Biography:Douglas Scherr

Douglas S. Scherr, M.D. (born January 7, 1967) is an American surgeon and specialist in Urologic Oncology. He is currently the Clinical Director of Urologic Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine. He also holds an appointment at the Rockefeller University as a Visiting Associate Physician. Scherr was the first physician at Cornell to perform a robotic prostatectomy as well as a robotic cystectomy.

Background

A native of New York, Scherr studied at Cornell University and received an undergraduate degree in government. After University, Dr. Scherr spent a year abroad in Shenyang, China, after which he attended medical school at the George Washington University School of Medicine. Subsequently, he completed a 6-year residency in Urology at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital and a Fellowship in Urologic Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for two years. He is married to Jennifer Scherr and they have three children.

Areas of focus

Scherr specializes in treating urologic malignancies. His focus is on the treatment of prostate cancer, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, testicular cancer, and genitourinary and retroperitoneal sarcomas. He performs robotic assisted removal of bladders with total bladder reconstructions, along with colleague Dr. Shahrokh Shariat.

He sits on several advisory boards in companies involved in urologic technology development. He has been influential in the ergonomics of robotic technology. He has been active in the development of optical coherence tomography and its application to urologic imaging.

Also active in the Laboratory of Urologic Oncology, Scherr has been instrumental in defining the hormonal regulation of bladder cancer and is currently developing a novel class of compounds that utilize the innate immune system to fight urologic tumors. He is working on the development of a non-invasive means to assess human tissue at the microscopic level. To this end, he has patented and developed the concept of “multiphoton endoscopy” which utilizes high speed laser energy to create high quality microscopic images of human tissue. This breakthrough has vast applications in cystoscopy, colonoscopy and bronchoscopy.

Board certification

American Board of Urology (February, 2003)

Professional organizations

Diplomate, American Board of Urology
Member, Society of Urologic Oncology
Founding Member, Executive Committee, Young Urologic Oncology Society
Member, Society for Basic Urological Research
Member, American Urological Association
Member, New York Section of AUA, Co-chair of Valentine Essay Meeting
Member, Society of University Urologists
Member, American Medical Association
Lecturer, American Austrian Foundation
Member, Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB), GU Core
Member, American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)

Professional honors/awards

1. William Beaumont Medical Research Honor Society First Prize for Best Original Medical Essay, The William Shafirt Award, The George Washington University School of Medicine. “A crisis of unknown proportion: An empirical analysis of the American medical malpractice system.” 1994
2. First Prize for Clinical Investigation, Ferdinand C. Valentine Urology Residents Essay Meeting, “BCL-2 and P53 expression in clinically localized prostate cancer as predictive markers for the response to external beam radiotherapy.” 1998
3. First Prize for Clinical Investigation, Society of University Urology Residents, Annual Chief Resident Meeting, Marietta, Georgia. “Anti-androgen therapy for prostate cancer and the prevention of osteoporosis: The role of DES.” 2000
4. Second Prize for Clinical Investigation, Ferdinand C. Valentine Urology Residents Essay Meeting, “Collagen Type I Crosslinked N-Telopeptide as a urinary marker for osteoporosis in prostate cancer: The role of Diethylstilbesterol (DES).” 2000
5. Pfizer, Scholars in Urology Award, Awarded for advancing the scientific and clinical field of urology. 2000
6. Ferdinand C. Valentine Fellowship for Research in Urology. The New York Academy of Medicine. 2001–2002. Syndecan-1 expression in prostate cancer and the role of p27 in primary prostate epithelial cell transformation.
7. T32 Research Training Grant. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. 2000–2002.
8. Edwin Beer Research Award. NY Academy of Medicine. Effective Tumor Immunotherapy in Transitional Cell Carcinoma of the Bladder. 2005-2007
9. Career Development Award. Kidney Urology Foundation of America. The role of the Pim-1 Oncoprotein in Prostate Carcinogenesis. 2004-2005
10. Best Video Award. Society of Laparoscopic Surgery. Oncological Outcomes of Robotic Cystectomy. San Francisco , CA August, 2007.

Publications

1. Raman, JD; Sosa, RE; Vaughan Ed, Jr; Scherr, DS (2007). "Pathologic features of bladder tumors after nephroureterectomy or segmental ureterectomy for upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma". Urology 69 (2): 251–4. doi:10.1016/j.urology.2006.09.065. PMID 17320658. 
2. Smith, EB; Schwartz, M; Kawamoto, H; You, X; Hwang, D; Liu, H; Scherr, DS (2007). "Antitumor effects of imidazoquinolines in urothelial cell carcinoma of the bladder". The Journal of Urology 177 (6): 2347–51. doi:10.1016/j.juro.2007.01.112. PMID 17509356. 
3. Barocas, DA; Mathew, S; Delpizzo, JJ; Vaughan Ed, ED; Sosa, RE; Fine, RG; Akhtar, M; Scherr, DS (2007). "Renal cell carcinoma sub-typing by histopathology and fluorescence in situ hybridization on a needle-biopsy specimen". BJU International 99 (2): 290–5. doi:10.1111/j.1464-410X.2006.06607.x. PMID 17092279. 
4. Raman, JD; Dong, S; Levinson, A; Samadi, D; Scherr, DS (2007). "Robotic Radical Prostatectomy: Operative Technique, Outcomes, and Learning Curve". JSLS 11 (1): 1–7. PMID 17651548. 
5. Raman, JD; Scherr, DS (2007). "Management of patients with upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma". Nature Clinical Practice Urology 4 (8): 432–43. doi:10.1038/ncpuro0875. PMID 17673914. 
6. Wang, GJ; Barocas, DA; Raman, JD; Scherr, DS (2008). "Robotic vs open radical cystectomy: prospective comparison of perioperative outcomes and pathological measures of early oncological efficacy". BJU International 101 (1): 89–93. doi:10.1111/j.1464-410X.2007.07212.x. PMID 17888044. 
7. Liu, H; Schwartz, MJ; Hwang, DH; Scherr, DS (2008). "Tumour growth inhibition by an imidazoquinoline is associated with c-Myc down-regulation in urothelial cell carcinoma". BJU International 101 (7): 894–901. doi:10.1111/j.1464-410X.2008.07459.x. PMID 18241249. 
8. Schwartz, MJ; Hwang, DH; Hung, AJ; Han, J; Mcclain, JW; Shemtov, MM; Te, AE; Sosa, RE et al. (2008). "Negative influence of changing biopsy practice patterns on the predictive value of prostate-specific antigen for cancer detection on prostate biopsy". Cancer 112 (8): 1718–25. doi:10.1002/cncr.23353. PMID 18330908. 
9. Richstone, L; Bianco, FJ; Shah, HH; Kattan, MW; Eastham, JA; Scardino, PT; Scherr, DS (2008). "Radical prostatectomy in men aged >or=70 years: effect of age on upgrading, upstaging, and the accuracy of a preoperative nomogram". BJU International 101 (5): 541–6. doi:10.1111/j.1464-410X.2007.07410.x. PMID 18257855. 
10. Seandel, M; James, D; Shmelkov, SV; Falciatori, I; Kim, J; Chavala, S; Scherr, DS; Zhang, F et al. (2007). "Generation of functional multipotent adult stem cells from GPR125+ germline progenitors". Nature 449 (7160): 346–50. doi:10.1038/nature06129. PMID 17882221. Bibcode: 2007Natur.449..346S. 
11. Barocas, DA; Rabbani, F; Scherr, DS; Vaughan Ed, ED (2006). "A population-based study of renal cell carcinoma and prostate cancer in the same patients". BJU International 97 (1): 33–6. doi:10.1111/j.1464-410X.2005.05880.x. PMID 16336324. 
12. Barocas, DA; Rohan, SM; Kao, J; Gurevich, RD; Del Pizzo, JJ; Vaughan Ed, Jr; Akhtar, M; Chen, YT et al. (2006). "Diagnosis of renal tumors on needle biopsy specimens by histological and molecular analysis". The Journal of Urology 176 (5): 1957–62. doi:10.1016/j.juro.2006.07.038. PMID 17070218. 
13. Raman, JD; Palese, MA; Ng, CK; Boorjian, SA; Scherr, DS; Del Pizzo, JJ; Sosa, RE (2006). "Hand-Assisted Laparoscopic Nephroureterectomy for Upper Urinary Tract Transitional Cell Carcinoma". JSLS 10 (4): 432–8. PMID 17575752. 
14. Shelton, JB; Barocas, DA; Conway, F; Hart, K; Nelson, K; Richstone, L; Gonzalez, RR; Raman, JD et al. (2005). "Prostate-specific antigen screening in a high-risk population: lessons from the community and how they relate to large-scale population-based studies". Urology 65 (5): 931–6. doi:10.1016/j.urology.2004.11.047. PMID 15882726. 
15. Boorjian, S; Ng, C; Munver, R; Palese, MA; Vaughan Ed, Jr; Sosa, RE; Del Pizzo, JJ; Scherr, DS (2005). "Impact of delay to nephroureterectomy for patients undergoing ureteroscopic biopsy and laser tumor ablation of upper tract transitional cell carcinoma". Urology 66 (2): 283–7. doi:10.1016/j.urology.2005.02.022. PMID 16098357. 
16. Pittsjr, W; Scherr, D (2005). "Unified theory of prostate cancer: the role of steroid 5 alpha reductase and steroid aromatase". Urology 66 (3): 11–12. doi:10.1016/j.urology.2005.06.039. 
17. Barocas, DA; Kawamoto, H; Dreizin, DF; Howard, ME; Choi, J; Pitts, WR; You, X; Tickoo, SK et al. (2005). "Five-alpha-reductase expression in benign and malignant urothelium: correlation with disease characteristics and outcome". Urology 66 (5): 1134–9. doi:10.1016/j.urology.2005.06.079. PMID 16286153. 
18. Raman, JD; Mongan, NP; Tickoo, SK; Boorjian, SA; Scherr, DS; Gudas, LJ (2005). "Increased expression of the polycomb group gene, EZH2, in transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder". Clinical Cancer Research 11 (24 Pt 1): 8570–6. doi:10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-05-1047. PMID 16361539. 
19. Raman, JD; Ng, CK; Boorjian, SA; Vaughan Ed, ED; Sosa, RE; Scherr, DS (2005). "Bladder cancer after managing upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma: predictive factors and pathology". BJU International 96 (7): 1031–5. doi:10.1111/j.1464-410X.2005.05804.x. PMID 16225523. 
20. Raman, JD; Mongan, NP; Liu, L; Tickoo, SK; Nanus, DM; Scherr, DS; Gudas, LJ (2006). "Decreased expression of the human stem cell marker, Rex-1 (zfp-42), in renal cell carcinoma". Carcinogenesis 27 (3): 499–507. doi:10.1093/carcin/bgi299. PMID 16344273. 
21. Boorjian, S; Scherr, DS; Mongan, NP; Zhuang, Y; Nanus, DM; Gudas, LJ (2005). "Retinoid receptor mRNA expression profiles in human bladder cancer specimens". International Journal of Oncology 26 (4): 1041–8. doi:10.3892/ijo.26.4.1041. PMID 15754000. 
22. Boorjian, S; Ng, C; Munver, R; Palese, MA; Sosa, RE; Vaughan, ED; Del Pizzo, JJ; Scherr, DS (2004). "Abnormal selective cytology results predict recurrence of upper-tract transitional-cell carcinoma treated with ureteroscopic laser ablation". Journal of Endourology 18 (9): 912–6. doi:10.1089/end.2004.18.912. PMID 15659932. 
23. Richstone, L; Scherr, DS; Reuter, VR; Snyder, ME; Rabbani, F; Kattan, MW; Russo, P (2004). "Multifocal renal cortical tumors: frequency, associated clinicopathological features and impact on survival". The Journal of Urology 171 (2 Pt 1): 615–20. doi:10.1097/01.ju.0000106955.19813.f6. PMID 14713772. 
24. Boorjian, S; Tickoo, SK; Mongan, NP; Yu, H; Bok, D; Rando, RR; Nanus, DM; Scherr, DS et al. (2004). "Reduced lecithin: retinol acyltransferase expression correlates with increased pathologic tumor stage in bladder cancer". Clinical Cancer Research 10 (10): 3429–37. doi:10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-03-0756. PMID 15161698. 
25. Boorjian, S; Ugras, S; Mongan, NP; Gudas, LJ; You, X; Tickoo, SK; Scherr, DS (2004). "Androgen receptor expression is inversely correlated with pathologic tumor stage in bladder cancer". Urology 64 (2): 383–8. doi:10.1016/j.urology.2004.03.025. PMID 15302512. 
26. Chen, David Y. T.; Sosa, RE; Scherr, DS (2004). "Treatment of adrenocortical carcinoma: Contemporary outcomes". Current Urology Reports 5 (1): 65–72. doi:10.1007/s11934-004-0014-x. PMID 14733841. 
27. Scherr, D; Swindle, PW; Scardino, PT; National Comprehensive Cancer Network (2003). "National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines for the management of prostate cancer". Urology 61 (2 Suppl 1): 14–24. doi:10.1016/S0090-4295(02)02395-6. PMID 12667883. 
28. Scherr, Douglas S.; Ng, C; Munver, R; Sosa, RE; Vaughan Jr, ED; Del Pizzo, J (2003). "Practice patterns among urologic surgeons treating localized renal cell carcinoma in the laparoscopic age: technology versus oncology". Urology 62 (6): 1007–11. doi:10.1016/S0090-4295(03)00773-8. PMID 14665345. 
29. Scherr, DS; Pitts Wr, Jr (2003). "The nonsteroidal effects of diethylstilbestrol: the rationale for androgen deprivation therapy without estrogen deprivation in the treatment of prostate cancer". The Journal of Urology 170 (5): 1703–8. doi:10.1097/01.ju.0000077558.48257.3d. PMID 14532759. 
30. Knudsen, Beatrice S; Gmyrek, GA; Inra, J; Scherr, DS; Vaughan, ED; Nanus, DM; Kattan, MW; Gerald, WL et al. (2002). "High expression of the Met receptor in prostate cancer metastasis to bone☆". Urology 60 (6): 1113–7. doi:10.1016/S0090-4295(02)01954-4. PMID 12475693. 
31. Scherr, D; Pittsjr, WR; Vaughanjr, ED (2002). "Diethylstilbesterol Revisited: Androgen Deprivation, Osteoporosis and Prostate Cancer". The Journal of Urology 167 (2 Pt 1): 535–8. doi:10.1016/S0022-5347(01)69080-3. PMID 11792913. 
32. Scherr, DS; Eastham, J; Ohori, M; Scardino, PT (2002). "Prostate biopsy techniques and indications: when, where, and how?". Seminars in Urologic Oncology 20 (1): 18–31. doi:10.1053/suro.2002.30395. PMID 11828354. 
33. Chen, A; Scherr, D; Eid, JF (2000). "Renal Transplantation After in Vivo Excision of an Angiomyolipoma from a Living Unrelated Kidney Donor". The Journal of Urology 163 (6): 1859. doi:10.1016/S0022-5347(05)67561-1. PMID 10799200. 
34. "ERRATA". The Journal of Urology 162 (2): 503. 1999. doi:10.1016/S0022-5347(05)68615-6. 
35. Scherr, DS; Vaughan Ed, Jr; Wei, J; Chung, M; Felsen, D; Allbright, R; Knudsen, BS (1999). "BCL-2 and p53 expression in clinically localized prostate cancer predicts response to external beam radiotherapy". The Journal of Urology 162 (1): 12–6; discussion 16–7. doi:10.1097/00005392-199907000-00003. PMID 10379729. 
36. Scherr, D; Goldstein, M (1999). "Comparison of bilateral versus unilateral varicocelectomy in men with palpable bilateral varicoceles". The Journal of Urology 162 (1): 85–8. doi:10.1097/00005392-199907000-00021. PMID 10379746. 
37. Scherr, D; Poppas, DP (1998). "Laser Tissue Welding". Urologic Clinics of North America 25 (1): 123–35. doi:10.1016/S0094-0143(05)70439-0. PMID 9529543. 
38. Poppas, DP; Scherr, DS (1998). "Laser tissue welding: a urological surgeon's perspective". Haemophilia 4 (4): 456–62. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2516.1998.440456.x. PMID 9873775. 
39. Schultz, PK; Herr, HW; Zhang, ZF; Bajorin, DF; Seidman, A; Sarkis, A; Fair, WR; Scherr, D et al. (1994). "Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Invasive Bladder Cancer: Prognostic Factors for Survival of Patients Treated with M-VAC with Five-Year Follow-Up". Journal of Clinical Oncology 12 (7): 1394–1401. doi:10.1200/JCO.1994.12.7.1394. PMID 8021730. 

External links

• PubMed search for Douglas S. Scherr