When did you graduate from UAB?
I finished my residency in 2009.- What city are you located in?
I live in Nashville, TN and practice at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. - What are your clinical/research interests?
I am a pediatric urologist, and I spend about 60% of my time working on NIH-funded research studying bladder inflammation. We use mouse models to study compounds that can reverse or prevent bladder injury and inflammation. The other 40% of my time is dedicated to caring for children with pediatric urology problems. - How did you choose to practice this area of urology?
During my time at UAB, I decided to pursue an academic career path and the great experience I had at Children’s led me to do a fellowship in Pediatric Urology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Because of this fellowship, I became interested in basic science research and how it applies to children with bladder problems. - What aspect of your time at UAB do you believe was most valuable as you started your career?
As a pediatric urologist, I would say my time at Children’s was the most valuable. Because only one resident was on service at that time, we had unlimited access to a lot of pediatric urology. - Did you have a particular mentor while at UAB? Why were they a good mentor?
Honestly I had really strong mentorship from all the faculty at UAB while I was there, and I have great memories from my training. Clearly, I had strong mentorship from Drs. Joseph and Kitchens as well as Dr. Tony Herndon during his time at UAB. All three of these mentors were instrumental in my career choice and I use lessons I learned from them on regular basis in my practice. - What is one of your fondest memories from UAB?
Some of my fondest memories during my time at UAB were the Fridays we would spend in the OR with Dr. John Burns doing full day of stone cases. He was always such an approachable mentor with a wealth of knowledge. He provided me and many others with great training in taking care of patients with kidney stones. - Give one piece of advice you’d like to share with the current residents or those recently graduated.
The biggest piece of advice I can give to current residents is to not forget how fortunate you are to be in training. Even though it is a very busy time in life, residency is when you have the opportunity to learn from others successes, trials, and tribulations before you get to experience your own as a practicing urologist. I also encourage the residents to take great notes from the operations they observe and participate in. Even today, I still refer to notes I took from residency today. - When you’re not working, how do you spend your time?
When I am not working, I enjoy spending time with my wife and two sons, Jack (age 9) and William (age 7).
Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Douglass Clayton
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- Written by: Morgan Samples