Hillary L. Copp, MD, MS

Assistant Professor of Urology

Education

BS, 1996, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, Biology

MD, 2002, Penn State University, College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, Medicine

Residency, 2007, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA

Fellowship, 2009, Stanford University, Stanford, CA

MS, 2009, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, Epidemiology

Biography

Hillary Copp, MD, MS graduated from the University of California Santa Barbara Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelors of Science in Biological Sciences. She attended medical school at Penn State University's College of Medicine. She then completed her urology residency at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. This was followed by a fellowship in pediatric urology at Stanford University where she concurrently earned a master's degree in Epidemiology. Copp has received numerous awards. She was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha National Medical Honor Society, received the Penn State College of Medicine Alumni Endowed Scholarship and the Merck Achievement of Academic Excellence award, and recently has graduated from the University of California, San Francisco Coro Leadership Program.

Clinical Interests

Copp specializes in all aspects of pediatric urologic surgical care. Specifically her clinical interests include UTI, vesicoureteral reflux, hydronephrosis/ureteropelvic junction obstruction, spina bifida, and disorders of sexual development. She performs open, laparoscopic, and endoscopic surgeries. She operates at the UCSF Parnassus Campus, San Francisco General Hospital, Children’s Hospital Oakland, and Children’s Hospital Oakland Walnut Creek Campus. Copp is a member of the American Urological Association (AUA), the Western Section of the AUA, the American Academy of Pediatric Urology, and the Society for Fetal Urology. She recently served as a member on the Pediatric Vesicoureteral Reflux Clinical Guidelines Panel for the AUA, and continues to serve as a reviewer for the Journal of Urology and Pediatrics. She has over 20 peer-reviewed scientific articles and multiple chapters and has presented at national invited lectures and meetings.

Research Interests

In 2009 Copp joined the faculty in the Department of Urology at UCSF as a participant in the multidisciplinary K12 Urologic Research (KURe) Career Development Program. Copp’s research focuses on understanding the results of health care practice and intervention. To that end, she is analyzing practice patterns in two major areas of pediatric urology including urinary tract infection and prenatally-detected hydronephrosis. Urinary tract infection (UTI) affects 3.5% of children annually and represents a significant source of antibiotic exposure. Empiric therapy for UTI is often necessary yet little research has focused on factors that influence empiric prescribing patterns and whether urine cultures are being performed to guide therapy. Through a research grant with the Urologic Diseases in America Project Copp is using a national database to investigate these issues. In addition, Copp is collaborating with Kaiser Permanente of Northern California to study postnatal management of prenatally-detected hydronephrosis. Despite hydronephrosis being one of the most frequently reported prenatal ultrasound findings, there is controversy surrounding the optimal management of these patients after birth. Copp is currently performing research to determine if antibiotic prophylaxis decreases the rate of urinary tract infections in patients with this condition.

View my research publications