Members of the UAB Department of Urology recently attended and presented at the 2025 Joint Meeting, 35th Congress of the European Society for Paediatric Urology (ESPU) in Vienna, Austria. In addition, David Joseph, M.D., was honored with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Section on Urology Medal, the highest honor given to a pediatric urologist for outstanding contributions to the field. The medal features the Della Robbia symbol, which dates back to the Middle Ages and has been the AAP's insignia since the 1940s.

More highlights from the 35th Congress of the ESPU: 

Faculty members Timothy Boswell, M.D., and Carmen Tong, D.O., as well as incoming faculty member Betsy Hopson, Ph.D., were primary authors/presenters for three presentations. Moreover, Boswell was co-author on two additional presentations. More than 1,000 abstracts were submitted to the meeting, and the acceptance rate was 12 percent.

• Timothy Boswell, M.D., primary author: "Creatinine velocity within the first week of life correlates with renal outcome at five years in posterior urethral valves: A multicenter analysis"
• Timothy Boswell, M.D., co-author: "An eight-center comparison of posterior urethral valve risk of chronic kidney disease (purk) score and first year serum creatinine nadir (SCN1): Which is the better predictor of progression to renal replacement therapy?"
• Timothy Boswell, M.D., co-author: "Robust and ready for use: An international validation of posterior urethral valve risk of chronic kidney (purk) score across eleven academic centers" 
• Betsy Hopson, Ph.D., primary author: "Psychometric evaluation of sexual knowledge and self-efficacy components of the SPARKS survey for adults with Spina Bifida"
• Carmen Tong, D.O, primary author: "Association between bladder augmentation surgery performed under age 10 years and fractures in children with Spina Bifida: A study of the National Spina Bifida Patient Registry"

Stacy Tanaka, M.D., FAAP, FACS, served as moderator for a session titled, "Neurogenic Bladder" and led a panel discussion on "Bladder Dysfunction: Practical Takeaways from Research."

David Kitchens, M.D., was appointed to the Nominating Committee of the Societies for Pediatric Urology.