Dr. Kirstan Meldrum, a Pediatric Urologist and NIH funded investigator, was recruited to the Department of Urology earlier this year to re-establish a Division of Pediatric Urology at the University of Florida.
Dr. Meldrum is committed to providing comprehensive Pediatric Urological care to Gainesville and the surrounding area, but her ultimate goals are to build the Division of Pediatric Urology into a major referral center for fetal anomalies and complex genitourinary reconstructive conditions for the State of Florida.
Dr. Meldrum completed her Urology residency at Indiana University and her Pediatric Urology fellowship training at Johns Hopkins University. Prior to her appointment at UF as the Chief of Pediatric Urology, Dr. Meldrum served for 10 years as a faculty member and the Director of Pediatric Urological Research at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. Dr. Meldrum’s fellowship training and previous service at a highly ranked national referral center for complex genitourinary reconstruction has provided her with extensive surgical experience in complicated conditions such as bladder exstrophy, disorders of sexual differentiation, and the surgical management of neuropathic bladder. Her surgical interests also include fetal urinary tract abnormalities, congenital anomalies of the upper and lower urinary tract, reconstructive genital surgery, stone disease, and minimally invasive and robotic surgery. Dr. Meldrum maintains an active basic science laboratory and has been NIH funded since 2004. She is academically prolific with over 75 publications, and is a regular contributor to regional and national meetings.
“Dr. Meldrum brings enthusiasm for her work and a breadth of surgical expertise that will provide our community and northern Florida with much-need comprehensive Pediatric Urological care. She embodies the multidisciplinary vision of our program as a clinician, surgeon, and researcher.” Johannes Vieweg
Since her arrival, Dr. Meldrum has re-established all clinical and surgical services for pediatric urology patients at UF. She has developed a continence center for children directed by her ARNP, Maribel Villegas, with state-of-the-art urodynamic and biofeedback equipment, and is committed to expanding the focus on
Pediatric Urology as part of the educational mission of the residency program.
“For me, the most enjoyable aspect of academic medicine is the opportunity to work with and teach the residents. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing the residents mature over the course of a few years, and knowing that you contributed to their development as both clinicians and surgeons.”  Kirstan Meldrum
The residents will now be able to rotate on the Pediatric Urology service earlier in the course of their training, which will add to their surgical volume and increase their technical skills with fine surgery at an early level.  “Not only will this benefit their overall training experience, but I am hopeful that with earlier exposure to Pediatrics, we can inspire more residents to pursue a career in Pediatric Urology,” Meldrum said. “There is a great history of Pediatric Urology at UF with Dr. Dixon Walker, and it is an honor to have the opportunity to re-build the program that Dr. Walker developed so many years ago.”
