Tyler J. Sheetz, MD, is our UC San Diego-Kaiser Endourology Fellow for 2023-25 under the mentorship of Dr. Roger Sur. He completed his residency in urologic surgery at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, in Columbus, OH, after earning his medical degree from The Ohio State University College of Medicine. He graduated magna cum laude from Ohio Wesleyan University, in Delaware, OH, with a B.A. in Genetics. As a resident, he won Best Podium Presentation at the 2021 meeting of the North Central Section of the American Urological Association.
2022-24 Endourology/Laparoscopic Fellow
Jonathan E. Katz, MD, is our UC San Diego-Kaiser Endourology Fellow for 2022-24 under the mentorship of Dr. Roger Sur. He completed his residency in urologic surgery at University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital, in Miami. He earned his medical degree from University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He graduated with honors from McGill University, in Montreal, with a B.A. in Psychology. As a resident, he and a faculty mentor won a $125K grant to study the use of facial emotional sensors to predict patient distress.
2021-23 Endourology/Laparoscopic Fellow
Jonathan Berger, MD, was our UC San Diego-Kaiser Endourology Fellow for 2021-23 under the mentorship of Dr. Roger Sur. He completed his residency in urologic surgery at Naval Medical Center San Diego. He earned his medical degree from University of Toledo College of Medicine. He graduated magna cum laude in both Biology (B.S) and Philosophy (B.A.) from the University of Pittsburgh. During residency, he won the California Urological Association Young Leadership Award and Scholarship in 2016. Dr. Berger has joined the urology faculty of the Naval Medical Center San Diego residency program and also holds an appointment as Assistant Professor of Surgery with the Uniformed Armed Services University.
2021-22 Endourology/Laparoscopic Fellow
Tony Chen, MD, was our UC San Diego-Kaiser Endourology Fellow for 2021-22 under the mentorship of Dr. Roger Sur. He completed his residency in urologic surgery at the University of Washington, in Seattle, WA. He earned his medical degree from Duke University School of Medicine. He graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Duke University. Dr. Chen is currently in practice at Palomar Health in Escondido, CA.
2020-21 Endourology/Laparoscopic Fellow
Garen Abedi, MD, was our UC San Diego-Kaiser Endourology Fellow for 2020-21 under the mentorship of Dr. Roger Sur. He completed his residency in urologic surgery at University of California, Irvine, and concurrently earned a masters degree in Biomedical and Translational Science. He also earned his medical degree at UC Irvine, graduating Alpha Omega Alpha. Prior to medical school, he graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of science degree, also from UC Irvine. As a resident, Dr. Abedi published seven peer-reviewed articles, two as first author. Dr. Abedi is currently in private practice at West Coast Urology, in Los Angeles County.
2019-20 Endourology/Laparoscopic Fellow
David Friedlander, MD, was our UC San Diego-Kaiser Endourology Fellow for 2019-20 under the mentorship of Dr. Roger Sur. He completed his residency in urologic surgery at the Harvard Longwood Program in Urology. He earned his medical degree at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. During residency, Dr. Friedlander was a National Institutes of Health T32 Research Fellow. Dr. Friedlander is currently Assistant Professor of Urology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
2018-19 Endourology/Laparoscopic Fellow
Kaitlan Cobb, MD, was our UC San Diego-Kaiser Endourology Fellow for 2018-19 under the mentorship of Dr. Roger Sur. She completed her residency in urologic surgery at George Washington University, in Washington, DC. She earned her medical degree from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. She is a cum laude graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. As a resident, Dr. Cobb presented abstracts on percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) at the 2017 and 2018 annual meetings of the American Urological Association. Dr. Cobb is currently in private practice at Urology of Virginia, in Virginia Beach.
2017-18 Endourology/Laparoscopic Fellow
Dimitri Papagiannopoulos, MD, was our incoming UC San Diego-Kaiser Endourology Fellow for 2017-18 under the mentorship of Dr. Roger Sur. He completed his residency in urologic surgery at Rush University Medical Center, in Chicago. He earned his medical degree from Rush Medical College. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Northwestern University, where he graduated with departmental honors. In spring of 2016, Dr. Papagiannopoulos was the 1st-place winner of the Rush Surgical Society Research Contest and also the Chicago Urologic Society's Shapiro Imaging Contest. Dr. Papagiannopoulos is currently in private practice in Chicago, IL.
2016-17 Endourology/Laparoscopic Fellow
Seth K. Bechis, MD, MS, was our UC San Diego-Kaiser Endourology Fellow for 2016-17 under the mentorship of Dr. Roger Sur. He earned his medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine, and prior to that graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University. He also holds a Master of Science from the UCSF Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program. After medical school, Dr. Bechis completed a urological surgery residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. In 2014, he was the first place winner of the Max K. Willscher Resident Research Award Competition at the annual meeting of the New England Section of the American Urological Association. Dr. Bechis is currently Associate Professor of Urology at UC San Diego Health.
2015-16 Endourology/Laparoscopic Fellow
Joel E. Abbott, DO, was our UC San Diego-Kaiser Endourology Fellow for 2015-16 under the mentorship of Dr. Roger Sur. He earned his osteopathy degree from Western University of Health Sciences in California, completed an osteopathic internship and general surgery residency at Charleston Area Medical Center in West Virginia, and completed a urological surgery residency at St. John Providence Health in Detroit. Prior to joining UCSD he was a clinical instructor in the Department of Osteopathic Surgical Specialties at Michigan State University. He is a former Marine and earned the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Award in 2000 in addition to several recent academic awards. Dr. Abbott’s clinical practice will be based at the Urology Clinic at the UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest. He is currently in private practice in Hanover, MD.
