In August, friends and colleagues gathered virtually to celebrate Dr. Peter Carroll’s 24 years as chair of UCSF’s Department of Urology—not just with glowing, heartfelt words, but with the creation of the Peter R. Carroll Innovation Fund (PCIF).
As he now steps down as chair, Carroll, MD, MPH—Ken and Donna Derr - Chevron Distinguished Professor,and Taube Family Distinguished Professor in Urology—is being feted for “his steadfast commitment to the UCSF community,” said UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood, who organized the event, remarking on the importance of Carroll’s 34 years of service to, and leadership within, the university. The new fund, he said, “reflects Dr. Carroll’s passion for investing in bold and innovative ideas, and will secure his legacy across the institution in perpetuity.”
More particularly, the endowed PCIF will give sustained support to the chancellor in providing seed funding to faculty embarking on “bold and disruptive” one-to-three-year research projects and initiatives, which are intended to serve as the building blocks to broader funding from other sources, including the National Institutes of Health. In fact, it was under Dr. Carroll’s guidance that UCSF’s urology department became (and is) the Number One recipient of NIH funding for six years running.
“Innovation is a core value at UCSF; it is deeply held and an integral part of our culture, and no institutions that I know of exceed it,” said Carroll. “Few departments developed and supported collaboration and research the way we did in our mission to care, educate, and discover. This fund will further those goals.”
A pioneer in robotic surgery, which results in greater precision and faster recovery, as well as in an active surveillance approach to prostate cancer, Dr. Carroll has long been recognized as a forward-thinking trailblazer and highly creative researcher. Although he is stepping away from his position as chair, he has no plans to retire from UCSF anytime soon; he’ll continue his active clinical practice and research and remain as UCSF Campaign co-chair.
“Dr. Carroll’s bold leadership and service have blazed a trail for UCSF’s Department of Urology to follow, and to build on,” said Raj Pruthi, MD, MHA, FACS. “In that spirit, I look forward to the new chapter of groundbreaking, visionary research that this fund will support.”
You can watch the celebration of Dr. Carroll and the Innovation Fund in its entirety here.
Make a gift to the Dr. Peter Carroll Innovation Fund by selecting the below link.
http://makeagift.ucsf.edu/PeterCarroll