Yale Urology has launched a new Division of Urologic Sciences at Yale School of Medicine. With a focus on translating research into patient impact, the division will help position Yale Urology as a national leader, accelerate collaboration across disciplines, and improve patient care, departmental leaders say.
“It creates a formal structure to integrate clinical excellence with discovery science, ensuring that innovation in the laboratory is closely aligned with the needs of our patients,” says Ping Mu, PhD, chief of the new division.
Introducing the New Division Chief
Mu joined Yale Urology in the fall of 2024, coming from UT Southwestern where he was a tenured associate professor. He obtained his PhD in biomedical sciences from Cornell and completed postdoctoral work at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
“Associate Professor Mu brings exceptional leadership and accomplishments, including three active R01 grants and recently heading a team recognized with a Prostate Cancer Challenge Award by the Prostate Cancer Foundation,” says Chair Isaac Kim, MD, PhD, MBA.
How the Division Works
The division is structured with all laboratory-based faculty making up urologic sciences. They also hold secondary appointments in a clinical division. Likewise, all surgeon-scientists in the department hold a secondary role in the new division, outside their primary clinical sections.
From Discovery to Patient Care
“This integration will directly improve patient care by enabling faster translation of discoveries into diagnostics, risk stratification tools, and therapeutic strategies,” says Mu. “By further incorporating artificial intelligence and data-driven approaches into clinical and translational research, we can better leverage Yale’s unique strengths to deliver more precise, personalized care.”
Mu says he’s most excited about the collaboration the new division reinforces and how it aligns with Chair Kim’s vision of making Yale Urology a destination center for all things urological.
A Vision for Yale Urology's Future
“Our clinician colleagues bring indispensable insight from patient care, guiding the most meaningful scientific questions, while our research teams contribute advanced platforms—including AI, spatial and single-cell technologies, and organoid modeling—to address them.”
A collective effort that is fundamental to the department’s immediate future and beyond.
“It has been a longstanding priority of mine to bring clinicians and scientists together under a shared vision,” says Kim. “The new urologic sciences division does that in a clear, meaningful way.”