Richard J. Macchia, MD FACS - In May, 2009, Dr. Macchia was appointed to the faculty of the Dept of Urology of the Cleveland Clinic Florida. His former student and resident, Dr. Lawrence Hakim, is Chief of Service-urology at CCFL. In May, 2011 he was appointed professor on the faculty of the Florida Atlantic University Medical School.
Dr. Macchia joined the faculty of SUNY Downstate Medical School in 1974. In 1982 Dr. Macchia he was appointed professor, chairman, and ACGME Program Director of the Department of Urology at SUNY Downstate. He served in those capacities until 2010. During that period he was also Chief of Urology at University Hospital Brooklyn and Kings County Hospital Center . The Chancellor of State University of New York appointed him to the rank of Distinguished Teaching Professor in 1997. In December, 2003 he was appointed Consultant, Department of Urology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). .
Following his graduation from New York Medical College in 1969, he underwent general surgical training at St. Vincent’s Hospital Center in New York City . From 1971-74 he completed his urology residency under Keith Waterhouse at SUNY Downstate and then joined the faculty. He was subsequently awarded the F.C. Valentine Fellowship of the New York Academy of Medicine. That fellowship was served under Dr. Willet F. Whitmore, Jr. at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York City during 1975-76. He then re-joined the SUNY Downstate faculty.
Dr. Macchia served as the chairperson of the Section on Urology of the New York Academy of Medicine and a member of its Advisory Council for 6 years. He also served for 6 years on the selection committee for the NYAM FC Valentine award for career achievement in urology and chaired the committee for 1 year. He is a past chairman of the Academy’s Edwin Beer Fund Committee. He was President of the New York Section of the American Urological Association in 1995-1996 and the Brooklyn-Queens-Long Island Urology Society. His memberships include the Society for Urologic Oncology, the Society of University Urologists, the American Society of Clinical Oncology and many others. Dr. Macchia is a former associate editor of Urology, currently manuscript reviewer for 6 major urology journals, a member and team leader of the AUA Program Abstract Review Committee, and a frequent moderator at scientific sessions for the annual meeting of the AUA. He has been a study section member for the California Cancer Research Program and the NIH. He was a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Society of Urology Chairpersons and Program Directors.
Under his leadership the department was under constant revision and included 7 integrated hospitals and 17 core faculty members. Throughout his tenure the department held a full ACGME accreditation. While he was chair approximately 130 students from SUNY Downstate have entered urology training since the inception of the AUA Residency Matching Program 1985 - one of the highest numbers for any chair in the country. He appointed the first African-American to the faculty and the first to the chief of urology at an integrated institution. He also appointed the first Puerto Rican American to the faculty and the first as Vice-Chair of the department. He also appointed the first woman to the department.
He and his colleagues were awarded second prize for research at the annual meeting of the AUA in 1980 and 1982 for their early NIH funded work on the relationship of androgen receptors and prostate cancer. An early proponent of alternatives to radical cystectomy, he was guest editor of a special issue of Urology (Vol. 31, 1988) devoted to this subject. He has been a member of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group and was a member of the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG). He has a special interest in urologic legal and ethical issues. A number of years ago the AUA initiated a Code of Ethics which, in part because of his long time efforts, includes a section on academic integrity.
Dr. Macchia has lectured at numerous academic institutions and meetings in the US , Europe and Japan . He has also co-authored over 120 scientific articles and abstracts including 26 textbook chapters and proceedings. He has also been co-investigator on many collaborative projects and held an NCI grant as local principal investigator for the SELECT clinical trial. That trial enrolled the 4th largest number of African-American men into the trial out of 425 institutions in North America. He has served on the external advisory boards of several internationally renowned institutions.
He has been listed more than 60 times in various “best doctor” publications. New York Magazine listed him as one of “The Best Doctors in New York City ” in its inaugural issue. He is also routinely listed in Castle-Connolly’s “Best Doctors in America ”, the “Guide to America ’s Top Urologists” by the Consumer’s Research Council of America and “New York Super Doctors”. In 1994, he was named an honorary alumnus of SUNY Downstate Medical School , received the New York Medical College Alumni Association Medal of Honor, the "Gender Equity Award" from the SUNY Downstate chapter of the American Medical Women's Association, and the SUNY Downstate University Hospital Community Advisory Board Service Award. He is a lifetime member of the SUNY Downstate COM Alumni Association. In 1995, he was elected as a faculty member of the AOA medical honor society. In 1997, he received a recognition award from the Daniel Hale Williams Society, an organization of Afro-American and Latino medical students. In 1998, the NY-AUA awarded him the Russell Lavengood Service Award. In that same year, he accompanied Dr. Robert Furchgott to Stockholm when Dr. Furchgott received the Nobel Prize. In 1998, he was designated Master Teacher in Urology by the SUNY Downstate COM Alumni Association. In May, 2003 the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health presented him with its Leadership in Urban Medicine Award. In June, 2005 Dr. Macchia was presented with the very first SUNY Downstate College of Nursing Excellence in Clinical Teaching Award. In 2005, Maimonides Medical Center named him the 19th annual Immergut Lecturer. He was named as the physician honoree at the celebration of the 175th anniversary of the founding of Kings County Hospital Center in 2006. In 2007, he became the first ever president of the Robert F. Furchgott Society. In March 2007 he received the first ever Golden Apple Teaching Award from the SUNY Downstate Medical School chapter of the AOA honor society. In 2008 he was named the first President of the MSKCC Whitmore Alumni Society, the first person to hold that title. In May, 2011 Dr. Macchia received the Clark-Curran Award in Medical Administration from the SUNY Downstate COM Alumni Association.
Dr. Macchia is most proud of his students and residents. Former residents are now internationally recognized leaders in urology at such institutions as Weill Cornell, UCSF, UCLA, NYU, Mt Sinai-NYC, University of Georgia, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Duke, SUNY Downstate, SUNY Stony Brook, Harvard, University of Indiana, Beth Israel Medical Center-NYC, University of Illinois, Brown University, and University of Florida. Many others are in successful private practices throughout the country. Similarly, many of his former students are on the faculties of medical schools across the US .