People and Representation

JEDI Trailblazer Award

Mark S. Litwin, MD, MPH, UCLA Urology professor and chair, was selected as a recipient of the 2023 UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine JEDI Trailblazer Award. The JEDI Trailblazer Award recognizes years of commitment embodying leadership and excellence in advancing ideals of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, and is presented in collaboration with the AAPI Faculty Alliance and BLNA Collective (Black, Latinx and Native American Faculty Collective) at the School of Medicine.

TRANSORM Program

Dr. Stanley Frencher has been selected to participate in the Transforming Biomedical Research and Academic Faculty through Leadership Opportunities, Training, and Mentorship (TRANSFORM) Program. The TRANSFORM program was designed by and for faculty from groups historically under-represented in science and medicine (designated URM) as defined by the NIH. Dr. Frencher intends to expand on his work to improve access to specialty care among historically marginalized populations (e.g., correctional, indigenous, Medicaid, and state psychiatric and safety net hospitals) by building on inter-institutional collaborations between academic medical centers such as UCLA, CDU with MLK and other community physicians while innovating through virtual care and digital health platforms.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Dr. Carol Bennett, professor of clinical urology, Henry E. Singleton Chair in urology at UCLA and chief of urology at the West Los Angeles VA Healthcare Center, receives a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Black Women Physicians. Bennett was the nation's first Black woman in the field of urology and helped train students from disadvantaged backgrounds at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. UCLA Newsroom > 

Bruin Scholar and Sponsor of Latinos in Surgery

Dr. Juan Andino, assistant clinical professor of UCLA Urology, was selected as a faculty sponsor for the Latinos in Surgery interested group, a brand new DGSOM medical student organization.  Dr. Andino also participated on a panel for UCLA DGSOM’s National Latinx Physicians Day webinar. National Latinx Physicians Day, celebrated every October 1st, recognizes the vital role Latinx physicians play in promoting health in our communities. 

Dr. Andino is also named a Bruin Scholar. The Bruin Scholars Program was created to retain trainees committed to uplifting underserved populations. Dr. Andino will focus on mentorship for underrepresented minorities in medicine and research in disparities in urologic care.

UCLA Urology Resident Honored

Dr. Efe Chantal Ghanney Simons, a former urology resident, was the inaugural winner of the Diversity Equity & Inclusion Award, an honor bestowed jointly by the Association of Women Surgeons (AWS) and The Society of Black Academic Surgeons (SBAS). This award is given annually for the pursuit of a career in surgery that is in alignment with the missions of AWS and SBAS. Read more in the UCLA Health Newsroom >

Urology faculty actively involved in the UCLA DGSOM Anti-Racism Roadmap

UCLA Urology faculty members are actively engaged in the Black, Latinx, and Native American (BLNA) faculty collective and allies in the David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM), including:

• Carol Bennett, MD, Chief of Urology, West Los Angeles VA Healthcare Center and Henry E. Singleton Chair in Urology at UCLA
• Stanley Frencher, MD, Associate Professor of UCLA Urology, Director of Urology and Chair of Perioperative Services Department at Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital (MLKCH)
• Isla Garraway, MD, PhD, Professor of UCLA Urology and Director of Urologic Research, Attending Urologist, Greater Los Angeles-VA Medical Center
• Kymora Scotland, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of UCLA Urology

The BLNA group advising the Dean of UCLA’s DGSOM, Vice Chancellor, and CEO of UCLA Health on initiatives for the DGSOM Anti-racism roadmap. In addition to clinical care, research and teaching, the BLNA’s scope of service to DGSOM includes committee work, assuming the role of champion for diversity efforts within departments, and community/faculty/trainee/student outreach, recruitment, and mentoring/sponsorship of BLNA students, residents, and fellowship trainees who are consistently under-represented in medicine.