Faculty

Bio

Dr. Paul Gleich has been involved in medical education since he began his practice in urology in 1982. Initially, Dr. Gleich was a faculty member of the Frederic Foley urology training program, and he later become chairman and director of the program. Dr. Gleich merged his program with the University of Minnesota urology training program and went into private practice. Though continuing his educational activities in private practice, he rejoined the Medical School faculty in 2009 with an emphasis in medical student education.

Clinical Summary

Specialties:

• Urinary tract infections
• Hematuria (blood in urine)
• Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)
• Kidney stones
• Neurogenic bladder
• Bladder cancer
• Urinary incontinence

Bio

Thomas S. Griffith earned his Ph.D. from Washington University (St. Louis, MO) in 1996 examining the cellular and molecular mechanisms of ocular immune privilege. From 1997-1999, Dr. Griffith was a postdoctoral scientist at Immunex Corporation (Seattle, WA). While at Immunex, Dr. Griffith contributed to the initial characterization of TRAIL (TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand). Dr. Griffith moved to the Department of Urology at the University of Iowa in 1999, where he continued his evaluation of TRAIL as an antitumor therapeutic. Since August 2011, Dr. Griffith has been an Associate Professor in the Department of Urology at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Griffith is also a member of the Masonic Cancer Center, the Center for Immunology, and the Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology Graduate Program at the University of Minnesota.

Research Summary

Tumor immunology, apoptosis The research in my laboratory studies the therapeutic potential of apoptotic cell death in the treatment of cancer. The tumor necrosis family member, TRAIL/Apo-2 ligand, is a potent inducer of tumor cell apoptosis, but is non-toxic against normal cell and tissues, suggesting that TRAIL might be administered as an antitumor therapeutic without the side effects seen with other TNF family members, namely TNF and Fas ligand, and traditional chemotherapeutics.Employment of various gene delivery systems, such as non-replicative viral vectors, is making it possible to administer genes directly into tumors sites in situ. Using this technology, a recombinant, replication-deficient adenoviral vector encoding the full-length TRAIL cDNA (Ad-TRAIL) was developed in the laboratory as a way to induce tumor cell death. Current experiments are investigating the ability of Ad-TRAIL to activate systemic antitumor immunity.Additional studies are investigating the ability of apoptotic cells to influence the immune response. For these studies, we use a number of experimental model of tolerance as well as an experimental model of sepsis.

Bio

Bryan D. Hinck, MD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urology at the University of Minnesota. He has special interest in robotic-assisted surgery for the treatment of benign and malignant conditions of the kidney, ureter, and prostate as well as endoscopic treatment of kidney stones and benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). Dr. Hinck believes that each patient is the most important member of their health care team and strives to provide patient-centered health care.Dr. Hinck grew up in Minneapolis and obtained a Bachelor of Arts from St. Olaf College where he studied music (cello performance) and biomedical studies. He completed his medical degree from the Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University and then went on to complete his general surgery internship and urology residency training at the Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute at the Cleveland Clinic.

MEET DR. HINCK

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Administrator Information:

Traci Trotter
Email: trott083@umn.edu
Phone: 612-625-7486

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Bio

Nissrine Nakib, MD is the Director of Pelvic Floor Medicine at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Nakib has a busy clinical practice that entails caring for patients with pelvic organ prolapse, incontinence, pelvic pain, recurrent urinary tract infections, as well as those with spinal cord injuries and neurogenic bladders. As lead of the Urology Department's Quality Control she works hard to establish safety and quality measures in order to ensure patients get the best possible care. Additionally, she conducts clinical and translational research with focus on sacral nerve modulation and other urinary disorder treatments. Education is an integral part of her role at the University and she enjoys teaching residents and medical students about Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstruction through mentoring, didactic sessions, and anatomical training labs. Furthermore, she strives to increase public awareness and educate her patients on urological issues in women. Gender and other equity issues are an important topic to Dr. Nakib and she values her work as the Chair of The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee for the Urology Department. She is also a member of the American Urological Association North Central Section Committee for Women. Last year she joined The Strategic Communication and Collaboration Action Committee in The Center for Women in Medicine and Science. Dr. Nakib was voted as the Chair of this committee and looks forward to accomplishing great things in her new role.

MEET DR. NAKIB

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Administrator Information: 

Lee Ann Knight
Email: ltveit@umn.edu
Phone: 612-626-7099

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Clinical Summary

Specialties:

• Urinary tract infections
• Interstitial cystitis
• Hematuria (blood in urine)
• Kidney stones
• Neurogenic bladder
• Urinary incontinence

Bio

I'm originally from South Dakota and have over 40 years of experience with academic, corporate, startup and clinical research teams. My focus has been across neuroscience, medical devices, device startups and commercialized urological therapies. I joined the Dept of Urology in 2019 to initiate their functional urology and neurobiology research group.  With it our teams of faculty, clinical residents and students do quantitative research 

Expertise

Neuroscience, Neurostimulation, Neuromodulation, commercialization, intellectual property, clinical research, translational research, industry-academic collaboration. 

Education

Bachelor's: Augustana University (SD)
PhD: Northwestern University, (Evanston IL)
Post Doc: University of Virginia, (Charlottesville VA)

Research Summary

Our research team has focused on improvements in quantification of both urological diagnosis and therapies.  We've explored improvements to urodynsmics to increase their utility in understanding bladder contraction states, potential use of frequency dynamics within pressure measurements.

We've also conducted research to improve implanted neuromodulation therapies such as sacral neuromodulation or SNM. This work focuses on potential improvements to therapy tracking, quantitative and objective therapy implantation, and methods to improve therapy tracking and outcomes. 

Publications

• Hornung CM, Vasdev R, Hanson KA, Gotlieb R, Fok CS, Fischer J, Nakib NA, Nelson DE. Data Gap in Sacral Neuromodulation Documentation: Call to Improve Documentation Protocols. Int Neurourol J. 2022 Sep;26(3):227-233. doi: 10.5213/inj.2244084.042. Epub 2022 Sep 30. PMID: 36203255; PMCID: PMC9537436.
• Ravishankar B, Vasdev RMS, Timm GW, Nelson DE. Measurement and Quantification of Cystometric Bladder Pressure Spectra in an in-vivo Sheep Model: A Feasibility Study. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2021 Nov;2021:5005-5010. doi: 10.1109/EMBC46164.2021.9630641. PMID: 34892331.

Bio

Dr. Pariser's clinical interests include urethral stricture, adult buried penis, genitoplastics, ureteral injury, urinary fistula, and gender-affirming surgery. 

Dr. Pariser prides himself on providing the highest level of care to tackle challenging reconstructive urologic issues for patients who have been turned away elsewhere or were not aware of all surgical options. When counseling patients with these difficult conditions, he makes it a priority to thoroughly and clearly discuss the benefits and risks of different management strategies and surgical approaches. He utilizes robotic/minimally invasive approaches whenever possible.

Dr. Pariser serves as Co-Director of University of Minnesota's Comprehensive Gender Care Center. He performs a high volume of primary and revision gender-affirming genital surgeries including orchiectomy, vaginoplasty, revision vaginoplasty (including peritoneal), metoidioplasty, phalloplasty complications and implant surgery.

Expertise

• Reconstructive Urology
• Robotic Surgery
• Gender Affirmation Surgery

Education

Undergrad: Pennsylvania State University

Med School: University of Chicago

Residency: University of Chicago

Fellowships: 

•  University of Minnesota, Genitourinary Reconstructive Surgery (GURS)
•  Detroit Medical Center, Trauma and Genitourinary Reconstructive Urology 

Awards and Recognitions

• Healthgrades Honor Roll
• Minnesota Monthly Top Doctors 2023
• Top Doctors 2021, 2022 Rising Stars

Publications 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=pariser+j

Bio

Dr. Regmi completed his training in General Surgery and Urology from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, India prior to arriving in Minneapolis for a Urologic Oncology Fellowship at the University of Minnesota. He had been in practice for several years before finding his calling in Oncology. He strives for patient driven cancer care by empowering patients to collaborate and be actively involved in informed decision making. Dr. Regmi's clinical and surgical interests are in bladder, prostate, kidney and testicular cancers and he has expertise in open, endoscopic, laparoscopic and robotic surgery.

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Administrator Information:

Traci Trotter
Email: trot083@umn.edu
Phone: 612-625-7486

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Clinical Summary

Expertise:

• Urologic Cancers
• Open / Endoscopic / Laparoscopic / Robotic Surgery

Bio

Gerald W. Timm earned B.E.E., M.S.E.E. and Ph.D. (E.E.) degrees from the U of MN. Upon completion, he joined the faculties of the U of MN Medical School's Department of Neurology and the Institute of Technology's Departments of Electrical and Biomedical Engineering, researching problems of the pelvic organs resulting from spinal cord injury, stroke and other neurological and urological disorders. This work resulted in the conceptualization and subsequent development of a variety of implantable devices and diagnostic instrumentation products for diagnosing and treating urinary control and male erectile disorders and the founding or co-founding of several medial device firms to bring these concepts to market. Dr. Timm currently serves as President of NovaTek Medical, LLC and recently rejoined the U of MN Medical School faculty part-time as a Professor of Urological Surgery.

Bio

Dr. Tu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urology specializing in pediatric patients in need of complex urologic reconstruction, such as patients with spina bifida, hypospadias, and congenital disorders of development. He received his medical degree from The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX. He completed his Urology residency at Columbia University Medical Center/New York-Presbyterian Hospital and pediatric urology fellowship at the Harvard Medical School and Boston Children's Hospital. His research focuses on optimizing the quality and safety of care for such patients and developing stronger outcomes for pediatric patients with both acute and chronic urologic conditions.

Bio

Dr. Christopher Warlick is the Department Head for the Department of Urology and is an Associate Professor who treats several urologic cancers, with an emphasis on prostate cancer. Dr. Warlick has a busy prostate cancer practice and is a nationally recognized leader on Active Surveillance for low risk prostate cancer, while performing robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomies for men requiring definitive therapy. Dr. Warlick has ongoing research focusing on the use of MR imaging in prostate cancer, the development of novel tests to help determine early signs of disease progression, and on programs to increase the use of shared decision making around PSA screening and prostate cancer treatment decision making.

Bio

Dr. Zabell specializes in the surgical treatment of urologic malignancies including prostate, bladder, kidney and testis cancer. He performs endoscopic, laparoscopic, robotic, and open surgical approaches that are tailored patient preferences and the unique characteristics of each case.Dr. Zabell grew up in the Twin Cities and completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota. He completed medical school at the University of Iowa before returning to the University of Minnesota for his urology residency training. He subsequently completed a fellowship in Urologic Oncology at Cleveland Clinic in conjunction with a Certificate in Clinical and Translational Research at Case Western Reserve University.Dr. Zabell is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urology and is actively involved in clinical research. He is a member of the American Urological Association, the Society of Urologic Oncology, and the Minnesota Urological Society.