An Air Force urologist received first-place recognition for best urologist-in-training scientific paper at the national meeting of the American Urologic Association in Atlanta, an event attended by more than 10,000 international participants.

Maj. (Dr.) Kyle Weld is the urology department assistant chief of staff at Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. His award-winning article, “Extrarenal Vascular Anatomy of Kidney: Assessment of Variations and their Relevance to Partial Nephrectomy,” was written while he was a fellow (doctor in training) at Washington University in St. Louis, and was published in “Urology, the Gold Journal,” in November.

“Doctor Weld is a new addition to the urology department, however, he has accomplished so much in such a short period of time, I’m not surprised he won this prestigious award,” said Lt. Col. (Dr.) Duane Cespedes, urology department flight commander.

Awards are given to the three most scholarly papers published in the journal for that calendar year. The top three award-winning papers were chosen from the more than 300 manuscripts published throughout the year by resident- and fellow-in-training urologists.

Dr. Weld was also presented with a commemorative plaque and a check for $3,000 during the ceremony.

“I was very pleased to have my research published,” said Dr. Weld. “I was even more surprise to find that it had won an award.”

Called modest by the urology staff members, Dr. Weld’s dedication and commitment has been noted by the residents in training at WHMC.

“Doctor Weld has been a welcome asset to our urologic training program. (His) skills have been an incredible asset to both patient care and urologic surgical training here at (Wilford Hall). There is no doubt residents will be leaving this training program knowing we are getting world-class laparoscopic and endourologic skills that Doctor Weld has provided,” said Maj. (Dr.) Steve Baughman, urology department chief resident.

Urology department personnel lauded Dr. Weld on his accomplishments and commitment to the field of urology.

“His dedication to the department, his patients, teaching of residents and research is admirable. He is the ‘best of the best’ and we are proud that he was recognized for this important research study,” Dr. Cespedes said.

The awards are based on the timeliness of the subject matter, the study design, interpretations of the data and presentation of the information, said Dr. Alan Partin, the “Urology” editor-in-chief.

“The award is a true testimony to Doctor Weld’s commitment to excellence and dedication to hard work. We look forward to receiving additional manuscripts from him in the future,” Dr. Partin said.