Aseem Shukla, a world-renowned Indian American expert in pediatric urology, has joined Northwell Health, New York’s largest health care provider as the new leader of its pediatric urology division.
He has been named the new system vice president of pediatric urology, as well as the head of pediatric urology at Northwell’s Cohen Children’s Medical Center and director of Pediatric Global Services, according to a media release.
Dr. Shukla comes to Northwell from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where he worked for 17 years. There, he was the endowed chair and director of minimally invasive surgery and co-director of the bladder exstrophy program.
He held an appointment as professor of surgery in urology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to that, he was the chief of pediatric urology at the University of Minnesota and the urology residency program director.
He completed his residency in general surgery and urology at the University of South Florida College of Medicine and his fellowship in pediatric urology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
“I’m thrilled to be joining Northwell Health and to expand the pediatric urology program at Cohen Children’s Medical Center and ensure it remains a destination for world-class pediatric urology care,” said Dr. Shukla.
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“I was inspired to go into medicine by my grandfather, who always said it was the only profession where you can make a direct impact on people’s lives every day,” he said. “And that is even more true for children, who will carry that impact forward for the rest of their lives.”
One of the foremost experts in the world on pediatric urology, and specifically robotically assisted laparoscopic surgery, Dr. Shukla pioneered the practice and was among the first pediatric urologists in the world to be trained in the technology in 2004.
Since then, he has led one of the busiest pediatric robot surgery programs in the country, completing over 1,500 robot-assisted procedures for children of all ages, and introduced innovative surgical procedures utilizing the robotic platform.
He is also one of the most experienced surgeons in the country in performing the highly complex reconstruction of bladder exstrophy — a rare but serious condition where a baby is born with their bladder outside their body, which also causes deformities of the genitals and pubic bones. Dr. Shukla has completed more than 250 operations to correct the condition as part of multidisciplinary teams spanning two continents.
Since 2009, Dr. Shukla has led a surgical workshop at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad, India, to address complex pediatric urological problems in India.
The annual Bladder Exstrophy-Epispadias consortium has become an international model of Indo-U.S. academic collaboration, and includes academic surgeons, local hospitals, American support groups and research staff.
It has led to the creation of an international Center of Excellence in Ahmedabad, which is now a referral destination for all of South Asia and Africa. Dr. Shukla will continue to lead the conference with support from Northwell Health, according to the release.