Chester J. Koh, MD, MBA
- Urology
Professor of Urology, Baylor College of Medicine
Founder, Pediatric Robotic Surgery Program; Former Program Director, Pediatric Urology Fellowship
Faculty Senate Chair, Baylor College of Medicine
Email: ckoh@bcm.edu
Languages: English, Korean, Spanish
Departments:
Office location:
1102 Bates Avenue
C.0430.03
Houston, TX 77030
Get to know Chester J. Koh, MD, MBA
About Dr. Koh
Dr. Chester Koh is a pediatric urologist and tenured Professor of Urology, Pediatrics, and OB/GYN at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) and Texas Children’s Research Institute, and a “physicianeer” with 30 years of experience in both medicine and engineering. He completed his MBA degree at University of Illinois Gies College of Business in May 2023. He served as the Director of the ACGME-accredited Pediatric Urology Fellowship Program for a decade (2014-2023) and currently serves as a TMC Venture Fund Investment Advisory Committee member, Texas A&M Biomedical Engineering Department External Advisory Board Member, and Rice University Department of Bioengineering Adjunct Professor. He is also the founder of the Pediatric Robotic Surgery Programs at Texas Children’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles as well as the BCM Faculty Senate Chair (7/2025 - 6/2027 – ~6,000 faculty members). In addition, from 2022-2024, he served as the Board Chair of the Korean American Medical Association, a national non-profit professional organization that is part of the American Medical Association (AMA) Specialty and Service Society. He also serves as the BCM / UH member of the Integration Across the Lifespan Enterprise Committee for the CTSA at BCM /UH (CTPH). From a training standpoint, he also serves as the Professional Development Core co-PI and Urology Lead for HAI-KUH (Houston Area Incubator for Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Research Training), a NIH / NIDDK Institutional Network Award for Promoting Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Research Training (U2C-TL1) site in Houston, Texas. He has founded or upgraded several programs in pediatric robotic surgery, pediatric device development, clinical and basic science research, and graduate medical education over the past 2 decades.
His clinical area of expertise is in pediatric urology and in minimally invasive surgery in children, especially with robotic surgery and the pediatric device needs in this area. He currently serves on the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Section on Advances in Therapeutics and Technology leadership committee and has served on the executive committees of the AAP Section on Urology, the Societies of Pediatric Urology and the Journal of Urology Pediatric Editorial Committee. He also has been a NIH / NIDDK-funded principal investigator for research in bladder tissue engineering / regeneration / inflammation and other non-cancer urologic conditions.
His current primary research area is in pediatric medical device engineering and innovation, as the FDA has recognized that pediatric devices lag adult device development by 5 – 10 years. He is the founder, executive director and contact principal investigator of the Southwest-Midwest National Pediatric Device Innovation Consortium (SWPDC) based at TCH / BCM which is supported by a second 5-year $7M FDA P50 grant, as well as the founder of his previous consortium, Consortium for Technology and Innovation in Pediatrics (CTIP – CHLA/USC and Lurie Children’s). Both are FDA-funded pediatric device consortia that are dedicated to improving children’s health by supporting pediatric device innovators to create novel pediatric medical devices with local, regional, and national institutional and innovation partners. He has also served as co-PI on NIH / NIDDK SBIR grants for novel pediatric urologic devices in partnership with Rice, Texas A&M, and Fannin Innovation Studio.
Funding
Southwest National Pediatric Device Innovation Consortium - #P50FD007962(09/01/2023 - 08/31/2028) Grant funding from FDA
The Southwest National Pediatric Device Innovation Consortium (SWPDC) is a FDA P50 grant-supported multi-institutional consortium that includes TCH and BCM, Texas A&M, Rice, University of Houston, and University of Minnesota. SWPDC is dedicated to improving children’s health by supporting pediatric device innovators in creating novel pediatric medical devices with local, regional, and national institutional and innovation partners.
Consortium for Translational and Precision Health - #UM1TR004539(09/01/2024 - 07/31/2031) Grant funding from NIH / NCATS / CTSA
Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) and the University of Houston (UH) have come together to form the Consortium for Translational and Precision Health. Our goal is to build on the strengths of BCM in basic and genomic science with the strengths of UH in the science of spreading information, entrepreneurship, pharmaceutical science, and community engagement. We will form a highly impactful organization that promotes the development of new ways to work on local and national health needs and reduces the time it takes for research discoveries to reach the doctor’s office, so it can help the right person at the right time.
Houston Area Incubator for Kidney-Urology-Hematology Research - #U2CDK143942(09/01/2025 - 05/31/2030) Grant funding from NIH - NIDDK
The Houston Area Incubator for Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Research Training (HAI-KUH) aims to develop a highly qualified workforce of dedicated research professionals to improve the health and quality of life of patients with nonmalignant kidney, urologic, and hematologic diseases. Through our robust network of KUH researchers from multiple Houston institutions and a variety of scientific backgrounds, we will collaborate to not only expand existing efforts but seize the opportunity to support a range of career paths, promote interdisciplinary research, and bring training excellence to graduate students and postdoctoral and clinical fellows to KUH mission areas.
Professional Interests
Pediatric Medical Device Development
Robotic Surgery / Minimally Invasive Surgery in Children
Pediatric Urology
Urology Research
Websites
BCM Scott Department of Urology
VIICTR Research Database
Southwest-Midwest National Pediatric Device Innovation Consortium
Texas Children's Research Institute (TCRI)
Education
| School | Education | Degree | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Children's Hospital - Urology | Fellowship | Pediatric Urology | 2005 |
| University of Southern California | Residency | Urology | 2002 |
| University of Southern California | Internship | General Surgery | 1997 |
| Tufts University School of Medicine | Medical School | Doctor of Medicine | 1996 |
| University of Illinois Gies College of Business | Masters | Master of Business Administration | |
| University of California Berkeley | Bachelors | Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering |
Organizations
| Organization Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Korean American Medical Association | Board of Directors |
| North American Robotic Urology Society (NARUS) | Managing Director, Pediatric Session Director |
| SWPDC | Executive Director |
| Texas Children's Research Institute | Advisory Council Member and PI |
Board Certifications
| Title |
|---|
| American Board of Urology |
| Board-certified in Urology and Pediatric Urology |
* Texas Children’s Hospital physicians’ licenses and credentials are reviewed prior to practicing at any of our facilities. Sections titled From the Doctor, Professional Organizations and Publications were provided by the physician’s office and were not verified by Texas Children’s Hospital.
Reviews
Chung S, Kang DO, Yamzon J, Warburton D, and Koh CJ. Down-regulation of O-GlcNAc-mediated Glycosylation in Cyclophosphamide-induced Cystitis. Journal of Urology 183(1): 351-6, 2010. PMCID: PMC2840040, NIHMS [174567].
Behan JW, Kim SS, Dorey FJ, De Filippo RE, Chang AY, Hardy BE, and Koh CJ. Human Capital Gains Associated with Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Pyeloplasty in Children Compared to Open Pyeloplasty. Journal of Urology 186(4 Suppl):1663-7, 2011. PMID: 21862079.
Kim PH, Patil M, Kim SS, Dorey FJ, De Filippo RE, Chang AY, Hardy BE, Gill IS, Desai MM, and Koh CJ. Early Comparison of Nephrectomy Options in Children (Open, Transperitoneal Laparoscopic, Laparo-Endoscopic Single Site (LESS), and Robotic Surgery). BJU Int 109(6):910-5, 2012. PMID: 21883858.
Silay MS, Baek M, Koh CJ. Robotic-assisted Laparoscopic Extravesical Ureteral Reimplantation in Children: Top-Down Suturing Technique Without Stent Placement. Journal of Endourology 2015 Aug;29(8):864-6. PMID: 25674670.
Afsarlar CE, Ryan SL, Donel E, Baccam TH, Jones B, Chandwani B, Au J, Huang GO, Gonzales ET, Janzen N, Tu D, Seth A, Roth DR, and Koh CJ. Standardized Process to Improve Patient Flow From the Emergency Room (ER) to the Operating Room (OR) for Pediatric Patients with Testicular Torsion. Journal of Pediatric Urology 2016 May 15. pii: S1477-5131(16)30046-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jpurol.2016.04.019. [Epub ahead of print]. PMID: 27270069.
Silay MS, Spinoit AF, Undre S, Fiala V, Tandogdu Z, Garmanova T, Guttilla A, Sancaktutar AA, Haid B, Waldert M, Goyal A, Serefoglu EC, Baldassarre E, Manzoni G, Radford A, Subramaniam R, Cherian A, Hoebeke P, Jacobs M, Rocco B, Yuriy R, Zattoni F, Kocvara R, and Koh CJ. Global Minimally Invasive Pyeloplasty Study in Children: Results from the Pediatric Urology Expert Group of the EAU Young Academic Urologists Working Party. Journal of Pediatric Urology 2016 May 12. pii: S1477-5131(16)30031-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jpurol.2016.04.007. [Epub ahead of print]. PMID: 27346071.
Choi IS, Yu KK, Kim J, Guzman E, Weisenberger DJ, Oghamian S, Kim HJ, Lee KH, Carroll C, Trinh BN, Kim M, Houshdaran S, Laird PW, Jones PA, Warburton D, Liang G, and Koh CJ. Alterations in the DNA Methylation Patterns of Calca, Timp3, Mmp2, and Igf2r Associated with Chronic Cystitis in a Cyclosphosphamide-induced Mouse Model. Urology. 2013 Jul;82(1):253.e9-15. doi: 10.1016/j.urology.2013.04.010. PMID: 23806407.
Sack B, Elizondo RA, Huang GO, Janzen N, Espinoza J, Sanz-Cortes M, Dietrich JE, Hakim J, Richardson E, Oden M, Hanks J, Haridas B, Hury JF, and Koh CJ. Pediatric Medical Device Development by Surgeons via Capstone Engineering Design Programs. J Pediatr Surg. 2018 Mar; 53(3):493-498. doi: 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2017.01.067. Epub 2017 Feb 6. PMID: 28196661