In recognition of his impact on the management of screen-detected prostate cancer worldwide, UConn Health’s Dr. Peter Albertsen now holds an American Urological Association Distinguished Contribution Award.

Dr. Albertsen has had a long career in academic urology and has been one of its leaders for decades. — Dr. David McFadden

Albertsen is chief and program director of UConn Health’s Division of Urology and professor of surgery in the UConn School of Medicine. His nomination came from the AUA’s New England Section.

“Dr. Albertsen has dedicated his career to understanding and improving the management for men with prostate cancer,” says Dr. Gregory Adey, New England Section president. “His work has challenged long-held dogmas, and his work has helped us arrive at our current standards for care of the man with prostate cancer. Dr. Albertsen has been an invaluable contributor to the education of physicians and patients alike, both locally and abroad.”

The AUA recognizes Albertsen’s international reputation for his work on prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing and the management of prostate cancer, and cites the following:

• A career of evaluating the impact of screening and treatment on men with prostate cancer.
• His work leading to invitations to serve on multiple AUA committees, including the PSA Best Practice, PSA Screening and ASTRO Panel for Prostate Radiation.
• His work with researchers from six other SEER registries to report studies in journals such as JAMA, The New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the National Cancer Institute that documented patient outcomes and quality of life following treatment for prostate cancer.
• His being one of two international members of the UK-based PROTECT Trial Steering Committee, the largest trial evaluating prostate cancer screening and treatment.
• His role in helping develop the field of outcomes research in urology.

“Before I came to UConn Health, I was well aware of Dr. Albertsen’s distinguished career and national notoriety,” says Dr. Kevin Staveley-O’Carroll, UConn Health’s surgery chair. “His role in the development of screening and treatment process for prostate cancer has been pivotal at the national level.”

Albertsen has been with UConn Health since 1987. He’s been serving as Division of Urology chief and residency program director since 1995.

“Dr. Albertsen has had a long career in academic urology and has been one of its leaders for decades,” says Dr. David McFadden, UConn Health’s surgery chair from 2012 to 2023. “The American Urological Association is the premier urological association in the world and has chosen Dr. Albertsen this year for their Distinguished Contribution Award. The award is for his dedicated career evaluating the impact of screening and treatment in men with prostate cancer. Dr. Albertsen has over 300 peer reviewed publications in his career and at the University of Connecticut he has created an academic division that excels in education, scholarship, and patient care. I sincerely congratulate Dr. Albertsen for this well-deserved award.”

Albertsen is one of three 2024 recipients of the Distinguished Contribution Awards, which recognize those who’ve made “outstanding contributions to the science and practice of urology in a subspecialty area,” contributions through military service, or contributions for the development of new technologies.

“This award validates the research that I was able to conduct here at UConn Health using the Connecticut tumor registry, the oldest tumor registry in the nation,” Albertsen says.

Albertsen accepted the honor at the AUA’s annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas, May 6.