Kazumi Taguchi, M.D., Ph.D., Joel T. Funk, M.D., FACS, and Andrew Fang, M.D.Three esteemed leaders in the field of prostate care are joining the UAB Department of Urology in 2025, bringing heightened expertise and a specialized subset of services to patients across Alabama and beyond.
“One of our missions is to serve the patients of Alabama by providing the highest quality urology care possible,” said Tom Chi, M.D., MBA, professor and Anton J. Bueschen, M.D., Endowed Chair of Urologic Surgery and Research in the UAB Department of Urology. “Prostate issues, including prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia, are common in men and often under-diagnosed or under-treated. Our goal in bringing these new, world-class faculty to UAB is to transform the landscape of prostate care across Alabama. We could not be more excited to have recruited some of the best talent from across the globe to fulfill this important need for our state.”
Kazumi Taguchi, M.D., Ph.D., started with the UAB Department of Urology in June 2025. Previously, Taguchi served as associate professor and endourology fellowship program director at Nagoya City University in Nagoya, Japan. After earning his Ph.D. in renal physiology, Taguchi gained international experience as a visiting research fellow at the University of California, San Francisco from 2016 to 2017, where he contributed to genomic and clinical research. As the first author of the Urological Association of Asia clinical guideline for urinary stone disease, Taguchi has received more than 20 awards for research excellence. He is an expert in robotic surgery, minimally invasive kidney stone surgery, laser holmium enucleation of the prostate, and translational research, leading national and international collaborative studies.
Joel T. Funk, M.D., FACS, joined the UAB Department of Urology in August 2025. Funk served as associate professor of Urology at the College of Medicine, Tucson at the University of Arizona. He was also the chief of surgical services and director of urological surgery at Banner University Medical Center South. Funk is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in laser prostatectomy and female urology. He was the first urologist to perform a holmium laser enucleation of the prostate in southern Arizona and remains one of the highest volume surgeons for this procedure nationwide. His experience includes expertise in the surgical and non-surgical management of prostate and bladder outlet obstruction in men as well as robotic sacrocolpopexy, vaginal mesh excision, and anti-incontinence surgery in women.
Andrew Fang, M.D., will join the UAB Department of Urology in September 2025. Fang, an alumnus of the UAB Department of Urology residency program, completed his urologic oncology fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center. He has co-authored more than 50 publications pertaining to minimally invasive surgery and prostate cancer research, including a paper on prostate biopsy risk calculators. His specialty focus on clinical trials will bring access to life-saving, cutting edge treatments for patients with prostate cancer.