
Renea Sturm MD (She/Her)
Pediatric Urology
Assistant Professor, Pediatric Urology at UCLA
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101 Manning DrChapel Hill, NC 27514
Phone+1 984-974-1000
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Summary
- I am an Assistant Professor of Urology at UCLA. In my clinical practice, I am a pediatric urologist with a particular interest in minimally invasive robotic-assisted and endoscopic surgery, complex hypospadias repair, and urinary tract reconstruction. I work closely with the maternal-fetal healthcare program, providing pre- and post-delivery care for a range of urologic conditions including antenatal hydronephrosis, neurogenic bladder, lower urinary tract obstruction, and differences in genital development.
In the research realm, I am a federally-funded physician-scientist leading bench to bedside research in surgical innovation. My research aim is to improve the equity, quality, and consistency in urologic surgery regardless of surgeon experience or care setting. The lab focuses on a range of surgical modeling, device development, immunomodulation, and tissue engineering for the lower urinary tract; clinical research includes multi-disciplinary projects to better understand innovation needs across institutions and care settings.
Education & Training
McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern UniversityFellowship, Pediatric Urology, 2015 - 2017
University of California Davis HealthResidency, Urology, 2011 - 2015
University of California Davis HealthResidency, Surgery, 2009 - 2011
Baylor College of MedicineClass of 2009
Rice UniversityBA, Music, 2000 - 2004
Certifications & Licensure
CA State Medical License 2011 - 2027
NC State Medical License 2025 - 2027
IL State Medical License 2015 - 2020
American Board of Urology Urology
American Board of Urology Pediatric Urology
Awards, Honors, & Recognition
- Super Doctors® Southern California Rising Stars Top Docs, 2023
- Outstanding Graduate Scholar Award American Urological Association/Urology Care Foundation, 2022
Publications & Presentations
PubMed
- An Array of Factors Influence Robotics Adoption in Lower Urinary Tract Reconstruction.Katerina Lembrikova, George E Aninwene 2nd, Peyton Tebon, Savannah Starr, Matthew Becker
Surgical Innovation. 2026-03-26 - 2 citationsEvaluating Male Fetal External Genital Morphology: A Systematic Review of Sonographic Techniques and Normative Values.Nikit Venishetty, Akash Chauhan, Ishant Goel, Jonathan Balderrama, Maral Demirjian
Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine. 2026-02-01 - 2 citationsSmooth sailing or rocky road in navigating the ureteral orifice: Does preoperative tamsulosin improve success of primary ureteroscopy in children?Kathy H Huen, Carol A Davis-Dao, Anthony Schaeffer, Kiarad Fendereski, Vi Nguyen
Journal of Pediatric Urology. 2025-12-01
Press Mentions
Kids Feel Less Pain with Underused Kidney Stone TreatmentAugust 19th, 2025
2020 Urology Care Foundation Research Scholar Awardees AnnouncedFebruary 11th, 2020
Grant Support
- Highly Elastic Biomaterial Development for Urethral ApplicationUNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL2023–2028
- K08: Highly Elastic Biomaterial Development for Urethral ApplicationNIH-NIDDK2023–2028
- Engineering biomimetic 3D printed urethral tissue constructs using elastin-based bioinks for urethroplastyUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES2024–2026
- PFI: Bio-Zipper Luminal Repair Device for Urinary Tract ReconstructionNSF2022–2024
Research History
- Research Lab PIDevelop surgical devices and tissue engineered strategies to minimize surgical care variability and decrease complications for lower urinary tract complex reconstructive surgery2018 - Present
- Research Fellow - Cheng/Sharma LabTissue Engineering, Modulation of Inflammatory Response2015 - Present
- Research Resident: Kurzrock LabTissue engineering2013 - 2013
- Medical Student Research Track: De Biasi Neuroscience LabCholinergic transmission, Addiction, Behavior2007 - 2008
Professional Memberships
- Member
- Society for Pediatric UrologyMember
- Member
External Links
- Home page uclahttps://www.uclahealth.org/providers/renea-sturm
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