About Our Program

Urology team and 2022 graduating fellows - Saint John's Cancer Institute
The urologic oncology team and 2022 graduating fellows – Saint John’s Cancer Institute

The Urologic Oncology and Robotics Fellowship provides comprehensive training for urologists seeking state-of-the-art, minimally invasive robotic surgical techniques, and modern, multi-modality care of patients with urologic cancers.

Dr. Timothy Wilson, Director of Urology and Urologic Oncology Research Program, and pioneer in robotics for radical prostatectomy, has trained approximately 40 fellows in his career. This fellowship provides excellent preparation for either advancement in an academic setting or to pursue a clinical urologic practice. The program is jointly administered by Saint John’s Health Center and the Saint John’s Cancer Institute in Santa Monica, California.

Fellowship Summary

One-Year Fellowship

Fellows commit to one year of working in the clinic supporting urologic oncology services. They typically participate in over 250 laparoscopic/robotic procedures, provide care for in-patients including ICU care, and offer continuity of care in outpatient treatment.

Two-Year Fellowship

The two-year option is a research-centered fellowship in science and/or outcomes. Based on current occupancy levels, fellows participate in research their first year and train in the clinic for their second. In their second year, fellows can expect to participate in surgical care and management of approximately 150 laparoscopic robotic radical prostatectomies, 25 laparoscopic cystoprostatectomies with urinary diversion, and 50 laparoscopic and robotic nephrectomies.

Fellows share their experience

Listen to Dr. timothy Wilson and Urology fellows discuss the program

Dr. Timothy Wilson discusses the one- and two-year fellowships for urology with Dr. Ramkishen Narayanan, a 2019 graduate of the program, Dr. Philip F. Hsiao, a 2023 fellow currently in the one-year urology program, and Dr. Joshua I. Gottlieb, a 2024 graduating fellow who is enrolled in the two-year program.

Surgical Experience and Patient Care

Dr. Jennifer Linehan operate the da Vinci Xi robotic surgery system for bladder cancer
Dr. Jennifer Linehan operates the da Vinci Xi Robotic Surgery System for bladder cancer.

Minimally invasive techniques are an important part of our urology fellowship program. Our fellows will be trained in complex, open surgical techniques, such as post-chemotherapy Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissections (RPLND), nephrectomies, open cystectomies, and urinary tract reconstructions. Fellows have many opportunities to participate in multi-team procedures for abdominal and pelvic malignancies. Our fellows develop close relationships with radiation oncology, medical oncology, uropathology, and other fellows of the Saint John’s Cancer Institute, including those attending the Donald L. Morton Complex General Surgical Oncology Fellowship.

Our fellows are responsible for all in-patient care and typically operate three days per week with a urologic oncology faculty member, whom are fellowship-trained, and members of the Society of Urologic Oncology. The fellow is currently supported by a dedicated nurse practitioner and a physician assistant.

 

How much OR time can I expect?

2022 Urologic Oncology Fellow, Daniel Artnenstein, assists with robotic bladder cancer surgery.
2022 Urologic Oncology Fellow, Daniel Artnenstein, assists with robotic bladder cancer surgery.

Fellows typically work in the operating room 3 to 4 days per week alongside Dr. Jennifer Linehan and Dr. Ram Narayanan.  The fellow will regularly be in clinic seeing post-operative patients and conducting new patient consultations. They are responsible for organizing our multi-disciplinary MRI/prostate cancer conference, which meets twice monthly. They must also present cases at monthly GU tumor boards, working together with our GU medical oncologist Dr. Przemyslaw Twardowski, Director of Clinical Research, Urology and Urologic Oncology, who joined us from City of Hope Cancer Center in October 2017.

Fellows develop the necessary skills to fully practice surgical management of urologic oncology patients, either in the academic or private settings. In addition, he/she will have the opportunity to become well-versed in High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU), focal cryotherapy, MRI fusion trans rectal and trans perineal prostate biopsy. Additional open surgical oncology cases are common and often combined with general oncologic surgical management as needed. Our GU oncology journal club and research meeting occurs monthly with active participation from SJCI faculty, translational and basic science research staff, and our fellows.

Research and Presentations

Urology Fellows presentations
Urology fellows are expected to present their research during their fellowship.

Fellows are expected to present at national meetings, write and co-write research papers, engage with clinical trials, participate in journal clubs, tumor boards, and offer lectures to the oncologic community.

About Translational Research

Dr. Dave Hoon is Chair of the Department of Molecular Medicine who leads our sequencing center and laboratory. He oversees and mentor’s multiple junior faculty and post-doctoral fellows from around the world, boasting approximately 30 years of continuous federal grant funding. Fellows have access to outcomes research databases, advanced research tools, and collaboration process.

We are currently interviewing for the 2023 Fellowships:

Doctors, Timothy Wilson and Jennifer Linehan with 2022 Urology Fellows
Dr. Timothy Wilson and Dr. Jennifer Linehan with 2022 Urology Fellows. Centered: 2022 Urology and Urologic Oncology Fellow graduates, Dr. Yoko Koh and Dr. Daniel Artenstein.

Program Eligibility

  • U.S. citizen or permanent resident
  • Board eligible in Urology
  • Certified urologist from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)- accredited urology program
  • Eligible for a California medical license

Positions

  • One-year fellowship: Clinical and Robotic training in urologic oncology
  • Two-year fellowship: First year research; Second year clinical and robotic training in urologic oncology

Please email the following information to:

Robyn Sapico, Senior Administrative Assistant
Robyn.Sapico@providence.org or mail to:

Saint John’s Cancer Institute
2200 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 131
Santa Monica, CA 90404

  1. Current CV and a Cover letter
  2. Three letters of reference from faculty in your residency training program
  3. a headshot photo (JPEG)

Questions? Please call 310-582-7318

For inquiries or questions about the urology fellowship program, please contact:

Timothy Wilson, M.D., Fellowship Program Director
Timothy.Wilson@providence.org