In Memoriam

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Warren W. Koontz, Jr. MD, distinguished urologist, professor emeritus of surgery at Virginia Commonwealth University, and MA-AUA Past President. He died peacefully on November 1, 2023, at the age of 91.

 Dr. Koontz was born in Lynchburg, VA, and received his bachelor’s degree from Virginia Military Institute in 1953 followed by his MD from the University of Virginia in 1957. He joined the faculty of the School of Medicine at VCU in 1970 as professor of surgery and chair of the division of urology, a position he maintained until 1993. He also served at the associate dean for clinical affairs from 1982 to 1988. Dr. Koontz served as President of the Mid-Atlantic Section of the American Urological Association in 1988. He was appointment professor emeritus of surgery in 2001. 

 Dr. Koontz was a pioneer and leader in the field of urology, with expertise in urologic oncology and reconstructive surgery. He published many peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and mentored countless students and residents. Please take a moment to read his obituary. May his memory live on through his family and all of those who had the great fortune to know Dr. Koontz.

It is with great sadness we inform you of the recent passing of Dr. Alan Partin.  Dr. Partin was an accomplished urologist and academician at Johns Hopkins, where he served as the director of the Brady Urologic Institute since 2004.  He worked tirelessly to improve the care of patients with prostate cancer and his research was internationally recognized.  Numerous accounts of his accomplishments have emerged on social media by his former colleagues, which highlight Dr. Partin’s exceptional leadership, mentorship, and kindness.

 Please take a moment to read his obituary.  May his memory live on through his family and all of those who had the great fortune to know this extraordinary man.    

It is with the deepest sadness that we share the news that Douglas A. Canning, MD passed away on Memorial Day, Monday, May 30, surrounded by his loving family after sustaining severe injuries in a cycling accident.

Doug was Chief of the Division of Urology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for the past 25 years, Vice-Chair for Clinical Affairs in CHOP’s Department of Surgery and Professor of Surgery (Urology) in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He held the Leonard and Madlyn Abramson Endowed Chair in Pediatric Urology.

For decades, Doug served as a leader, clinician, investigator, innovator, educator and staunch patient advocate at CHOP, becoming a world-renowned expert in bladder and cloacal exstrophy and hypospadias care. Working with pediatric urology colleagues at CHOP, Boston Children’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Doug led the Multi-Institutional Bladder Exstrophy Consortium (MIBEC) which has dramatically improved the lives of children worldwide born with this serious defect.

Doug was born in New London, CT. He attended Dartmouth College, where he earned a BA in Chemistry in 1979 and a Medical Degree three years later in 1982. He accepted an Armed Forces Scholarship and completed his post-graduate training in Urology at the Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, MD. He then pursued a pediatric urology fellowship at the Brady Urological Institute at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, MD. After serving in the U.S. Navy at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego for four years, Doug returned to the East Coast and joined CHOP in 1992, becoming the Chief of the Division of Urology in 1997. He found it food, and he made it great!

For the past 25 years, Doug directed one of the largest and most comprehensive pediatric urology programs in the world. Under his leadership, CHOP Urology grew to 12 surgeon-scientists and 21 Advanced Practice Health Professionals and established six Endowed Chairs, while the CHOP Urology academic program trained more than 30 fellows and more than 100 residents. He was very proud that CHOP Urology was consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the nation’s top pediatric urology program by reputation and that the pediatric urology fellowship attracted its highest-ranked applicant in the match every year during his time.