Leaders in Urology Unite to Elevate Excellence in Research, Education and Clinical Care

What happens when you bring together five urology experts from one prestigious academic system?

That was the central question behind a first-of-its-kind meeting on Aug. 8, 2026, when five Department of Urology chairs from the University of California came together at UC Irvine.

"It’s a pleasure to welcome you to UC Irvine for the first in-person UC5 Urology Chairs Retreat,” said Michael J. Stamos, MD, interim vice chancellor for Health Affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. He thanked the host chair, Jaime Landman, MD, of UC Irvine, and extended a warm welcome to the four visiting chairs:

• Benjamin Breyer, MD, UC San Francisco,
• Marc Dall'Era, MD, UC Davis,
• Scott Eggener, MD, UCLA, and
• Manoj Monga, MD, UC San Diego.

“Collectively, we represent one of the largest and most influential academic health systems in the world,” said Stamos. “When we share best practices, build multicampus clinical or research initiatives and solve common problems together, our faculty benefit, our trainees benefit, and, most importantly, our patients benefit.”

The goal of the retreat was to scale those benefits by creating a model for collaborating across the UC system to exponentially improve care for those suffering from urology-related conditions.

“The true measure of the University of California has never been what any single campus accomplishes alone,” said Stamos, “but what we achieve together.”

Elevating Excellence

Stamos then turned things over to someone whose vision helped bring the retreat together, Ralph Clayman, MD, Distinguished Professor of urology and dean emeritus of the UC Irvine School of Medicine.

Clayman, who also co-directs the Curiosity and Innovation Laboratory at UC Irvine, introduced “the infinite power of five through CARES,” a model for broadly sharing each university’s strengths and fostering new partnerships. CARES focuses on clinical support, administrative success, research resources and infrastructure, educational opportunities and service-oriented outreach.

In the clinical realm, for example, the retreat attendees discussed how to better address prostate cancer. “We shared our different programs and how we can work together to develop a pan-UC effort to cover all of California,” says Landman, an internationally recognized urologist. “Our job is to serve the people of California, so if we do that together, we can engage more people and provide better care.”

They also considered how best to fuel faculty success through administrative support staff, and they shared core resources needed to secure grant funding, support recruitment efforts, leverage UC data and enhance trial participation. “We have huge databases between the five UCs,” says Landman, “and better sharing that information could bring enormous value and lead to greater innovation.”

The chairs also explored educational opportunities related to medical residency training programs, Continuing Medical Education courses, American Urological Association (AUA) training and urology fellowships. “We talked about working together to leverage the amazing UC faculty on training exercises and courses to better educate our residents, students and fellows,” says Landman.

Finally, they examined local outreach efforts for high school students, such as UC Irvine’s two-week Summer Surgery Program and one-week Better Than Live Summer Surgery session. They also discussed international efforts in Vietnam, Thailand and Africa (in partnership with IVUMed), as well as efforts through the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Operation Health Outreach Program for Equity (HOPE) in Global Surgery in Lusaka, Zambia; Kigali, Rwanda; and Hawassa, Ethiopia.

“Our goal in the UC Irvine School of Medicine is always to live up to our tripartite mission to discover, teach and heal,” says Landman. “We have always worked together, but the retreat aimed to develop a tighter working relationship between the UCs to elevate our excellence in research, education and clinical care by working in partnership, sharing best practices and growing programs together.”

Mobilizing Men’s Health

One program they hope to grow is the Van Cave, Orange County’s first mobile prostate cancer screening unit.

Joining the retreat via Zoom to discuss the screening unit was special guest Chris Masters, executive director of Man Cave Health, a nonprofit focused on changing the way men engage with their health. Man Cave Health founded the Van Cave initiative in partnership with UCI Health.

“A big part of our work is meeting men where they already are — at sporting events, community gatherings and other familiar environments — and removing some of the traditional barriers that keep men from getting screened,” says Masters. “Our partnership with UCI Health has been an important example of that approach.”

What makes the partnership especially meaningful is how it goes beyond simply providing a screening. “UCI brings the clinical expertise and ability to connect men who may have an elevated result with appropriate follow-up care,” says Masters, “while Man Cave Health helps create the community engagement and access point that gets men through the door in the first place.”

At the UC5 Urology Chairs Retreat, participants toured the Van Cave to see how it is helping expand access to preventive care.

“Having the chairs of urology from across the UC system together in one room created an opportunity to share what we have learned with UCI and, more importantly, discuss what might be possible collectively,” says Masters. “The goal was to demonstrate that when an academic medical center is willing to take healthcare outside its traditional walls, we can reach men who otherwise may not engage with the healthcare system at all.”

Supporting other universities in establishing a similar service is what the retreat was all about.

“There was genuine interest in the model, thoughtful questions and a strong discussion about how community-based early detection could complement the work already happening across the UC institutions,” says Masters, who has already scheduled a follow-up discussion with UC San Diego.

“For Man Cave Health, that’s exactly what we hoped would come from the UC5 meeting — not simply interest in what we’ve built with UC Irvine,” says Masters, “but an opportunity to explore how these ideas could translate into other communities across California.”

Exploring What’s Possible

“As the host institution, we’re especially proud of what’s happening at UCI,” Stamos told attendees, referencing not only the Van Cave but also how the UC Irvine Department of Urology leads a nationally recognized residency program and eight fellowship programs that are helping train the next generation of urologic leaders.

“But as proud as we are of what we’ve built at UC Irvine, today isn’t about highlighting a single department or campus,” said Stamos. “It’s about exploring what becomes possible when five outstanding departments unite.”

Landman has high hopes for what’s possible, starting with the expansion of the Van Cave. “I’d love to see this offered all the way from Mexico through San Diego and Los Angeles and up to northern California, elevating prostate cancer management around the state,” he says. “We’re already screening hundreds of men a month and really saving lives.”

— Shani Murray