Two members of the OUWB Class of 2024 successfully matched Thursday in the highly competitive specialty of urology — joining 25 alumni from the school to have done so since 2015.

Prasun Sharma matched at University of Pennsylvania and Moe Hijazi at University of Illinois.

They were among the 500 medical trainees competing for 394 positions in 148 urology residency training programs nationwide, according to the Society of Academic Urologists (SAU) and the American Urological Association (AUA). When the matching algorithm was processed, 77% of trainees were matched to a position in a program.

Early matches apply to specialties not affiliated with the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), which annually holds its Match Day the third Friday in March (on March 15 this year). Military and ophthalmology programs also have early matches.

The two future urologists from the Class of 2024 join 25 OUWB alumni who have matched in the specialty since 2015 and helped establish OUWB as a top feeder school in the field.

“OUWB’s success in urology is what attracted me to it,” said Sharma.

“I looked at how the school consistently has students matching in urology. The students have to do their part, of course, but without department support for research, mentorship, and connections…it’s difficult to mirror that type of success year after year.”

Sharma said successfully matching and joining the OUWB alumni to have matched before him “feels really good.”

“It’s been incredibly competitive in the last three or four years in urology…but we have a fantastic staff here and I definitely put in the work, and it ended up working out pretty well,” he said.

Kenneth Peters, M.D., chair, Department of Urology, called it “an incredibly competitive year for the urology match.” 

“I am very proud of the OUWB students that matched in urology,” he said. “This is a great accomplishment.”

“The Department of Urology continues to mentor many OUWB students interested in urology, and we provide them excellent research opportunities that gives them a competitive advantage as urology candidates,” he added.

Chris Jaeger, M.D., OUWB ’15, instructor, Department of Urology, and Sharma’s faculty advisor, called OUWB’s continued success in matching future urologists “truly amazing.”

“I believe the success stems from the perfect fusion of passionate students, a strong medical school curriculum, and an extraordinary department of Urology at the Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital in Royal Oak led (by Peters),” said Jaeger.

“Dr. Peters has helped build the department into a national leader in clinical medicine and research that is revered by other leading institutions across the country,” he added.

For Sharma, another big factor in his success was knowing early on that he wanted to specialize in urology.

Originally from Nepal, Sharma earned a bachelor’s degree in web design and development from Brigham Young University. Before starting at OUWB in 2020, Sharma served four years in the U.S. Army, where he was a medic. It was during his experiences with the military that he realized he could combine his background in information technology with his interest in medicine to specialize in a field like urology.

“The very first (urology) case I saw was a laser breaking up a stone and my mind was blown,” he said. “Coming from a tech background, I absolutely fell in love with the field.”

He hit the ground running and between M1 and M2 years was awarded a prestigious fellowship funded through the American Urological Association. He spent the summer as part of a research team at Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital in Royal Oak.

Post-fellowship, Sharma continued doing research, working alongside mentors like Michael B. Chancellor, M.D., professor, Department of Urology, at the Beaumont Research Institute.

Sharma, a 2023 Gold Humanism Honor Society inductee, said he also became involved in clinical learning early on, working closely with mentors like Brian Odom, M.D., OUWB ’17, and Jaeger.

“Mentorship is fundamental to medicine but also represents an important component in advancing specialty care like urology,” said Jaeger. “Dedicated mentorship is how I was able to match into urology and I feel an obligation to uphold this tradition at OUWB and Corewell Health for all medical students interested in urology.”

Sharma, who is set to get married in May, said one of the first things he did in learning he matched was email and text those so critical to his success.

“I told them that I could not thank them enough,” he said. “I also encouraged them to continue helping future students like me because we have a great pipeline for urology, and I hope that continues.”

That’s exactly what Jaeger said OUWB’s Department of Urology plans to do.

“The faculty are so proud of the urology legacy at OUWB, and we hope to continue inspiring future OUWB medical students to pursue this field,” he said.

For more information, contact Andrew Dietderich, marketing writer, OUWB, at [email protected].

To request an interview, visit the OUWB Communications & Marketing webpage.

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