Inderbir S. Gill, MD, is the executive director of USC Urology at Keck Medicine of USC. He also is chair and Distinguished Professor of the Catherine and Joseph Aresty Department of Urology, holds the Shirley & Donald Skinner Chair in Urologic Cancer Surgery, and is associate dean for clinical innovation at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. USC Urology was ranked 4th among urology programs in the country by U.S. News & World Report in 2019.
After global uncertainty, a strong push forward
While the COVID-19 pandemic upended life as we know it for people worldwide, I know that together we will get through this time. Our world-class faculty have adapted to the current situation in order to continue pursuing our mission of top-notch patient care, research and education. We offer rapid, virtual appointments via USC TeleCARE, Also, we are open for in-person, face-to-face clinic visits in as safe a physical environment as possible. Our research and education continues to break ground, with online grand rounds, tumor boards and Urology 60 Minutes, an innovative weekly forum in which we interact with the leaders of urology from across the globe.
At USC Urology, our motto has always been patients first
Providing quality, compassionate care is at the heart of everything we do. In order to determine the best treatment plan for each patient, it is crucial to embrace innovations in medicine. We constantly strive to find new, better solutions for patients — whether it’s through research, developing clinical best practices, implementing new safety measures or teaching future generations of urologists. We don’t just practice urology, we define it.
Innovation in surgery
Improving surgical outcomes for patients means developing new techniques that lead to fewer side effects and complications, reduced hospital stays and faster, less painful recoveries. Our team has been credited with advancing surgical techniques in several areas of urology, and we’re delighted to see these innovations benefit patients in both the short and long term. It’s why we share these advances by publishing our findings and training surgeons both virtually and in person.
Innovation in training and teaching
Intense training is essential to ensure optimal patient outcomes. For example, our robotic simulation team is developing new methods to train robotic surgeons and measure surgical performance. We also have learned how artificial intelligence can contribute to objective measures of surgeon performance — so we can constantly encourage growth and learning among our students and clinicians.
Innovation in the laboratory
The role of researchers is crucial in our mission to constantly provide the best care possible. Our researchers have discovered how to use stem cells to slow the progression of kidney disease and possibly repair diseased kidneys. They also are mapping the neural pathways involved in pelvic pain and developing new ways to predict bladder and testis cancer. Radiomics and radio-epigenomic approaches also help us to develop the best treatments for each patient.
To learn more about USC Urology, visit https://urology.keckmedicine.org/