Professor Larry I. Lipshultz: genetic research in male infertility

Introduction

Larry I. Lipshultz (Figure 1), M.D., is Professor of Urology and Chief of the Scott Department of Urology’s Division of Male Reproductive Medicine and Surgery. Dr. Lipshultz, who holds the Smith Chair in Reproductive Medicine, is a well-known authority on abnormalities of male reproduction, erectile dysfunction, and male hormone therapy. He received his medical training at the University of Pennsylvania and received fellowship training at the University of Texas at Houston as the first AUA research scholar. Recognized as a leading expert on men’s health, Dr. Lipshultz is a highly respected author, editor and lecturer. He has published more than 250 journal articles, serves on the editorial boards of several major journals, and edited two widely used comprehensive text books—Urology and the Primary Care Practitioner (3^rd Edition Dec. 2008) and Infertility in the Male (4^th Edition Nov. 2009). Teacher as well as physician, researcher, writer, and editor, Dr. Lipshultz instituted a fellowship training program in male reproductive medicine and surgery that has trained close to 100 physicians who are now in practice both in America and abroad.

Figure 1 Prof. Larry I. Lipshultz.

Interview

During the 2016 AUA Annual Meeting, I was honored to meet Dr. Lipshultz and invite him for a brief interview to share his expert opinions on genetic research in male infertility.

Dr. Lipshultz claimed that with 30% of infertile male with no confirmed diagnosis, the main focus of male infertility in recent years is on the genetic causes, which is what Dr. Lipshultz and his team has been working on—to identify the genes that cause male infertility and try to address our new understandings about it.

Dr. Lipshultz also mentioned that since there are no real drugs at the moment being used or tested, microsurgery is the main treatment for male fertility. But Dr. Lipshultz hoped that in the future, urologists can identify treatable causes of male infertility that do not require surgery, which may be the biggest challenge at the moment in this area.

When being asked about his most memorable experience during his career, Dr. Lipshultz replied that his biggest accomplishment has been training fellows from both the United States and abroad. At the end of the interview, Dr. Lipshultz advised urology residents to keep an open mind in the earlier years of training regarding subspecialization, then make a decision about their future direction and focus their efforts on this goal.

For more details about this interview, readers can refer to the following video (Figure 2).

Figure 2 Prof. Larry I. Lipshultz: genetic research in male infertility (1). Available online: http://www.asvide.com/articles/1068

Acknowledgements

None.

Footnote

Conflicts of Interest: The author has no conflicts of interest to declare.

References

1. Xu EX. Prof. Larry I. Lipshultz: genetic research in male infertility. Asvide 2016;3:296. Available online: http://www.asvide.com/articles/1068

(Managing Editor: Eunice X. Xu, TAU, tau@amepc.org)