As 2022 comes to an end, we can look back on the year and see many reasons to be proud. As you can see below, this year we have:

1. Strengthened our commitment to making a global impact,
2. Increased our research awards and investigator support by launching new award programs,
3. Created numerous patient education materials (in 10 different languages!), and
4. Tripled our Humanitarian Grant Program recipients.

Each of the Foundation’s accomplishments came because of the deep commitment of our donors, partners, volunteers, and staff. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to thank each of you for your generous support and efforts as we continue our global mission to advance urology and improve urological health care for patients worldwide.

Research

In 2022, the Urology Care Foundation continued to encourage young talented researchers by providing nearly $1.5 million in new urology research funding. These gifts not only fund the best research from talented scientists, but also help foster and support long-lasting research careers.

New and multi-year awardees supported by the Urology Care Foundation in 2022 include 46 Research Scholars (19 who started their projects in 2022), 9 Residency Researchers, 4 Rising Stars in Urology Research, 1 Physician Scientist Residency Training Awardee, 17 Summer Medical Student Fellowships (all of whom started their projects in 2022), and the first 3 recipients of the new Leadership in Education, Achievement and Diversity Program.

The Urology Care Foundation also established the Boston Scientific Medical Student Innovation Fellowship in 2022. This program supports medical students interested in innovation by engaging them in a 12-month mentored research experience, with particular focus on supporting individuals from groups underrepresented in urology as well as research on urology health care disparities.

Patient Education

The Urology Care Foundation continued to increase visibility and awareness of our vast portfolio of patient education materials in 2022. We believe education is critical to health care equity. With more than 600 total pieces, the Foundation remains the single largest repository of urology-specific patient education in the world. And we’re continuing to connect patients and caregivers to these important resources. In fact, the Urology Care Foundation’s YouTube channel reached 1 million views this year! Additionally, we created a new Spanish Resource Center on UrologyHealth.org to house over 100 patient education materials. We recognize that a lack of knowledge or information is a contributing feature of health care disparities. Our vision is to meet the needs of patients worldwide—people in multiple countries, cultures, and backgrounds who speak many languages.

Our belief that education helps achieve health equity led to the development of new resources around Latino and African American Men’s Health, Black Women’s Health, prostate cancer for the LGBTQ+ population, and Adult Gender Affirmation.

Humanitarian Efforts

In 2022, the Urology Care Foundation continued to provide recognition and support to those who offer urology-specific humanitarian work in underserved communities around the globe. Dr Sakti Das received the Humanitarian Recognition Award for his lifetime of medical mission work in under-resourced communities.

Our Humanitarian Grant Program is in its second year and we were able to expand to include 7 recipients: Victoria Y. Bird, MD; Stephanie J. Kielb, MD; Ian S. Metzler, MD; Timothy Schuster, MD, FACS; Amar Singh, MD, FACS; Alan Yaghoubian, MD; and Kit Yuen, MD.

The Foundation’s mission includes recognizing the critical need to identify and encourage humanitarianism in an effort to eliminate health care disparities. We look forward to supporting many more humanitarians in 2023.

I am proud of all that we have achieved this year and continue to be grateful to the many individuals, organizations, and corporate partners who generously gave their time, talents, and financial support to further our vital mission. To our staff, leadership, and donors, thank you for your ongoing attention to solving problems and seizing opportunities to improve more lives.

These meaningful accomplishments are made possible by the generous support of our community. Making a gift to the Urology Care Foundation is a chance to invest in the future and to save lives. I invite you to learn more about our work, our partners, and our stewardship by visiting UrologyHealth.org/Donate. Thank you!