Laurence S. Baskin

Dr. Laurence S. Baskin is a urologist who serves as chief of pediatric urology. He is an expert in genital development and reconstructive surgery. His focus is on providing care for the spectrum of pediatric urological conditions, including undescended testicles; blocked kidneys and ureters; prenatal urinary tract obstruction, such posterior urethral valves; adolescent varicoceles (enlarged veins in the testicles); differences in sex development; cancers of the genital and urinary organs; and disorders that require urinary tract reconstruction. He founded the UCSF Center for the Study and Treatment of Hypospadias to advance care for this birth defect of the penile urethra (the tube through which urine is voided).

Baskin has written extensively on hypospadias and genital reconstruction, lectures extensively on these topics and has produced videos on numerous surgical techniques. His laboratory focuses on investigating the causes of pediatric urological diseases – both those present at birth and those that develop later – to advance the prospect for cures. The lab looks specifically at how cells communicate during normal and abnormal development and at the effects of abnormal environmental exposures during pregnancy.

Baskin earned his medical degree at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He completed a general surgery residency at UCSF, followed by a fellowship in pediatric urology at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Baskin is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and American Academy of Pediatrics. He is past president of the Societies for Pediatric Urology, Society for Fetal Urology, Asia-Pacific Association of Pediatric Urologists, American Association of Pediatric Urologists and Society of Genitourinary Reconstructive Surgeons. He is a member of the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons, Societies for Pediatric Urology and American Urological Association (AUA). He is a past member of the American Board of Urology, serving on its exam committee, and served as assistant editor of the Journal of Urology (an official journal of the AUA). He is past head of the National Institutes of Health's study section on urologic disease, primary author on more than 300 research articles, and editor of “Handbook of Pediatric Urology” and “Hinman's Atlas of Pediatric Urologic Surgery.”

Baskin has participated in humanitarian trips to perform pediatric urological surgery in Honduras and Vietnam. He has received numerous honors, including awards from the AUA and the European Society for Paediatric Urology.