Advisory Council

Association for the Bladder Exstrophy Community is fortunate to have support and guidance from many of the world’s experts in the treatment and management of bladder exstrophy.

ABEC, advisory council, dr. evalynn vasquez

Evalynn Vasquez, MD, MBA

Advisory Board Chair
Dr. Alireza Alam | Association for the Bladder Exstrophy Community

Alireza Alam, MD

Associate Professor, Department of Urology at University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine
Dr. Joseph Borer

Joseph Borer, MD

Director, Bladder Exstrophy Program

Heather DiCarlo, MD

Assistant Professor of Pediatric Urology
Marlo Eldridge, MD

Marlo Eldridge, DNP, CPNP

Marlo Eldridge, DNP, CPNP
Carolyn Fazzini, RN | Association for the Bladder Exstrophy Community

Carolyn Fazzini, RN

Registered Nurse, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Misty Blue Foster RN, LVN, BS, MPH, CHES

Communications Manager

John P. Gearhart, MD

Professor and the Director of Pediatric Urology
emily haddad

Emily Haddad, LCSW

Global Care Coordinator

Rakesh Joshi, MCh, DNB, MNAMS

Professor & Head of the Department of Pediatric Surgery

Antoine Khoury, MD

Chief of Pediatric Urology

Bradley P. Kropp, MD

Medical Director of Pediatric Urology
Dr. John V. Kryger is member of the Advisory Board of the Association for the Bladder Exstrophy Community

John V. Kryger, MD

Professor of Urology and Chief of the Division of Pediatric Urology
Anjana Kundu, MD

Anjana Kundu, MD

Pediatric Anesthesiologist

Ranjiv Mathews, MD, FAAP

Clinical Professor of Surgery(Urology) and Pediatrics
A-BE-C | Dr. Paul Merguerian

Paul A. Merguerian, MD, MS

Division Chief of Urology at Seattle Children’s and Professor of Urology at the University of Washington
Michael Ernst Mitchell

Michael E. Mitchell, MD

Pediatric Urology Specialist
Boateng Nimako, MD | Association for the Bladder Exstrophy Community

Boateng Nimako, MD

Director of Surgery, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH)

Joao Luiz Pippi Salle, PhD, MD, FRCSC, FAAP

Division Chief of Pediatric Urology
Diane Price

Diane Price, LICSW

Clinical Social Worker
Pramod Reddy, MD

Pramod P. Reddy, MD

Director of the Division of Pediatric Urology
Dr. William Reiner | Association for the Bladder Exstrophy Community

William G. Reiner, MD

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Urology
Anthony Schaeffer, MD

Anthony Schaeffer, MD

Pediatric Urologist
Aseem Shukla, MD

Aseem R. Shukla, MD

Director of Minimally Invasive Surgery
Paul David Sponseller, MD | Association for the Bladder Exstrophy Community

Paul David Sponseller, MD

Chief, Division of Pediatric Orthopaedics Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery
Hadley M. Wood, MD, FACS | Association for the Bladder Exstrophy Community

Hadley M. Wood, MD, FACS

Professor of Urology at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and Vice Chair of Clinician Development at the Glickman Urological Institute of Cleveland Clinic

In Memorium

We are proud to carry on the legacy of these individuals, who selflessly served A-BE-C until their passing.

 

Founding Chair 2013-2017

Richard W. Grady, MD

Barbara Neilson
Board Member 1995 - 2020

Barbara Neilson, MSW, RES. Dip. S.W., RSW

Board Member 1995 - 2022

Douglas Canning, MD

Dr. Situma Martin
Board Member 2019 - 2022

Martin Situma, MD

Founding Chair 2013-2017

Richard W. Grady, MD

Dr. Richard Grady saw medicine as part science, part art. It was the cornerstone of his medical practice and his extensive humanitarian work. He embodied this philosophy.

On April 25, 2017, after a three-year battle with brain cancer, Dr. Grady passed away. With his passing, the bladder exstrophy community lost a tireless champion and a medical visionary.

All of us at Association for the Bladder Exstrophy Community (A-BE-C) lost our quiet leader, our mentor, our friend.
Four years ago, seeing the immense need for bladder exstrophy education and care in the US as well as in developing countries, Dr. Grady helped relaunch A-BE-C and was instrumental in helping take it to a new level. An active supporter of A-BE-C for many years, he was directly involved in hosting our International Conference in 2007 and again in 2015. He co-authored Life of a Patient giving A-BE-C publishing rights in honor of bladder exstrophy patients worldwide. He served as board chair of the medical advisory board from 2013 until his passing.

Dr. Grady also served as a visiting professor overseas and participated in educational surgical missions to India, Sub Saharan Africa, and the Middle East, bringing together a world class team of physicians from the United States and globally to better the lives of exstrophy patients in underprivileged countries. A true collaborator, Dr. Grady was always at the core of this team, energizing and engaging his peers with his infectious passion for this work.

During his career, Dr. Grady touched the lives of countless children and their families. His expertise saw them through difficult medical procedures, and his thoughtful, diligent demeanor helped calm their fears. Although he is no longer with us, what Dr. Grady achieved in his lifetime will live on—through the patients whose lives he touched, and through the children born with bladder exstrophy in years to come, whose lives will be enriched thanks to his philosophy and work.

Barbara Neilson

Board Member 1995 - 2020

Barbara Neilson, MSW, RES. Dip. S.W., RSW

Barbara Neilson was a clinical social worker in pediatric urology, providing clinical social work services at Sick Kids in Toronto, Ontario for over 30 years.

Specialty– A pioneer in her field, Barbara raised international awareness to the importance of mental health support for children and adults with complex urological conditions. She touched thousands of lives of patients, families, students and colleagues, with advocacy, education, mentorship, compassion and humor.

Other– In 1997, Ms. Neilson started the original bladder exstrophy online listserve support group that provided the first psychosocial support for many families globally. She was a strong supporter of A-BE-C since its inception, and an advocate for her patients and their families.

Board Member 1995 - 2022

Douglas Canning, MD

Dr. Douglas Canning was the Chief of the Division of Urology and Professor of Urology in Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine.

Specialty – Dr. Canning focused on work with chronic, complex urological conditions in children, including hypospadias, exstrophy, epispadias, complex reconstruction, kidney transplantation, and posterior urethral valves.

Education – Dr. Canning received his M.D. from Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, New Hampshire. He was an intern and a resident at the Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, as well as a fellow at Johns Hopkins Hospital’s Brady Urological Institute. He received additional training from the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. He was board-certified in Urology and Pediatric Urology.

Other – Dr. Canning authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, three textbooks, and more than 500 editorials in urology. His focus was in all areas of pediatric reconstructive urology, with a particular interest in the care of children with complex urological conditions such as bladder and cloacal exstrophy, hypospadias, posterior urethral valves, and genital anomalies in both sexes.

Dr. Situma Martin

Board Member 2019 - 2022

Martin Situma, MD

Martin Situma, MD is a Pediatric Surgeon working with Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital and Bethanykids.

Specialty – Dr. Martin is the only full-time Pediatric Surgeon in Southwestern Uganda. He is involved in the clinical care of children with different pediatric surgical conditions and teaching both undergraduates and postgraduate students.

Education – Dr. Martin trained at Makerere University Kampala for both undergraduate and postgraduate surgery training. He completed his Pediatric Surgery training at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa and Bethanykids in Kijabe, Kenya.

Other– Dr. Martin is a Fellow of College of East, Central Africa College of Surgeons (COSECSA), and a travel fellow for 2017 for the American Pediatric Surgical Association (APSA).