Anthony J. Schaeffer, MD, Chairman, 1990-Present
When the time came to choose Dr. Grayhack's successor as Chairman, the search attracted highly eligible candidates and resulted in the recruitment of Anthony J. Schaeffer in 1990. Dr. Schaeffer was born in Hammond, Indiana in 1942. He attended the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts and Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, where he graduated Alpha Omega Alpha. After two years of surgical residency at Northwestern, he entered the Air Force as a Major and served two years at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. He then began a residency in urology at Stanford. Under the guidance of Dr. Thomas Stamey he conducted basic investigations in urinary tract infections, especially the adherence of bacteria to human urinary tract epithelial cells and susceptibility factors. These investigations resulted in numerous publications and external funding and established Dr. Schaeffer as a leader in the field of urinary tract infections.
Dr. Schaeffer came to Northwestern as an Assistant Professor in 1976 and became an AUA Scholar upon his arrival. He established a research laboratory and by 1980 had achieved NIH funding. He became an Associate Professor in 1982, full Professor in 1986, and was named the Herman L. Kretschmer Professor in 1992. He is a member of numerous societies including the American Association for Nephrology, American Association for Microbiology, Society of University Urologists, AAGUS, CSGUS, Society for Basic Urologic Research, National Kidney Foundation, Urological Investigators Forum, and the American Foundation for Urological Disease (AFUD). He has functioned as visiting professor at numerous institutions throughout the nation and published over 100 refereed journal articles, mainly focused on urinary tract infections. Many of these articles were written in collaboration with Northwestern urology residents working in his laboratory during their research fellowship years. Dr. Schaeffer's leadership skills have brought significant expansion in programs, research, and funding to the Department of Urology.
