Pt Care: Endourology and Stones Disease: Our Team

Our Team

At Vanderbilt and around the globe, the Department of Urology faculty is sought after for their expertise and insight. Our doctors are invited to speak and present at universities and international conferences.

  • Dr. Miller was invited to speak about implementing the HoLEP procedure by: 
    • The University of British Columbia in Vancouver
    • The Thai Urological Association 
  • Dr. Herrell speaks at national and international conferences about the robotic partial nephrectomy procedure. 
  • The Vanderbilt Engineering Research Lab recently won the best paper at the Engineering and Urology Society meeting, for our work in kidney image-guided surgery. 
  • Dr. Miller and fellow Dr.Chad Gridley, won first place in the 2019 essay contest for the Endourological Society describing the outcomes of an opiate minimizing protocol for ureteroscopy. 
  • Dr. Hsi was a visiting American Urological Association exchange scholar with the Japan Urological Association. He spent three weeks in Japan visiting and exchanging ideas with other urologists. 
  • Dr. Hsi visited several hospitals in China on an outreach mission to share best practices in endourology and urology. 

Our clinicians also are leaders in their field. Many hold leadership positions, serve on committees and receive grants from urology organizations, including:

  • National Institutes of Health
  • American Urological Association (AUA)
  • Canadian Journal of Urology
  • Southeast Section of the AUA (SESAUA)
  • Endourology Disease Group for Excellence (EDGE)
  • Endourology Society
  • Journal of Endourology
  • Research on Calculus Kinetics (ROCK)

Division Chief

  • Nicole L. Miller, MD, FACS

    Professor
    Department of Urology
    Fellowship Director
    Endourology and Laparoscopic Surgery Fellowship
    Division of Endourology and Stone Disease

    Medical School: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
    Residency: Univeristy of Virginia Health Sciences Center
    Fellowship: Indiana University School of Medicine
    Clinical Interests: Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, Endourology, Kidney Stones, Percutaneous Kidney Stone Surgery

    Dr. Miller is an internationally recognized clinician specializing in the treatment of kidney stone disease and Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) with particular expertise in Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP).  Her research focuses on the investigation of pathophysiologic pathways in BPH and new laser technologies for kidney stone and BPH treatment.  She is also a founding member of the Endourology Disease Group for Excellence (EDGE) Research Consortium which conducts multi-center trials to advance clinical excellence in the treatment of kidney stone disease.  

  • Taylor M. Brewer, PA-C

    Physician Assistant
    Department of Urology
    Division of Endourology and Stone Disease

    Undergrad: University of Tennessee, Knoxville
    PA School: Trevecca Nazarene University
    Clinical Interests: Kidney Stones, Kidney Cancer, Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, Elevated PSA, Endourology 

  • S. Duke Herrell, MD, FACS

    Professor
    Department of Urology
    Director
    Minimally-Invasive Urologic Surgery/Robotics Program
    Chief
    Division of Endourology and Stone Disease

    Medical School: University of Virginia School of Medicine
    Residency: University of Virginia Medical Center
    Fellowship: Loyola University Medical Center, Minimally Invasive Urologic Surgery

    Dr. Herrell helped found the Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering which combines surgeons and engineers to create new medical devices and technologies to help patients. Dr. Herrell is one of the only clinically active surgeons in the country with two active National Institute of Health (NIH) RO1 grants. Both are aimed at creating advanced new robotic surgery technologies for urologic cancers and diseases. 

  • Ryan S. Hsi, MD, FACS

    Associate Professor
    Department of Urology
    Division of Endourology and Stone Disease

    Medical School: Loma Linda University, School of Medicine
    Residency: University of Washington, School of Medicine
    Fellowship: University of California, San Francisco
    Clinical Interests: Endourology, Kidney Stones

    Dr. Hsi is an expert in the medical and surgical management of kidney stone disease and co-leads the complex kidney stone clinic.  He leads an active research team and is actively recruiting for several clinical trials.
     

  • Nicholas Kavoussi, MD

    Assistant Professor
    Department of Urology
    Division of Endourology and Stone Disease

    Medical School: SUNY Downstate College of Medicine, Brooklyn NY
    Residency: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
    Fellowship: Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
    Clinical Interests: BPH, Endourology, Laparoscopic and Robotics, Kidney Stones, Kidney Cancer

    Dr. Kavoussi is a minimally invasive surgeon specializing in the application of novel technologies in the treatment of urologic diseases. He is a member of the Vanderbilt Institute of Surgery and Engineering and is actively involved in multiple research projects furthering the integration of technology and surgery.

  • Hannah Ritter Lee, AGPCNP

    Nurse Practitioner
    Department of Urology
    Division of Endourology and Stone Disease

    Undergrad: Biology at Tennessee Tech University
    Nursing School: Vanderbilt University School of Nursing
    Fellowship: Vanderbilt Urology NP Fellowship
    Clinical Interests: Endourology, Kidney Stones, Urologic Cancer, Erectile Dysfunction, Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia 

  • Jennifer A. Robles, MD, MPH

    Assistant Professor
    Department of Urology
    Surgical Quality Officer and Chief of Urology
    Tennessee Valley (VA) Healthcare System
    Division of Endourology and Stone Disease

    Medical School: Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH
    Residency: Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
    Fellowship: Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

    Dr. Jennifer Robles, MD MPH is an Assistant Professor of Urology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee and is the Surgical Quality Officer and Chief of Urology of the Tennessee Valley (VA) Healthcare System. Her training includes a Urologic Surgery residency at Washington University in Saint Louis, clinical fellowship in Endourology and Laparoscopic/Robotic Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and research fellowship in Quality Improvement via the Veterans Affairs Quality Scholar program. Dr. Robles served as the American Urological Association (AUA) Science and Quality Fellow from 2018-2020 and is a current member of the AUA Quality Improvement and Patient Safety committee. Her professional goal is to achieve meaningful systems-based improvements in the quality of surgical patient care. Her primary clinical interests include minimally invasive surgical management of kidney masses, kidney stones, hydronephrosis, ureteral abnormalities and obstruction.