Stenzl takes on new role, focuses on scientific pursuits

Prof. Arnulf Stenzl has been the Chairman of EAU’s SCO since 2012, taking responsibility for the continuous development and improvement of the EAU’s Annual Congresses. He is currently head of the Department of Urology at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen in Germany; Managing Director of the Inter-University Center for Medical Technologies Stuttgart – Tübingen; and has other academic positions in Graz and Innsbruck, Austria; at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); and in Bern, Switzerland.

Throughout his career, Prof. Stenzl received numerous accolades such as Honorary Member of the Bristol Urological Institute (Bristol, UK), and Werner-Stähler Memorial Prize, Southwest German Association of Urology in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011, to name a few. He has won almost 20 urology-related awards including those for best abstract at various congresses.

A highly-respected and distinguished scientist, Prof. Stenzl serves on the editorial board of close to 20 urology-related scientific journals and has co-authored over 651 papers since 1984. He is also patent owner of notable inventions in the field of urology such as the C-Trap, an implantable device that treats urinary incontinence (Patent AT00/00001) and the implantable incontinence device (Patent A290/99).

Prof. Stenzl is a member of many associations and committees such as the German urological association Deutsche Gesellschaft für Urologie e.V. (DGU), Swiss Urological Association, Austrian Association of Experimental Surgery, and many more.

In this article, he shares his aspirations for urologists and the field, as well as, what his roles in the EAU entail.

What are your main responsibilities as SCO Chairman?

I oversee the review process of thousands of abstracts submitted for an annual EAU congress. For the upcoming EAU19 congress in Barcelona, 5,500 abstracts were submitted – a record-breaking number compared to previous EAU congresses.

The proposals for topics of the Plenary and Thematic sessions for the upcoming meetings are created with the help of the SCO. Together with the Scientific Congress Committee, the annual congress’ Scientific Programme – from the Plenary, Thematic to the Poster sessions – is composed. Additionally, the SCO works together with the Video Congress Committee to evaluate and approve video submissions.

What are the most rewarding aspects of your role as SCO Chairman?

To work with respected, highly-regarded experts in various fields related to urology is fascinating. At SCO meetings, the best people European urology has to offer are sitting in one room discussing and shaping the future of this field in Europe.

To be part of all of that and to further set incentives so that sciences related to urology eventually lead to more high-level abstract submissions; to motivate the most talented young people to choose urology and the young urologists to apply themselves to urologic science and evaluate it; to help revolutionise ground-breaking studies that encourage more collaborations and knowledge-sharing. These are truly fulfilling for me as Chairman.

You have just been elected as Adjunct Secretary General - Executive Member Science. Congratulations! What are your main tasks and objectives?

Thank you. In this new role, I plan to maintain and further increase the level of science and technology in urology; to make urology a leading medical and scientific field in Europe.

I aim to encourage the younger generation to pursue careers in the field of urology and to further delve into scientific work. I encourage them to connect and collaborate with colleagues within and beyond Europe as they have the potential to be the frontrunners, the next-in-line leaders in this field and its subspecialties.

What attracted you to this position?

Within a span of over 15 years, I first served as a member of the SCO then its Chairman. On a national level, I became a board member of the Austrian uro-oncology section and later, of the DGU. And it was during this time that I became more inspired to help accelerate the level of European urology and expand its reach beyond the continent.

What do you wish to achieve with this new role?

My goals for this role include achieving the pinnacle for urology; motivating the most talented and skilled to get into urology; creating networks within Europe; increasing the number of participants in various sections of the EAU; and boosting the number of attendees of EAU congresses and meetings.