His primary focus is on the diagnosis and surgery of cancers of the bladder, prostate, kidney, and male genital system. He works on a multidisciplinary team in the genital urinary cancer clinic where surgeons, like himself, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, social workers, and physical therapists design a holistic treatment plan that is best suited to the needs of the patient. Dr. Abern's surgical techniques include the use of open surgery, minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery, and DaVinci robotic surgery. He works closely with UI Health to reach out to the community and offer our services down to the individual level. Dr. Abern holds a leadership position as Chair of Content Review for the American Urological Association. He is a reviewer for the Department of Defense prostate cancer study section, and serves on the editorial board for Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases.
Dr. Abern treats both men and women, focusing on cancers of the prostate, kidney, bladder, testicle, and adrenal glands as well as other rare diseases. He has a clinical interest in surgical management through open, laparoscopic and robotic techniques. He started the multi-disciplinary tumor board for urologic cancers, and MRI/Ultrasound fusion prostate biopsy program at UIC. He is the clinical leader of the genitourinary cancer program of the UIC Cancer Center, which strives to bring research projects to the Chicagoland community—an area that suffers a large burden of prostate cancer mortality.
Outside the clinic, Dr. Abern is an active investigator in urologic and oncologic research. His research program is focused on cancer detection using novel biomarkers and quantitative imaging. This work is supported by the Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program. In addition, he is primary investigator on several collaborative and industry-sponsored clinical trials through the UIC Cancer Center.
Dr. Abern holds a leadership position as Chair of Content Review for the American Urological Association and editorial board member for the journal “Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases”. He is a reviewer for the Department of Defense prostate cancer research program, and will serve as the 2019 chairperson for the Prevention, Treatment, and Epidemiology study section.