Raj S. Pruthi, MD, MHA, FACS, Appointed Chair of the UCSF Department of Urology
School of Medicine Dean Talmadge E. King, Jr., MD, announced the appointment of Raj S. Pruthi, MD, MHA, FACS, as the new chair of the UCSF Department of Urology, effective January 1, 2020.
Dr. Pruthi comes to UCSF from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC Chapel Hill), where he has been on faculty for the past 19 years, and currently serves as the Rhodes Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Urology.
Dr. Pruthi managed the Division of Urology for two years before leading its transition to a department five years ago. Serving as the inaugural chair, he took the Department of Urology from an unranked program to one of the best in the nation. During his tenure, the department grew from five to 21 primary faculty members, maintaining an outstanding reputation for clinical excellence throughout this expansion. Urology was also the only basic science or clinical department at the UNC School of Medicine with 100% faculty satisfaction, according to a recent AAMC Faculty Forward survey.
Dr. Pruthi has helped build a strong multi-million-dollar urology research program at UNC Chapel Hill where research funding has grown exponentially, primarily in health services research, in the areas of urologic oncology, stone disease, reconstructive urology, and men’s health. He has also helped develop a highly-regarded residency program which was recently ranked #14 (Doximity). Of the 15 residents graduating in the past five years, 10 obtained prestigious competitive national and international fellowship positions in various subspecialties.
Dr. Pruthi’s area of clinical expertise is urologic oncology, focusing on robotic surgery in prostate and bladder cancer. His research focus has been in surgical innovation, care pathways, and quality of care. Most recently, this primary research work has focused on topics related to health economics, including characterizing the urologic workforce, understanding compensation, productivity, and burnout. He has published over 200 papers, more than 90% of which include a resident or student as a co-author.
Dr. Pruthi currently serves on a number of regional and national teaching and professional capacities, and is currently a member of the American Urological Association's Guidelines on the Management of Non-muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer, the Bladder Cancer Guidelines Committee of the International Consultation on Urological Diseases, the ABU/AUA Examination Committee, the American College of Surgeons Advisory Council and Chair of the Program Committee for Urology, Treasurer for the Society of Academic Urology, a Governor and member of the Board of Regents for the American College of Surgeons, Board of Directors for the Southeastern Section of the American Urological Association, the Society of Pelvic surgeons, and the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons.
Dr. Pruthi is a graduate of Stanford University and received his MD degree from the Duke University School of Medicine. Following medical school, he completed his residency and post-graduate training at Stanford University. Most recently, he completed the executive MHA program at UNC.
"I am confident that Dr. Pruthi’s accomplishments in leadership, education, research, and business will position him well to lead Urology at UCSF, which was ranked #3 in the nation in the 2019-20 U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals survey," Dr. King stated in his announcement.
"I want to express my deep appreciation to Dr. Peter Carroll for his support and leadership, serving as chair of the Department of Urology since 1996. Not only is Dr. Carroll an accomplished leader, clinician, and researcher, as a medical educator, he fosters an environment where clinical expertise is recruited and nurtured. I am grateful for his longstanding commitment to UCSF, the faculty and trainees. Dr. Carroll will continue leading his active research and clinical programs. I am confident that his partnership and extraordinary institutional knowledge will be deeply appreciated by Dr. Pruthi.
"I would also like to thank the search committee, chaired by Dr. Andy Murr, for their work in considering an exceptional pool of candidates from across the country for this position."