Complex patients are treated in collaborative multispecialty programs with colleagues in nephrology, transplant, oncology, endocrinology, and neurodevelopmental medicine.
• The Disorders of Sex Development (DSD) clinic, developed under the guidance of Dr. Margarett Shnorhavorian, involves providers from specialties including endocrinology, gynecology, genetics, social work, and psychology. This clinic cares for children born with disorders of sexual differentiation.
• The Bladder Health Clinic, developed under the guidance of Teresa Soucie, PA-C, physician faculty members, and four urology nurse specialists, evaluates and treats children with disorders of elimination.
• The Stones Clinic, currently in development under the guidance of Dr. Thomas Lendvay, will include nephrology providers and a dietician. This clinic will evaluate and treat children who have developed kidney stones.
To evaluate new approaches to medical and surgical treatment of pediatric urologic conditions, faculty members have jointly created clinical research protocols and are building a large-scale relational, multiplatform database to track children with a variety of conditions. Current research efforts include the evaluation of complementary medical therapies (e.g. cranberries) to treat urinary tract infections in children, novel treatment for vesicoureteral reflux and medical therapies for voiding dysfunction.
Faculty member Dr. Margarett Shnorhavorian is involved in clinical outcomes research pertaining to pediatric tumors. Dr. Shnorhavorian holds a Master of Public Health and is the recipient of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Career Development Award in Male Reproductive Health Research. She has specific research interests in two areas: 1) fertility preservation in adolescent and young adult (AYA) survivors of childhood cancers, and 2) disorders of sex development.
Within the Children’s Oncology Group (COG), Dr. Shnorhavorian serves on the Steering Committee for the Survivorship and Outcomes Committee, has worked to establish Long-term Follow-up Guidelines for Male Reproductive Health, and has received the COG-Aflac Young Investigator Award in Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology. She leads the genitourinary outcomes analysis for the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Childhood Cancer Survivorship Study and the fertility preservation analysis for the NCI AYA Health Outcomes and Experience Study.
Dr. Shnorhavorian’s research in disorders of sex development is focused on improving patient outcomes, quality of care, and shared decision-making, informed by her clinical work as Surgical Director of the multi-disciplinary DSD Program. She is also Lead Surgeon for the NIH Disorders of Sex Development Translational Research Network.
Faculty member Dr. Thomas Lendvay is involved in clinical outcomes research pertaining to robotic simulation models. This has led to a close involvement with the newly formed Institute for Surgical and Interventional Simulation Center at the University of Washington, which works on the integration of simulation technologies and learning.
The urology division’s teaching commitment includes an ACGME-approved, nationally respected two-year fellowship in pediatric urology and active roles in University of Washington and Madigan Army Medical Center urology residency programs. Dr. Byron Joyner continues as director of the University of Washington Urology Residency Program and Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education at the University of Washington.
Future division plans include expansion of clinical and research faculty as well as an increased presence in Children’s-sponsored satellite clinics in order to meet the growing needs of local, regional and national communities.