highlighting a few of The Female voices in our department
In honor of International Woman's Day, we would like to highlight all of the hard-working women that are the reason UW Urology is what it is today. Please take a moment and hear about some of our team's experiences and influences during their time in our department.
Tristan Nicholson, MD, PhD
Acting Assistant Professor
"Feeling a wave of gratitude as I reflect on my journey through residency, fellowship, and early career faculty at the University of Washington Department of Urology. The women in this department are amazing, and I am proud to be part of such a dynamic and inspiring community. Each of the women in our department (from our awesome all women intern class to our most experienced urologists) bring unique strengths and passion to the field of urology. Their resilience, intelligence, and commitment to patient care have left an indelible mark on my professional journey."
Kathleen Kieran, MD
Director of Pediatric Urology Fellowship, Vice Chair of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
“One of the most rewarding aspects of my work at UW has been the opportunity to work closely with medical students and to show them that Urology is not just a men’s field—that women can be urologists, and women (as patients) need urologists! It’s been enormously gratifying to see my mentees “think outside the box” of urology as a men’s-only specialty, and for some of them to even pursue urology, when they had not considered it before.”
Renee Kyle
Assistant to the Director
'“If you want to see the true measure of a man, watch how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.” - J. K. Rowling
It is important to celebrate and show our appreciation to those who have played important parts in our lives, both personally and professionally. And during this International Women's Day, it’s important for me to honor those who have mentored me, guided me, and showed me friendship during my career at the University of Washington. Seven years ago, the Department of Urology became my second family. Under the support and direction of many fine colleagues, I was encouraged to challenge myself and motivated to work toward any goal I wanted to achieve. I am truly honored to be a part of such an organization whose commitment to Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion is key. Having strong female role models like Dr. Judith Hagedorn, Dr. Suzette Sutherland, and Dr. Claire Yang who have, for me, been examples as to what a strong successful female professional is, has been instrumental in my success at the University of Washington and the Department of Urology."
Tova Weiss, MD
Resident, PGY-4
"It was important to me to come to a residency that had a strong contingent of female role models. Right after I matched, I came to the Society of Women in Urology conference and was very excited to see so many UW faculty and residents. I have built connections with many physicians that I know I will maintain throughout my career."
Hailey Silverii, MD
Pediatric Urology Fellow
"I have been blown away by the support of women in this department. This department prioritizes the unique differences and challenges faced by female surgeons and additionally provides resources for women to fiercely face these challenges. The WUWU group has been a source of empowerment for me during my time here and has allowed me to form relationships with other women in the department outside of the division of pediatric urology. I am so thankful for this community of support!"
Maheetha Bharadwaj, MD
Resident, PGY-2
"The first thing that attracted me to the UW urology program is their emphasis on recruitment of women that was mentioned during interview season. During my application cycle, there were still many programs that didn't have many female faculty or residents. I noticed that many faculty members here in UW Urology were women, and just about half the residents were too. I appreciated that.
When I came here, I was immediately contacted by my senior Lisa, who supported me emotionally through intern year. My intern year, I also had the opportunity to get to know all the female urology staff and residents through WUWU (University of Washington's, Women of Urology) that my seniors Lisa and Chloe created, for the purpose of supporting the female residents in our program.
In February 2024, WUWU held a department gathering for women in our program to discuss fertility as women in surgery. We had a fellow from the REI institute, discuss fertility options, egg-freezing, embryo-freezing, and cost of storage. Some of our faculty and residents were also able to discuss pregnancy and family during residency and fellowship. It was incredibly informative, and the environment was supportive.
The support has been incredible, and I could not have asked for more!
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Claire de la Calle, MD
Assistant Professor
"Today is an important day to be reminded that women make fabulous physicians! Happy international women’s day!"
Kristin Follmer
Research Team
"I am very happy to have landed in the urology department and feel comfortable and appreciated here."