IC Questions & Answers

Daniel Brookoff, M.D., Ph.D.

Daniel Brookoff, MD, PhD, is Director of the new Center for Medical Pain Management at Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in downtown Denver, Colorado. With the generous support of the medical center and in collaboration with specialists in minimally invasive gynecologic surgery, urology, endocrinology, sleep medicine, pelvic physical therapy, and other specialties, this center endeavors to offer comprehensive and specialized care for people suffering with chronic pelvic pain. Well known for his skillful and compassionate care of IC patients, Dr. Brookoff is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine with a subspecialty certification in medical oncology and is a member of the American Pain Society. He has had numerous articles published on pain management, drug complications, and pelvic pain.

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Tony Buffington, D.V.M., Ph.D.

Dr. Buffington is a long-time supporter of the ICA and its efforts to find relief for those who suffer from IC. A contributor to the ICA’s National Meetings, Scientific Symposiums, and the ICA Update, he is best known for his work with feline urinary syndrome at Ohio State University.

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David A. Burks, M.D.

Dr. Burks is a native of Cleveland, Ohio. After graduating from Cornell University in 1979, he attended medical school at the University of Michigan School of Medicine in Ann Arbor. Graduating in 1984, he then trained in surgery and in urology at the University of Michigan, where he developed his interest in female urology and IC. In 1989, he went to Henry Ford Health System, based in Detroit, to develop the female urology and incontinence program where he practices today. He is the H-2 Inpatient Unit Director, Division Head for Urology at the Fairlane Ambulatory Center and Physician in Charge of Urology Satellite Clinics.

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Daniel Carr, M.D.

Dr. Carr is the Saltonstall Professor of Pain Research in the Departments of Anesthesia and Medicine at New England Medical Center. He is Vice Chairman for Research of NEMC’s Department of Anesthesia and Medical Director of its Pain Management Program. He is known internationally for his contributions to pain research, and his leadership roles in developing the Pain Center (and its accredited fellowship program) at the Massachusetts General Hospital and New England Medical Center. He is also a long-time member of the Medical Advisory Board of the ICA, and was recently featured in a New York Times Magazine story on the treatment of chronic pain in America today.

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Ananias Diokno, M.D.

Chief of Urology at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, and Clinical Professor, Department of Surgery, Section of Urology, at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

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Ragi Doggweiler, M.D.

Dr. Ragi Doggweiler was born in Switzerland and studied nursing in Florence, Italy. After working as a nurse for several years, she attended medical school in Florence and completed her residency in urology. She then moved to the United States and became a research fellow in neurourology at the University of Colorado Health Science Center in Denver. There, she worked extensively with Richard Schmidt, MD, a pioneer in the field of neurourology and sacral nerve stimulation implants. Since October 1998, she has been an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urology at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

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Deborah Erickson, M.D.

Associate Professor of Surgery, Division of Urology, Pennsylvania State University, College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania.

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Robert J. Evans, M.D.

Dr. Evans is a urologist who has practiced for many years in Greensboro, North Carolina. Today, his group, The Urology Center, is affiliated with the Moses Cone Health System, where he serves as Chief of Surgery. He is also affiliated with Wake Forest University’s Department of Urology, Winston-Salem. The practice includes thousands of IC patients from the region and across the country. A member of the ICA’s Medical Advisory Board, Dr. Evans has participated in IC treatment clinical trials and is very active in both the IC medical and patient communities. He has provided tremendous support to thousands of IC patients as well as the ICA, helping to gain a ruling for IC with the Social Security Administration. Dr. Evans has also been a featured guest speaker at many ICA Regional Forums and is a frequent contributor to the ICA Update.

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John Forrest, M.D.

Dr. Forrest is a board certified urologist with Urologic Specialists of Oklahoma. He is also Clinical Associate Professor of Urology at the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center- Tulsa. Dr. Forrest received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Tulsa and his medical degree from the University of Oklahoma. He then did his residency in General Surgery and Urology at the University of Virginia, followed by an American Cancer Society fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Forrest is Past President of the Oklahoma State Urological Association, Tulsa Surgical Society, and is a past member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Tulsa. He is also a member of the Practice Guidelines Committee of the American Urological Association, Immediate Past President of the Medical Staff at St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, and Treasurer of the South Central Section of the American Urological Association.

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Gamal M. Ghoniem, M.D.

Dr. Ghoniem is a urologist with Cleveland Clinic Florida in Weston where he heads the Section of Voiding Dysfunction, Female Urology, and Reconstruction. He is also Affiliate Professor of Surgery at the University of South Florida and Clinical Professor of Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation Health Sciences Center of Ohio State University.

He trained in Alexandria, Egypt, where he went to medical school and did his internship and urology residency. He came to the United States for a fellowship at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and did another residency at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He practiced in New Orleans, LA, at Tulane University Medical Center and also taught and conducted research there. He joined the Cleveland Clinic Florida Weston staff in 2000.

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Philip M. Hanno, M.D.

Dr. Philip M. Hanno is the attending physician in the Division of Urology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Medical Director, Department of Clinical Effectiveness and Quality Assurance, University of Pennsylvania Health System. Co-chair of the ICA’s National Medical Advisory Board for many years along with Dr. Alan Wein, Dr. Hanno is a strong and effective advocate for IC research and has contributed significantly to the success of the field of IC research as well as the ICA, through his participation in numerous research studies, commissions, conferences, forums, and symposia. We are grateful for his dedication, his commitment, his support, and his knowledge.

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Subhash Jain, M.D.

Dr. Philip M. Hanno is the attending physician in the Division of Urology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Medical Director, Department of Clinical Effectiveness and Quality Assurance, University of Pennsylvania Health System. Co-chair of the ICA’s National Medical Advisory Board for many years along with Dr. Alan Wein, Dr. Hanno is a strong and effective advocate for IC research and has contributed significantly to the success of the field of IC research as well as the ICA, through his participation in numerous research studies, commissions, conferences, forums, and symposia. We are grateful for his dedication, his commitment, his support, and his knowledge.

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David G. Kaufman,M.D.

A member of ICA’s Medical Advisory Board, Dr. Kaufman started his urology training initially interested in male infertility. But diagnosing IC in a woman who had sought help for years changed the course of his career. Dr. Kaufman’s urology practice changed suddenly and completely when her story in SELF magazine brought him a flood of patients who needed accurate diagnosis and treatment. Now, he primarily treats IC. Certified by the American Board of Urology since 1991, he serves as Assistant Professor of Clinical Urology at Columbia University and lectures across the nation to other physicians on new breakthroughs in urology, accurate diagnostic techniques, and IC.

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Robert D. Mayer, M.D.

Dr. Mayer is Associate Professor of Urology and also Director of Quality Assurance in the Department of Urology at the University of Rochester School of Medicine in Rochester, New York. Dr. Mayer joined the urology faculty there in 1987 after completing his residency in urology at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a research fellowship in nephrotoxicity at the University of Rochester.

He became interested in IC because a senior faculty member, Edward Messing, MD, was involved in early IC research and stimulated Dr. Mayer’s interest. In addition, Dr. Mayer got referrals of patients whose voiding dysfunction didn’t fit any easy picture, so he began treating many IC patients. He got involved in Interstitial Cystitis Research Network (ICCRN) studies when the University of Rochester became a satellite site for the New England Medical Center. Now, the University of Rochester is an independent ICCRN site, and Dr. Mayer is the principal investigator. He and his patients participated in the ICCRN studies of pentosan polysulfate (Elmiron) and hydroxyzine (Atarax) and of bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG). Most recently, he studied IC in teens and young women and a potential alternative test for bladder “leakiness.”

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Robert Moldwin, M.D.

Assistant Professor of Urology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and is Director of The Interstitial Cystitis Center at Long Island Jewish Medical Center (LIJMC) in New Hyde Park, NY. After clinical training at the University of Chicago and urological training at LIJMC, he received a Valentine's Fellowship and did research in IC at Thomas Jefferson Medical College. He returned to New York to establish The Interstitial Cystitis Center at LIJMC. Dr. Moldwin is actively involved in IC research and is a member of the ICA's Medical Advisory Board. He was named one of "The Best Doctors in New York" by New York magazine in its June 8, 1998 issue.

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Phillip G. Mosbaugh, M.D.

Phillip G. Mosbaugh graduated from Indiana University and earned his medical degree from the Indiana University School of Medicine. He served in the U.S. Navy. Dr. Mosbaugh completed his internship at Orange County General Hospital in California, and his urology residence at Indiana University School of Medicine. A Clinical Assistant Professor at the I.U. School of Medicine, he is an active member of numerous medical societies, has served as a medical advisor to the ICA for many years, and has been one of our strongest supporters. Dr. Mosbaugh is a Diplomat of the American Board of Urology and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

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Lowell Parsons, M.D.

Professor of Urology at the University of Califoria at San Diego and a member of the ICA's Medical Advisory Board.

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Christopher Payne, M.D.

Director of the Center for Neurourology at the Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, California. He is actively involved in IC research and sees many IC patients.

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Kenneth M. Peters, M.D

Dr. Peters is Director of Research at the Ministrelli Program for Urologic Research and Education (MPURE) in the Department of Urology at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan. After graduating from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1991, Dr. Peters spent six years training in his urology residency at William Beaumont Hospital and also did six years of fellowship training under Ananias Diokno, MD, who is Chief of Urology at William Beaumont. In addition, during his fellowship, Dr. Peters learned bladder replacement techniques in Ulm, Germany. He became an expert in neurourology and neurogenic bladder dysfunction and female urology.

His residency research sparked his interest in IC and incontinence, and since then, he has continued to research these topics and has had numerous studies, reviews, and chapters published. His dedication to IC research and treatment led him to establish the Women’s Initiative for Pelvic Pain and Sexual Health (WISH) program at William Beaumont Hospital to help women of all ages who experience pelvic pain or alterations in their sexual function. The program provides ongoing support, one-on-one consistent care, and the most up-to-date therapies. Women in the program can also participate in research studies related to women’s health.

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Jeffrey Proctor, M.D.

Jeffrey G. Proctor, MD, is an associate of Georgia Urology, P.A., an Atlanta-based private practice that specializes in adult and pediatric urology. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Urology and practices at the Cartersville and Marietta offices of Georgia Urology.

Dr. Proctor has practiced urology since 1992. Prior to joining Georgia Urology, he was a lieutenant commander in the Navy at Naval Hospital Pensacola, where he served as chief of urology. Dr. Proctor has served on several committees, including the Pharmacy and Therapeutic, Laser Safety, and Ethics Committees.

He received his medical degree from New York Medical College, where he graduated with honors and completed his internship, residency in general surgery, and his urological residency. Dr. Proctor has numerous publications in both urology and immunology, and has made presentations at many urologic meetings. His areas of interest include interstitial cystitis, stone disease, endourology, urological oncology, incontinence and general urology. Dr. Proctor is the medical advisor and organizer of the Metro Atlanta Interstitial Cystitis Support Group, and the Cartersville Prostate Cancer Support Group.

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John W. Warren, M.D.

An infectious disease specialist, Dr. Warren received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School, did his residency in internal medicine at Case Western Reserve University, and his fellowship in infectious diseases at Harvard. For many years, Dr. Warren was Chief of Infectious Diseases at the University of Maryland. Fortunately, for IC patients, he became interested in IC in the mid- 1990s and has researched IC and published extensively since that time.

An ICA Medical Advisory Board Member, he was one of the principal investigators with the NIDDK IC Clinical Trials Group, and his IC research has been supported by grants from the NIDDK, the Fishbein Family IC Research Foundation, and the ICA Pilot Research Program. Dr. Warren is leading two important epidemiologic studies of IC, Events Preceding IC (EPIC), and the Maryland Genetics Study of IC (MaGIC). Some important articles have already been published based on the EPIC data. We talked with Dr. Warren about what we have learned so far and what we’re likely to learn in the future from these studies and how those findings can help you today.

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Justin Wasserman, M.D.

Dr. Wasserman is Medical Director and Founder of the Pain Treatment Center of Greater Washington in Bethesda, Maryland. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, he did his residency training in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Chicago/Schwab Rehabilitation Center in Chicago, Illinois. He is board certified in both physical medicine and in rehabilitation and pain medicine. He is also certified by the American Board of Pain Medicine, and is a fellow of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He specializes in the treatment of all types of chronic pain disorders, with a special interest in fibromyalgia and complicated chronic pain problems, including chronic pelvic pain. He serves on the Medical Advisory Board of the National Vulvodynia Association.

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Kristene E. Whitmore, M.D.

Dr. Whitmore, an IC pioneer, is Founder and Director of the Pelvic and Sexual Health Institute at Graduate Hospital in Philadelphia, where she also serves as Chairman of the Division of Urology and President of the Medical Staff.

A board certified urologist with some 20 years of experience, Dr. Whitmore has treated more than 8,500 IC patients and has trained more than 75 residents in female urology and pelvic floor reconstruction. For her long dedication to IC research, her innovative approaches to IC care, and her support of IC patients, the ICA awarded her Advocate of the Year in 2005. She has had numerous articles published in peer-reviewed medical journals; has co-authored a book for patients, Overcoming Bladder Disorders: Compassionate, Authoritative Medical and Self-Help Solutions for Incontinence, Cystitis, Interstitial Cystitis; and has been interviewed by consumer magazines and on national television broadcasts about women's urologic health. She is a longtime member of the ICA's Medical Advisory Board.

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