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Vanderbilt professor receives medal from Society of Urologic Oncology
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The Society of Urologic Oncology presented the Huggins Medal to Joseph Smith Jr., MD, professor of urologic surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
The Huggins Medal, the society’s highest honor, recognizes Smith for his lifetime contributions to the progress in treatment for patients with genitourinary neoplasms.
Joseph Smith Jr.
“I remember as an intern choosing to go into urologic surgery and to pursue urologic oncology because I wanted to do what looked to be the most challenging operations,” Smith said in a press release. “The Society of Urologic Oncology has been my most coveted peer group, so to be recognized in this manner is an enormous honor.”
The medal is named after Charles B. Huggins, who received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1966 in recognition of his work on the hormonal treatment of prostate cancer.
Smith performed Vanderbilt’s first robotic surgery in 2003 and, since then, has completed more than 7,000 prostatectomies. He recently was named the next editor of The Journal of Urology.
“This award is more proof of Jay’s tremendous contributions to the field of urologic oncology,” David Penson, MD, professor and chair of urologic surgery at Vanderbilt, said in the press release. “And he was chosen by his peers, which makes it all the more meaningful, in my opinion. There is no one more deserving of this honor than Jay Smith.”