Analysis of More Than 7.2 Mil-

lion Aging Patients. Eur Urol. 2010 Apr;57(4):586-91.

The department is sad to see Dr. McVary depart, but wishes

him the best of luck as he returns to his hometown.

In January, 2013, Dr. Kevin T. McVary left the department in

order to become Department of Urology Division Chairman at

Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.

Before leaving, Dr. McVary had been a valu-

able member of the Department, serving as

Professor of Urology.

Dr. Kevin T. McVary graduated with distinc-

tion from Northwestern University. He re-

ceived his medical degree and urology resi-

dency training from Northwestern Medical

School. This included a one-year urology

research fellowship investigating neural

influences on sexual reflexes. In addition,

he was granted a Riba Urology Research Fellow-

ship.

Dr. McVary joined the staff at Northwestern Memorial Hospital

in 1989 and was Professor of Urology at Northwestern Univer-

sity Feinberg School of Medicine until 2013. He served as the

Director of the Center for Sexual Health and conducted the

Prostate Diseases Minimally Invasive Program at Northwest-

ern Memorial Hospital. He also served as Visiting Professor at

over a dozen different schools.

Dr. McVary’s primary clinical areas include prostate diseases

such as prostate cancer and BPH as well as the evaluation

and treatment of sexual dysfunction. He also treats male

LUTS/voiding dysfunction, urethral stricture, and peyronies

disease. He had extensive experience conducting clinical trials

for the National Institute of Health and numerous private and

industry foundations. An experienced investigator in prostatic

disorders, andrology and erectile dysfunction, Dr. McVary has

been principal investigator of more than 115 clinical trials.

Page 8 T H E U R O L O G Y F L O W

Kevin T. McVary, MD

Professor of Urology

How do you annihilate lymphoma with-

out using any drugs?

Starve it to death by depriving it of what

appears to be a favorite food: HDL cho-

lesterol.

Northwestern Medicine® researchers

discovered this with a new nanoparticle

that acts like a secret double agent. It

appears to the cancerous lymphoma

cell like a preferred meal – natural HDL.

But when the particle engages the cell,

it actually plugs it up and blocks choles-

terol from entering. Deprived of an es-

sential nutrient, the cell eventually

dies.

A new study by C. Shad Thaxton,

MD, Assistant Professor in Urology,

and Leo Gordon, MD, Abby and John

Friend Professor of Oncology Research,

shows that synthetic HDL nanoparticles

killed B-cell lymphoma, the most com-

mon form of the disease, in cultured

human cells, and inhibited human B-cell

lymphoma tumor growth in mice.

The paper was published on Monday,

January 21, in the journal Proceedings

of the National Academy of Sciences.

“This has the potential to eventually be-

come a nontoxic treatment for B-cell lym-

phoma which does not involve chemothera-

py,” said Gordon, a co-corresponding au-

thor with Thaxton on the paper. “It’s an

exciting preliminary finding.

Recent studies have shown that B-cell lym-

phoma is dependent on the uptake of natu-

ral HDL – short for high-density lipoprotein

– from which it derives fat content, such as

cholesterol.

The nanoparticle – originally developed by

Thaxton as a possible therapy for heart

disease – closely mimics the size, shape,

and surface chemistry of natural HDL parti-

cles. But it has one key difference: a five

nanometer gold particle at its core. Thus,

when the nanoparticle is incubated with

human B-cell lymphoma cells or used to

treat a mouse with the human tumor, it

socks lymphoma with a double whammy.

After it attaches to the lymphoma cell, the

gold particle’s spongy surface sucks out its

cholesterol while the gold core prevents the

cell from absorbing more cholesterol typi-

cally carried in the core of natural HDL par-

ticles.

Continued on page 10...

S H A D T H A X T O N R E C E I E V E S P R E S T I G I O U S P R E S I D E N T I A L A W A R D

“This has the potential to eventually become a nontoxic treatment for B-cell lymphoma which does not involve chemotherapy.”

- Leo Gordon, MD

Page 9 T H E U R O L O G Y F L O W

Dr. Shad Thaxton

HDL nanoparticles inside of lymphoma

cells in progressively higher magnifica-

tion. The little black dots are the HDL.

T H E U R O L O G Y F L O W Page 10

Visit The Department of Urology on the web at:

http://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/depts/urology

The lymphoma research showed Thaxton that the HDL na-

noparticle had more than one trick up its golden sleeve.

“At first I was heavily focused on developing nanoparticles

that could remove cholesterol from cells, especially those

involved in heart disease,” Thaxton said. "The lymphoma

work has broadened this focus to how the HDL nanoparti-

cles impact both the removal and uptake of cholesterol by

cells. We discovered the particles are multi-taskers.”

The Northwestern study also showed that natural HDL did

not kill the cells or inhibit tumor growth. The nanoparticle

was essential to starve the lymphoma cell.

After developing the HDL nanoparticle, Thaxton gave a

lecture in 2010 to Feinberg faculty. Gordon was in the audi-

ence. He knew that patients with advanced forms of B-cell

lymphoma sometimes have dropping levels of cholesterol.

A long-time lymphoma researcher and oncologist, Gordon

was looking for new methods to deliver drugs to patients.

He contacted Thaxton and they began to collaborate.

They tested the HDL nanoparticle alone and the HDL nano-

particle transporting cancer drugs. Surprisingly, the nano-

particle without drugs was just as effective at killing the B-

cell lymphoma cells.

“We thought, ‘That’s odd. Why don’t we need the drug?’ ”

Gordon recalled.

“Gold has a good track record of being compatible with

biologic systems,” Thaxton said.

Thaxton and Gordon are encouraged by their early data

showing that the HDL nanoparticles do not appear toxic to

other human cells normally targeted by HDLs, normal hu-

man lymphocytes or to mice. Also, because gold nanoparti-

cles can be made in a discreet size and shape, they are

excellent scaffolds for creating synthetic HDLs that closely

mimic those found in nature.

“Like every new drug candidate, the HDL nanoparticle will

need to undergo further testing,” Thaxton said.

The co-first authors of the paper are Shuo Yang and Mari-

na Damiano. Shuo is a research associate in medicine in

Gordon’s laboratory in the division of hematology/

oncology and Marina is a graduate student in the depart-

ment of chemistry at Weinberg College of Arts and Scienc-

es.

The research was supported by The Howard Hughes Medi-

cal Institute and the Schwartz Foundation. Thaxton is a co-

founder of AuraSense, LLC a start-up biotech company that

holds the license to the HDL nanoparticles used in the

study.

C . S H A D T H A X T O N C R E A T E S L Y M P H O M A F I G H T I N G N A N O P A R T I C L E

A model of the HDL nano-

particle. The green/ blue

blobs are phospholipids

(fats) and the yellow is a

protein on the surface of

the HDL nanoparticles.