Today, the American Urological Association (AUA) announced its Board of Directors has approved Matthew Nielsen, MD, MS, FACS, as the next chair of the AUA Science and Quality (S&Q) Council. Dr. Nielsen will assume the role of chair-elect on June 1, 2021 and begin his four-year term as chair on June 1, 2022.

As chair, Dr. Nielsen will lead the AUA S&Q Council, providing strategic oversight to shape and execute on the broad science, quality and data agenda of the AUA to include the creation, dissemination and implementation of clinical guidelines and white papers; maintenance of the AUA Quality (AQUA) Registry; development and implementation of physician performance measures; advancement of patient safety initiatives; monitoring of federal, state, and local quality healthcare programs; and the formation and execution of data projects.

"Dr. Nielsen's impressive experience and knowledge of science and quality issues, including guidelines, performance measurement, quality improvement, patient safety, data and research makes him the ideal candidate for this role," said AUA President, Scott Swanson, MD. "The Board and I are confident in his ability to lead the council into its next chapter and to improving urologic care throughout the world."

An active member of the AUA since 2002, Dr. Nielsen currently serves as chair of the AUA Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Committee; is a graduate of the AUA Leadership Program; the recipient of several research awards from the Urology Care Foundation, including the prestigious Rising Stars in Urology Research Award; an author on several AUA patient safety and quality improvement white papers; provided oversight and direction as Chair of the AUA Quality Improvement Summit; a member of the 2020 AUA hematuria guideline panel as well as AQUA, telehealth and electronic medical records work groups; the AUA Representative for the Alliance of Specialty Medicine Physician Policy Roundtable on Accountable Care Organizations and Alternative Payment Models; and was named one of several AUA Young Urologist of the Year in 2018.

He has also served as Associate Director of the UNC Institute for Healthcare Quality Improvement, physician lead for surgical services for the UNC opioid stewardship initiative, physician service line leader for urology on the inpatient patient safety and quality improvement program, as well as member of the Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement (PCPI) and the American College of Physicians' High Value Care Task Force and Performance Measurement Committee. In 2019, he was appointed to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Technical Expert Panel for the CMS Quality Measure Development Plan and Quality Measure Index.

"Dr. Nielsen has the full confidence and support of our Board," said AUA Science and Quality Search Committee Chair, Raju Thomas, MD, FACS, FRCS, MHA. "His tremendous experience and energy in all areas of the council made him the best person to lead the next chapter of the AUA's science, data and quality initiatives."

Dr. Nielsen's clinical practice is focused in urologic oncology—in particular, the treatment of bladder, prostate and kidney cancer. He is a member of the integrated Multidisciplinary Genitourinary Oncology Group at the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and he served as Director of the Division of Urologic Oncology from 2013-2018.

Dr. Nielsen received his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and completed his residency at the Brady Urological Institute at Johns Hopkins. After residency, Dr. Nielsen served on the faculty at Johns Hopkins prior to joining the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNC) Urology faculty in 2009, where he was appointed Department Chair in 2020. In addition to his position as Professor with Tenure with the UNC Department of Urology, Dr. Nielsen serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Departments of Epidemiology and Health Policy & Management at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.

Follow Dr. Nielsen on Twitter at @m_e_nielsen.

About the American Urological Association: Founded in 1902 and headquartered near Baltimore, Maryland, the American Urological Association is a leading advocate for the specialty of urology and has nearly 23,000 members throughout the world. The AUA is a premier urologic association, providing invaluable support to the urologic community as it pursues its mission of fostering the highest standards of urologic care through education, research and the formulation of health policy.