Dr. Maxwell V. Meng

Leading the Urologic Oncology Division at the University of California, San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, Dr. Maxwell V. Meng brings surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, pathologists, radiologists, genetic counselors and oncology nurses into a single decision-making forum that focuses on kidney, bladder and prostate tumors. Weekly case conferences review multiparametric MRI, PSMA-PET and genomic sequencing results alongside patient health goals, allowing the team to draft treatment roadmaps that balance tumor control with organ preservation and postoperative function. Nurse navigators schedule imaging, biopsy and supportive-care appointments, limiting wait times and easing the logistical load on patients and families. Rehabilitation therapists and nutrition specialists design prehabilitation plans that optimize strength before surgery and speed functional recovery afterward. Dr. Meng also oversees quality-improvement dashboards that track margin status, complication rates, length of stay and patient-reported outcomes, using these data to refine clinical pathways across two UCSF campuses. His leadership extends to policy work on perioperative opioid stewardship and enhanced-recovery protocols, ensuring that evidence-based practices translate into measurable gains in comfort and safety. By uniting diverse expertise under clearly defined workflows, he gives every patient a coordinated experience that supports confidence from first visit through long-term follow-up.

 

Guiding laboratory discoveries toward patient benefit, Dr. Meng directs research that explores telomerase inhibition for bladder cancer, immunologic targeting of renal-cell tumors and image-guided ablation of small kidney masses. His team employs organoid cultures, spatial transcriptomics and patient-derived xenografts to pinpoint resistance pathways and to test combination regimens that pair checkpoint blockade with focused radiation. Collaboration with Nobel laureate Elizabeth Blackburn investigates intravesical delivery of telomerase inhibitors, while partnerships with biomedical engineers evaluate ferumoxytol-enhanced MRI for early detection of aggressive kidney lesions. Protocol designs incorporate circulating tumor DNA analysis and radiomic signatures so that response can be measured in real time and therapies adjusted quickly. Fellows working in his lab gain structured training in statistics, regulatory compliance and manuscript preparation, producing work that appears in journals such as European Urology and Cancer Research. Findings from this bench-to-bedside pipeline feed directly into investigator-initiated trials, expanding options for patients who have exhausted standard therapies. By anchoring every experiment to an eventual clinical question, Dr. Meng accelerates the transition from molecular insight to bedside application, offering tangible hope rooted in rigorous science.

 

Committed to cultivating the next generation of specialists, Dr. Meng serves as Director of the UCSF Urologic Oncology Fellowship, Professor of Urology and faculty mentor for the surgical-simulation laboratory. He designs curricula that blend cadaveric dissection, virtual-reality robotics and case-based seminars, ensuring that trainees master technical skills and nuanced decision making. Annual symposia, co-hosted with UCSF’s Department of Radiation Oncology, allow residents, medical students and community clinicians to review updates on focal therapy, germline testing and survivorship care. Dr. Meng often speaks in Spanish and Mandarin at community forums to demystify prostate screening and kidney-cancer prevention for diverse audiences across Northern California. He works with nonprofit partners to create multilingual videos on managing incontinence after prostatectomy and understanding pathology reports, making complex information accessible to lay audiences. Within the American Urological Association he helps draft guidelines on partial nephrectomy quality metrics and robotic-training standards, amplifying the impact of his educational efforts beyond UCSF. These initiatives give patients confidence that their surgeons are trained to the highest contemporary standards and that trustworthy information is always within reach.