Award honors Zimmern’s lifetime of contributions to urology specialty
It’s already been a banner year for Philippe Zimmern, M.D., Professor of Urology. Soon after being selected as the inaugural Mentor of the Year award recipient by the UT Southwestern Office of Medical Student Research, Dr. Zimmern was honored with the 2026 Blaivas Lectureship-Lifetime Achievement Award by the Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine & Urogenital Reconstruction (SUFU) for his outstanding contributions and leadership in the field.
“This is the pinnacle of my career as a clinician-scientist, being recognized by my peers in my field of expertise. It is both humbling and overwhelming,” Dr. Zimmern said.
The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented at the 2026 SUFU Winter Meeting earlier this year in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where Dr. Zimmern gave the Blaivas Lectureship.
“I reviewed my 2,026 weeks with SUFU – just over 40 years – and retraced all the highlights of this long journey,” he said. “I saluted the many colleagues, fellows, residents, medical students, and Ph.D. scientists who are part of my ‘family’ and contributed to my career. I thanked my mentors, the current outstanding leadership of SUFU, and my own family, especially my wife. I think this award should be renamed the Wifetime Award.”
After receiving the Zimskind Award as a rising star in the field within 10 years of completing his fellowship training, Dr. Zimmern went on to serve as Vice President and President of SUFU. In 2011, he was honored with its Distinguished Service Award for leading the research program agenda of the annual meeting for four consecutive years.
Beyond his active participation in SUFU, Dr. Zimmern has co-authored more than 500 publications, 47 surgical movies, and 71 book chapters, and he has co-edited four textbooks. A Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, he has developed new technologies and pioneered devices for women’s health. His research has been supported by National Institutes of Health grants, and he has worked with large collaborative groups such as the Urinary Incontinence Treatment Network. He also directs funding from the Marie and Bernard Zimmern Fund in Female Urology, in Honor of Philippe Zimmern, M.D., an endowment at UTSW created by a gift from his parents.
In 2012, Dr. Zimmern received the Rodney Appell Continence Care Champion Award from the National Association for Continence. In 2018, he received an inaugural UTSW Leaders in Clinical Excellence Patient and Family Recognition Award, and in 2023 he was named Director of the newly endowed John and Felecia Cain Center for Bladder Health at UT Southwestern. In June, Dr. Zimmern earned his pin recognizing 30 years of service at UTSW.
“All of these attest to the wonderful team of clinicians, researchers, statisticians, and database managers assisting me to accomplish this innovative body of work,” he said.