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| Mitchell H. Sokoloff, MD |
Mitchell H. Sokoloff, MD, has been named founding chair of the Department of Urology, said Eric W. Dickson, MD, UMass Memorial Health Care President and CEO, and Terence R. Flotte, MD, the Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor of Medical Education, UMass Medical School Dean, Provost and Executive Deputy Chancellor, in a joint announcement.
A urologic oncologist internationally known for his contributions to the surgical treatment of prostate, kidney and testis cancers, Dr. Sokoloff will assume the role held on an interim basis by Stephen E. Tosi, MD, associate professor of surgery and chief physician executive of UMass Memorial Health Care. Dr. Sokoloff will join the UMass Memorial and UMass Medical School community in March of 2014.
Dr. Sokoloff will come to Worcester from his position as professor of surgery and chief of the urology division of the Department of Surgery at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, a position he has held since 2008. He earned his AB and MD degrees from Stanford University and completed a residency in urology at UCLA School of Medicine, as well as a fellowship in molecular urology and therapeutics at the University of Virginia.
Dr. Sokoloff is board certified in urology, with clinical specialties in the treatment of prostate, kidney and testis cancer. His expertise includes robotic prostatectomy, nerve-sparing prostatectomy, nephron-sparing partial nephrectomy and retroperitoneal lymph node dissection. He has particular expertise in the management of high risk, locally-advanced and recurrent prostate, kidney and testis cancer. He has received national peer-reviewed funding for basic and translational research.
At the University of Arizona, he developed a nationally recognized program in genitourinary oncology that incorporated novel anti-cancer agents and technologies as a complement to conventional surgical therapy.
Previously, Dr. Sokoloff was chief of urologic oncology in the Division of Urology and Renal Transplantation and director of robotic surgery in the Department of Surgery at Oregon Health and Science University. Prior to that, he was director of Urologic Oncology in the Division of Urology at the University of Chicago. He is a member of the American Association of Cancer Research, American Urological Association, American College of Surgeons, Society for Urologic Oncology, Society of Urologic Chairs and Program Directors, and the Society for Basic Urologic Research. He is the author or co-author of more than forty peer-reviewed publications, numerous book chapters and abstracts and has presented at a wide range of regional, national and international meetings.
In his new role as chair of the Department of Urology, Dr. Sokoloff will be charged with re-establishing the urology residency program at UMMS, growing the clinical urology program at UMass Memorial, and fostering and supporting the research activities of current and future urology faculty members.
For the past 18 months, Dr. Tosi has served as interim chair of urology, working closely with his colleagues in the field and with academic and clinical leadership defining near-term plans for the organization and activity of the department, and recruiting several new physicians to our institution.
