June's reviewers of the month

Abstract

Like most journals, BJUI relies on the hard work and dedication of its peer reviewers and we are grateful to them all. Each month the Editorial Team nominates peer reviewers whose reviews have stood out for their quality and timeliness and those selected as the best are highlighted on this page in recognition of their exceptional work.

Dr Alexander Ng is an Academic Doctor based at University College London (UCL) with a clinical and academic interest in Uro-Oncology and Imaging. He completed his medical degree at UCL Medical School (2016–22), followed by the Academic/Specialised Foundation Programme at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust (UCL, 2022–24), with a research focus on Academic Radiology. He is currently a Clinical Research Training Fellow (UCL/UCLH) undertaking his PhD at UCL (2024+) in the role of AI in prostate cancer detection.

Alex's research focuses on international, multi-centre, interventional clinical trials aimed at changing practice and improving patient care. He is currently leading on several international trials, including PRIME, GLIMPSE, ARTS (UK) and PARADIGM, and is also a member of the BURST Research Collaborative.

Dr. Christian Pavlovich is Bernard L. Schwartz Distinguished Professor in Urologic Oncology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Director of the Prostate Cancer Active Surveillance Program at the Brady Urological Institute.

Dr. Pavlovich treats cancer with an emphasis on minimising morbidity and maximising quality of life while offering patients the latest treatment options and techniques. His clinical focus is on prostate and kidney cancer, and on clinical trials regarding detection, surveillance, and immunotherapy. With more than 20 years of experience in minimally invasive surgery for the treatment of urologic cancers, he is expert in robotic surgery and was named one of the top prostate cancer surgeons in the United States by Newsweek in 2024. In addition, he offers patients modern transperineal and targeted biopsy techniques, and for prostate cancer patients active surveillance, ablative options, and robotic prostatectomy.

Dr. Pavlovich grew up in Washington DC, went to Harvard University, and then earned his medical degree at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine. He then completed a urology residency at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center and a National Cancer Institute SUO fellowship in urologic oncology before joining the Hopkins faculty in 2001. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles, is Associate Editor of The Prostate and is on the Editorial Board of BJU International. He was the inaugural Director of the Johns Hopkins SUO Urologic Oncology Fellowship (2014–24) and is the recipient of three “best teaching/research mentor” awards from the Urology residents.

Dr Nithesh Ranasinha, BA (Hons) Medical Sciences, BMBCh, PGCE Medical Education, MRCS Ed, studied medicine at the University of Oxford (2014–20), with clinical elective experience at the Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins, USA and University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Following this, he completed an Academic Foundation Programme in Oxford (2020–2022) and developed an early interest in urological cancer. He took a year out of training to teach medical students as a Clinical Teaching Fellow in Bath and completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education at Bristol University (2022–23).

Nithesh was appointed as an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow in Urology in Oxford, in August 2023. His research interests include the diagnosis and treatment of urological cancers. He is currently investigating the molecular biology of prostate cancer recurrence after focal therapy, alongside undertaking surgical training in Urology in Thames Valley deanery. At this early stage of specialty training, he is keen to gather a variety of experience and expertise in urology clinical and research practice.

Dr. Carolyn Salter is a fellowship trained Urologist with a focus on male sexual and reproductive medicine. She obtained her undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University and her medical degree from the United States military medical school, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS). She completed her Urology residency at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and went on to attend fellowship in male sexual and reproductive medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Lee C. Zhao, MD, MS is a reconstructive urologist, and Professor of Urology and Plastic Surgery at NYU Langone Health. Prior to becoming a physician, he attended graduate school for biomedical engineering and volunteered in the Peace Corps. Combining his interest in fixing problems and his desire to help people led him to the field of urologic reconstructive surgery. He has pioneered the use of robotic surgery for urologic reconstruction, including repair of ureteral strictures using oral mucosa, posterior urethroplasty, and peritoneal flap vaginoplasty. As a component of his reconstructive urology practice, Dr. Zhao is co-director for the gender affirming surgery program at NYU Langone. He performs both primary and revision gender affirming surgery as part of a multi-disciplinary team.