The University of the Minnesota was the Birthplace of Endourology. In the early 1980’s, Drs. Clayman, Smith, Lange, Reddy, Amplatz and Castenada-Zuniga joined forces to develop the field of minimally invasive urological surgery and train urologists in this new art. We are proud of this heritage and you will be also. The Goals of our Fellowship program are:

• To train and mentor academic endourologists and laparoscopists

• To offer a flexible curriculum that adapts to the goals and prior experience of the fellow

• To continue the University of Minnesota’s position on the leading edge of endourology, urologic laparoscopy, and robotics

• To facilitate career development of fellows as they become junior Minimally Invasive Urology faculty

Description of Program
The structure and of the fellowship will be tailored to the fellow applicant with the content determined by the fellow’s prior experience in endourology, laparoscopy, robotics and urologic research as well as the fellow’s career objectives related to clinical and research focus. The fellow may select to study from one or more of the areas of endourology, metabolic stone disease, laparoscopy, robotics, thermal therapy, urologic oncology, virtual reality applications in medicine and surgical simulation. Research opportunities in medical device design and evaluation, computer simulation, thermal therapy, renal physiology, and multiple clinical studies are available.

BENCH SPACE AND ANIMAL LABORATORY FACILITIES
Both bench and animal facility space is available for research use. The experimental surgical center (ESS) at the University of Minnesota have ten laparoscopic animal surgical suites, while the VAHCS Minneapolis has an additional three suites. Both sites have fluoroscopic capability. A da Vinci robotic system is available for training and research in the ESS. In addition we have over 5000 sq feet of space for the development and implementation of skills training and computer simulation.

ON CAMPUS HOUSING
While no on campus housing is available, there are numerous housing options from apartments and condominiums to homes for rent within walking distance of the campus. The fellow may be involved in research studies that require after-hours responsibilities. The fellows will be included in the call rotation.

PhD TO SUPERVISE RESEARCH
In the Department of Urology, the following PhD faculty provide expertise to support the research activities of the fellow:

Bob Fleischmann Ph.D. – Immunology
Gerry Timm Ph.D. – Biomedical Engineering, Medical Devices
John Bischof Ph.D. – Biomedical Engineering, Thermal therapy

In addition, we have strong collaborative efforts with the following faculty: Eph Sparrow, Ph.D. – Mechanical Engineering, Fluid Mechanics
Ravi Janardan, Ph.D. – Computer Sciences, Simulation
Will Durfee, Ph.D. – Mechanical Engineering, Device Design
Art Erdman, Ph.D. – Mechanical Engineering, Device Design
Tim Wilt, MD, MPH – Outcomes Research
Kyle Anderson, MD
(Thermal therapy, Laparoscopy)
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Dr. Anderson completed an Endourology & Laparoscopy fellowship at the University of Texas, Southwestern in 2005, under the direction of Drs. Margaret Pearle and Jeffrey Cadeddu. His areas of focus are minimally invasive urologic applications of thermal therapy, robotic surgery, and laparoscopy.

Manoj Monga, MD
(Endourology & Stone Disease)
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Dr. Monga completed his urologic residency training under Dr Raju Thomas at Tulane University. Following a faculty appointment at the University of California, San Diego, he completed a sabbatical at Washington University with Dr Ralph Clayman. His area of focus is endourology and nephrolithiasis.

Robert Sweet, MD
(Computer simulation)
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Dr. Sweet completed an AFUD Scholarship in Surgical Simulation at the University of Washington under the direction of Dr. Richard Satava. Dr. Sweet has a clinical focus in Endourology and Robotics and his research focuses on simulation development, robotics and applications of virtual reality in medicine.

The history of the Endourology fellowship at the University of Minnesota is long and rich - training leaders in the field such as Howard Winfield, Raymond Leveillee and Joel Teichman. Our recent graduates are:

2006 Hani Rashid, University of Rochester
2007 Benjamin Canales, University of Florida
2008 Joseph Akornor, Wichita, Kansas

Additionally, we have won a number of recent awards from the Endourological Society including the 2007 Arthur Smith Young Innovator's Award (Dr. Monga) and 2nd place in the 2007 Basic Science Category of the Fellowship Essay Competition (Dr. Canales).

Clinical