Welcoming Eric Cho, MD, as Clinical Assistant Professor

The Stanford Department of Urology is pleased to welcome Eric Y. Cho, MD, to its faculty as a clinical assistant professor.

A Bay Area native and fellowship-trained urologist, Cho is eager to serve the region where his story began. In his new role, he will help expand Stanford’s urologic care in the East Bay and build the department’s presence in a region he has long called home.

“I am excited to join an esteemed department and institution and to help position Stanford’s presence for urologic care in the East Bay,” Cho said. “I view it as a very unique opportunity to grow a meaningful practice in this particular time in my career.”

Finding His Place in Urology

Cho was born in San Francisco and grew up in the Bay Area before attending the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in integrative biology.

Science fascinated him from an early age, although medicine was not initially part of the plan.

“I honestly thought I was going to be a veterinarian or a zookeeper when I was a child because I loved animals, science and biology,” Cho said.

As he progressed through college, however, he began to see new possibilities for how his interest in science could translate into caring for others. He did not decide to pursue medical school until his final year at Berkeley.

“I worked very hard and I saw doors begin to open that I never previously imagined possible,” he said. “I began to see a new avenue for me to help and care for individuals and quickly found myself drawn to a career in medicine.”

Cho went on to earn his medical degree from the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University in Philadelphia. It was there, almost by chance, that he discovered urology.

During his first year of medical school, Cho shadowed the urology team without knowing much about the specialty beforehand. What immediately stood out was the culture of the department.

“They functioned as a real team and, as a smaller department, were very reliant on each individual to function at their highest ability and to be exceptional colleagues to one another,” Cho said. “I found the urologists to be some of the hardest working individuals in the hospital. On top of that they were collegial and frankly, very funny. It matched me.”

That early impression became more meaningful during his clinical rotations, when Cho also discovered how naturally surgery suited him.

“I realized that I was very good with thinking with my hands and surgery was a good fit for me,” he said. “I could go hours in the operating room without a break and time would just fly by. It was a special feeling.”

Cho remained at Temple for his surgical internship and urology residency, continuing to learn from mentors including Daniel Eun, MD, and Michael Metro, MD. Their work in reconstructive urology helped shape his clinical interests and ultimately led him to pursue fellowship training in genitourinary reconstruction and trauma at the University of California, San Diego, with Jill Buckley, MD.

Through IVU Med, he was able to participate in a weeklong medical mission in reconstructive urology for the people of Mongolia. This was such a positive experience that he views it as an endeavor he wishes to continue to pursue as a representative of Stanford urology.