UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Angela B. Smith, MD, MS, FACS, has been named director of Urologic Oncology in the UNC Department of Urology and co-director of the Multidisciplinary Genitourinary Oncology Service at the N.C. Cancer Hospital, UNC Lineberger’s clinical home.
Smith, who is a board-certified urologist who specializes in the treatment of bladder, prostate, kidney, and testicular cancer and an associate professor of urology at UNC School of Medicine, will co-direct the Multidisciplinary Genitourinary Oncology Service with Ronald Chen, MD, MPH, associate professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology, and Mathew Milowsky, MD, the George Gabriel Villere Distinguished Professor of Bladder and Genitourinary Cancer Research. She succeeds, Matthew Nielsen, MD, MS, who had served as director of Urologic Oncology since 2013.
“Across the board—from exceptional patient care, innovative research, and mentoring the next generation, Dr. Smith is a dynamic and internationally recognized leader in our field,” said Nielsen, who is a member of UNC Lineberger.
“We are grateful for Dr. Nielsen’s leadership of our oncology efforts for the past five years and I share his enthusiasm for Dr. Smith’s ascent to this role and the contributions she is certain to provide,” said Raj Pruthi, MD, professor and chair of the UNC Department of Urology and a UNC Lineberger member.
In addition to her clinical care responsibilities, Smith conducts research that is largely focused on patient-centered outcomes in bladder cancer. She has published more than 100 scientific papers and book chapters. Her work is supported by a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Engagement Award and an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality grant that integrates patient-reported outcomes into post-cystectomy care through mobile health technology. PCORI recently named Smith as co-principal investigator of an $8.5 million recurrent bladder cancer study to compare bladder-removal surgery with a treatment that delivers therapeutic agents to the bladder via a catheter. Study findings will help patients and clinicians make an informed decision between the two treatments.
“This is an exciting time to be a clinician-scientist in the field of genitourinary cancers,” said Smith. “We are developing better, more effective approaches to treating cancers of the bladder, prostate, kidney, and testes, and our research is generating insights that will help empower patients to make informed choices about their care.”