William D. Steers

Dr. William D. Steers
University of Virginia
Born	August 19, 1955 Toledo, Ohio
Died	10 April 2015 (aged 59) Charlottesville, Virginia
Fields	Urology
Institutions	University of Virginia, American Board of Urology, Journal of Urology
Alma mater	Medical College of Ohio, Cornell University, University of Texas
Notable awards	Hovey Dabney Professorship

Dr. William D. Steers, August 19, 1955 – April 10, 2015,^[1] was a Paul Mellon professor and Chair of the Department of Urology at the School of Medicine of the University of Virginia. Dr. Steers is past President of the American Board of Urology (ABU) and Editor of the Journal of Urology. In 2003, the University of Virginia awarded Dr. Steers the Hovey Dabney Professorship.^[2] In 2004 Dr. Steers initiated the Charlottesville Men’s Four Miler ^[3][4][5] road race in Virginia to raise funds for men’s health. Dr. Steers was a viticulturist^[6] aficionado, he co-owned Well Hung Vineyard in Charlottesville. He also authored YOURometer^[7] an iPhone app. used to record urological related symptoms.

Education

Steers obtained his degree in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University in 1977 and his medical degree in 1980 from the Medical College of Ohio.^[8] After a urology residency at the University of Texas Houston and M.D. Anderson Hospital, Dr Steers completed a fellowship in Neuropharmacology at the University of Pittsburgh.^[9][10]

Career

Steers was a faculty member at the University of Virginia since 1988, and became Chair of the Department of Urology in 1995. His most cited publication is the 1998 paper in the New England Journal of Medicine which first described the clinical efficacy of Viagra.^[11]

In 2007 Steers was appointed Editor of the Journal of Urology, a position which he hold for life. He was also President of the American Board of Urology for the period 2010-2011, served as chair of the joint ABU/ABOG fellowship in female pelvic medicine, and Director on the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Steers has been a member of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA)Reproductive Medicine Advisory Panel, and chaired the National Institutes of Health’s Urinary Incontinence and Interstitial Cystitis clinical trial groups.

In 2011 Steers was appointed to the advisory council at National Institutes of Health by Kathleen Sebelius and Francis Collins. Dr. Steers was President of the University of Virginia physician’s practice plan from 2002-2009 and is a member of the Health System Strategic Planning and Executive Committees.

Steers' entrepreneurial activities include development of a cell phone application to record patient symptoms, and using Internet Crowdcasting to fund medical research.

"Isaac Asimov predicted in 1976 that I would someday be operating with a robot. By golly, he was right!"

— William D. Steers, MD. The University of Toledo Alumni Who Have Changed The World. Volume II. page 67.

Awards

Dr. William D. Steers is awarded the Hugh Hampton Young Award for outstanding contributions in urological education and pharmacology of the genitourinary tract, including female urology, urinary incontinence and neurogenic bladder, 2011

Steers was named by Men’s Health magazine as one of the top fifteen doctors for men in the U.S. He was awarded the American Urological Association’s Hugh Hampton Young Award,^[12][13] Gold Cystoscope Award, Dornier’s Innovation prize, Gineste Award for research in erectile dysfunction, the Zimskind Award in Neurourology, the annual Castle Connelly.

Societies

• Clinical Society
• American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons^[14]
• Society for Basic Urologic Research^[15]

Publications

• “Solifenacin treatment in men with overactive bladder: effects on symptoms and patient-reported outcomes.” Authors Kaplan SA, Goldfischer ER, Steers, William D., Gittelman M, Andoh M, Forero-Schwanhaeuser S. Aging Male. 2010 Jun;13(2):100-7.^[16]
• “Prevalence of and risk factors for urine leakage in a racially and ethnically diverse population of adults: the Boston Area Community Health (BACH) Survey.” Authors Tennstedt SL, Link CL, Steers, William D., McKinlay JB. New England Research Institutes, Watertown, MA 02111, USA.^[16]
• “The impact of stress incontinence surgery on female sexual function.” Authors Brubaker L, Chiang S, Zyczynski H, Norton P, Kalinoski DL, Stoddard A, Kusek JW, Steers, William D.; Urinary Incontinence Treatment Network. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL, USA.
• “Patient-centered treatment goals for pelvic floor disorders: association with quality-of-life and patient satisfaction. Authors Bovbjerg VE, Trowbridge ER, Barber MD, Martirosian TE, Steers, William D., Hullfish KL.
• “Oral sildenafil in the treatment of erectile dysfunction”. 1998. Authors Goldstein I, Lue TF, Padma-Nathan H, Rosen RC, Steers, William D., Wicker PA.
• “Tachyphylaxis and phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors”. Author Steers, William D.
• “Viability and safety of combination drug therapies for erectile dysfunction”. Author Steers, William D.

On Film

William D. Steers. A biographical documentary film on Dr. William D. Steers. Filmed in Charlottesville. Produced by Heritage Film Project and directed by Eduardo Montes-Bradley.^[17]

References

1. Bromley, Anne. “In Memoriam: Dr. William D. Steers, Leading Urologist and Viagra Pioneer” UVA Today. April 13, 2015.
2. "Endowments at the University of Virginia". Im.dev.virginia.edu. 2011-09-25. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
3. Charlottesville Men’s Four Miler Official Site
4. "Men's Four Miler". Charlottesvilletrackclub.org. 2012-04-14. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
5. "Charlottesville Track Club". Charlottesville Track Club. 2012-04-14. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
6. The Daily Progress. “Steers, William D.” Obituary. Charlottesville, Va. April 14, 2015.
7. YOURometer. iTunes
8. Montes-Bradley, Eduardo "Dr. William D. Steers a Biographical Sketch” Documentary Film. Heritage Film Project, 2013.
9. "University of Virginia Health System". Uvahealth.com. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
10. The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Brochure printed for The 49th Harry M. Spence Visiting Professor Conference. March 18–21, 2012
11. "Viagra: Not a "Magic Bullet"" Health Talk, University of Virginia. Summer 1998. p6
12. "American Urological Association". Auanet.org. 1990-01-06. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
13. American Urological Association 2011 Awards Dinner booklet. Page 9. Claude Moore Health Sciences Library University of Virginia Health System. Reads in part: "The AUA recognizes Dr. Steers for outstanding contributions in urological education and pharmacology of the genitourinary tract, including female urology, urinary incontinence and neurogenic bladder."
14. "aagus.org". aagus.org. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
15. "sbur.org". sbur.org. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
16. "US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health". Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
17. William D. Steers. YouTube. UVA Department of Urology Channel. Published on December 3, 2013