Paul Lange named to endowed urology chair

Dr. Paul Lange, professor and chair of the Department of Urology, has been named the first holder of the Wilma Wise Nelson, Ole A. Nelson and Mabel Wise Nelson Endowed Chair in Urology.

Paul Lange

Lange is widely known as an expert and innovative surgeon and researcher. Earlier this year, during separate surgeries, he grafted nerves from the legs of two men into their pelvic area in order to preserve their ability to have an erection. The surgery is currently performed at less than a half dozen sites in the nation in conjunction with prostatectomy, the removal of a cancerous prostate gland. Also this year, Lange and UW radiation oncologist Dr. Ken Wallner will lead an international effort to compare whether brachytherapy, radioactive “seed” implantation, or radical prostatectomy is more effective for treating prostate cancer.

Lange is the principal investigator in the George M. O’Brien Center for Urological Research. The center was established in 1993 with funds from the National Institutes of Health to study carcinoma of the prostate.

Wilma Wise Nelson willed the endowment to the Department of Urology in honor of the Nelson family. She was a 1929 graduate of the UW with a bachelor’s degree in history. Her father, Ole, was a prominent Seattle urologist who pioneered numerous surgical and diagnostic techniques. Mabel was her mother.

Lange joined the UW in 1988 from University of Minnesota Medical Center, where he was professor and vice-chair of urology. ¶

Will Morton