Dr. Brian M. O'connor

Dr. Max Kates is the R. Christian B. Evensen Professor and an associate professor of urology and oncology at the Brady Urological Institute at Johns Hopkins. He also directs the Division of Urologic Oncology for the Brady Urological Institute. Dr. Kates completed his undergraduate degree at Wesleyan University in Connecticut before pursuing his medical degree at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. He then went on to train at Johns Hopkins for his urologic residency and Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) fellowship. Dr. Kates has expertise in all areas of urologic oncology, with a particular emphasis on bladder and prostate cancer. With training in open, endoscopic, and robotic surgical approaches, Dr. Kates’ surgical philosophy is to assess the unique needs of each patient, and develop the right treatment plan for their malignancy. He is very hands on in his approach in the clinic and the operating room, and believes open communication with the patient, the patient’s family, and referring providers is key to ensuring a speedy recovery. As the clinical director of the bladder cancer multidisciplinary clinic, Dr. Kates works with the team at the Johns Hopkins Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute to deliver a personalized approach to bladder cancer utilizing cutting edge precision medicine approaches. Dr. Kates’ research interests involve novel treatments for cancers of the urinary tract. Dr. Kates has authored more than 135 journal articles in the fields of bladder, prostate, and kidney cancer. He currently has a provisional patent for a novel intravesical chemotherapy developed with nano-engineer collaborators. Additionally, Dr. Kates has made important discoveries into the mechanism of action of intravesical BCG, the most common treatment for bladder cancer. He is the principal investigator on multiple trials, and is currently leading EA8212 BRIDGE, which is a randomized trial open in over 150 centers in the United States comparing BCG to GemDoce chemotherapy for early stage bladder cancer. To inquire about an appointment or make a referral, Dr. Kates can be contacted by phone (410) 614-0009. Dr. Kates is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in the treatment of Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer. His top areas of expertise are Bladder Cancer, Urothelial Cancer, Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer, Cystectomy, and Nephrectomy.

Dr. Noah Hahn is a medical oncologist in the Baltimore area, caring for patients with bladder cancer. He serves as the deputy director of the Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. Hahn earned his M.D. from Indiana University School of Medicine. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Duke University School of Medicine and performed a fellowship in medical oncology at Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Hahn joined the Johns Hopkins faculty in 2014. Prior to joining Johns Hopkins, Dr. Hahn was the director of the Genitourinary Medical Oncology Program at Indiana University and chief scientific officer for the Hoosier Oncology Group, a cancer research organization that evaluates innovative and promising approaches to cancer treatment. He is currently conducting clinical trials to test new therapies for bladder cancer, including those for early stage bladder cancer. Dr. Hahn is a member of the Bladder Cancer Task Force for the National Cancer Institute’s Genitourinary Cancer Steering Committee and is chair of the Bladder Cancer Subcommittee of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group. Dr. Hahn is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in the treatment of Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer. His top areas of expertise are Bladder Cancer, Urothelial Cancer, Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer, Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma (UTUC), and Nephrectomy.

Armine Smith, M.D. is the director of urologic oncology at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Sibley Memorial Hospital, and an associate clinical professor of urology at the Brady Urological Institute of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She is a member of Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute and the director of Women's Bladder Cancer Program at Sibley Memorial Hospital. She is also a Mary and Armeane Choksi Scholar. Dr. Smith earned her medical degree from the University of California in San Francisco. She completed a residency in urology at the Cleveland Clinic, followed by a fellowship in urologic oncology at the National Cancer Institute, where she focused on development of personalized targeted therapies for bladder cancer. Dr. Smith is a member of the Society of Urologic Oncology, American Association of Cancer Research and American Urological Association. She has been selected multiple times as a Washington, DC and Virginia top urologist. Dr. Smith specializes in advanced open, minimally invasive and robotic urologic surgery for urologic malignancies, including bladder and upper tract urothelial cancer, kidney cancer, testicular cancer, penile and urethral cancer. In bladder cancer surgery she specializes in bladder preservation, complex urinary diversions, including continent orthotopic neobladder and continent catheterizable Indiana pouch techniques. In kidney cancer, her expertise focuses on partial nephrectomy, with the goal of oncologically-sound maximum nephron-sparing surgery. She has contributed to various research, publications and presentations on topics of urology. Dr. Smith has made TV appearances, lectured domestically and internationally, and authored chapters on urothelial and kidney cancer. Her current research focuses on elucidation of risk factors for bladder cancer development, oncologically safe organ preservation in both men and women with bladder and kidney cancer and improving outcomes from bladder cancer treatments. Listen to Dr. Smith’s Cancer Matters podcast episode to learn more about her work. Dr. Smith is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in the treatment of Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer. Her top areas of expertise are Bladder Cancer, Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer, Urothelial Cancer, Cystectomy, and Reconstructive Urology Surgery.