Nirmish Singla, M.D., M.Sc.

Headshot of Nirmish Singla
  • Director of Translational Research in GU Oncology
  • Associate Professor of Urology

Languages: English, Hindi, Spanish

Expertise

Active Surveillance for Kidney Cancer, Active Surveillance of Prostate Cancer, Adrenal Cancer, Adrenal Surgery, Adrenalectomy, Bladder Cancer, Cytoreductive Nephrectomy, Genitourinary Sarcoma, Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Thrombectomy, Inguinal Lymph Node Dissection, Kidney Cancer, Laparoscopic Adrenalectomy, Laparoscopic Kidney Surgery, Laparoscopic Nephrectomy, Laparoscopic Radical Nephrectomy, Nephron Sparing Surgery, Nephroureterectomy, Open Partial Nephrectomy, Partial Nephrectomy, Penile Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Radical Nephrectomy, Radical Orchiectomy, Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissection, Robotic Adrenalectomy, Robotic Cystectomy, Robotic Nephrectomy, Robotic Partial Nephrectomy, Robotic Prostatectomy, Robotic RPLND, Testicular Cancer, Transurethral Resection of Bladder Tumor, Upper Tract Urothelial Cancer, Urethral Cancer, Urologic Surgery, Urology ...read more

Research Interests

Urologic Malignancies; Precision Oncology; Multimodal Treatment; Kidney Cancer; Renal Cell Carcinoma, Testicular Cancer; Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma; Translational Research; Clinical Trials; Biomarker Discovery ...read more

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Insurance Information

Main Phone

Outside of Maryland & Washington D.C.

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International Patients

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Locations

The Johns Hopkins Hospital (Main Entrance)

Appointment Phone: 410-955-6100
1800 Orleans St.
Sheikh Zayed Tower
Baltimore, MD 21287 map
Phone: 410-502-3692 | Fax: 410-955-0833

Johns Hopkins Outpatient Center (now called Levi Watkins, Jr., M.D., Outpatient Center)

Appointment Phone: 410-955-6100
601 N. Caroline St.
Baltimore, MD 21287 map
Phone: 410-502-3692 | Fax: 410-955-0833

Johns Hopkins Medicine - Green Spring Station

Appointment Phone: 410-955-6100
10803 Falls Rd
Pavilion III, Suite 3300
Lutherville, MD 21093 map
Phone: 410-502-3692 | Fax: 410-955-0833

Background

Dr. Nirmish Singla is an Associate Professor of Urology and Oncology in the Brady Urological Institute at Johns Hopkins University, where he serves as the Director of Translational Research in Genitourinary Oncology. He is also the Director of the Kidney and Testicular Cancer Programs and co-directs the Upper Tract Urothelial Cancer (UTUC) Program as a founding member of the first-ever UTUC Multidisciplinary Clinic. He serves the Brady in a leadership capacity as Vice Chair and Physician Advisor for Quality, Safety, & Service.

Dr. Singla received his undergraduate degree (B.S.E.) in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Michigan and his medical degree (M.D.) from the University of Michigan Medical School, where he was supported by a full-tuition Dean’s Merit Scholarship.  He went on to complete his residency training in Urologic Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW).  Following his residency, he received an NIH/NCI Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award T32 grant and spent an additional year at UTSW as a postdoctoral research fellow in Urologic Oncology with a specialized translational focus in kidney cancer through the Physician Scientist Training Program.  During this time, he earned a Master of Science in Clinical Science (M.S.C.S.) degree through the Center for Translational Medicine at UTSW and helped develop and pioneer a Physician Administrative Fellowship program.  He then completed an advanced surgical fellowship in urologic oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York through the Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) before joining the faculty at Johns Hopkins.

Dr. Singla’s clinical practice spans the complete spectrum of genitourinary oncology, including adrenal, kidney, upper tract, bladder, prostate, penile, urethral, and testicular cancers.  His surgical approaches include mastery of both open and minimally-invasive (endoscopic, laparoscopic, and robotic) techniques.  Dr. Singla provides personalized and compassionate care for patients affected by urologic cancer by integrating cutting-edge technologies and multidisciplinary approaches to treatment.

As both a surgeon-scientist and clinical trialist, Dr. Singla’s overarching goal is to help scientific discoveries in the laboratory materialize for patients with urologic cancers in the clinic.  He runs a well-funded, multidisciplinary, translational laboratory specializing in kidney cancer, testicular cancer, and UTUC.  Dr. Singla has co-authored over 200 articles and textbook chapters, and he has developed an international reputation as a thought leader in urologic oncology.  He has secured a substantial amount of research funding and serves as the lead PI on multiple grants from federal, foundational, intramural, and private sources across various GU malignancies.

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Titles

  • Director of Translational Research in GU Oncology
  • Director, Kidney Cancer Program
  • Director, Testicular Cancer Program
  • Co-Director, Upper Tract Urothelial Cancer (UTUC) Program
  • Vice Chair and Physician Advisor for Quality, Safety, & Service, Brady Urological Institute
  • Associate Professor of Urology
  • Associate Professor of Oncology

Departments / Divisions

Centers & Institutes

Education

Degrees

  • MD; University of Michigan Medical School (2013)

Residencies

  • Urology; University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (2018)

Fellowships

  • Urologic Oncology; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (2020)

Board Certifications

  • American Board of Urology (Urology) (2022)

Research & Publications

Selected Publications

View all on PubMed

Singla N, Xie Z, Zhang Z, Gao M, Yousuf Q, Onabolu O, McKenzie T, Tcheuyap VT, Ma Y, Choi J, McKay R, Christie A, Torras OR, Bowman IA, Margulis V, Pedrosa I, Przybycin C, Wang T, Kapur P, Rini B, Brugarolas J. Pancreatic tropism in metastatic renal cell carcinoma. JCI Insight 5(7): e134564, 2020

Singla N. Progress toward precision medicine in frontline treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma. In press, JAMA Oncology

Singla N. A new therapeutic era for metastatic renal cell carcinoma: Call for a new prognostic model. In press, JAMA Oncology

Singla N, Margulis V, on behalf of ECOG-ACRIN 8141 Investigators. A new standard for a rare disease? Optimizing the timing of chemotherapy for upper tract urothelial carcinoma. “Re: Alison Birtle, Mark Johnson, John Chester, et al. Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma (the POUT Trial): A Phase 3, Open-label, Randomised Controlled Trial. Lancet 2020;395:1268-77.” In press, European Urology

Lafin JT*, Singla N*, Woldu SL, Lotan Y, Lewis CM, Majmudar K, Savelyeva A, Kapur P, Margulis V, Strand DW, Murray MJ, Amatruda JF, Bagrodia A. Serum microRNA-371a-3p levels predict viable germ cell tumor in chemotherapy-naïve patients undergoing retroperitoneal lymph node dissection. European Urology 77(2): 290-292, 2020

*Co-first authors

Activities & Honors

Honors

  • Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) – European Association of Urology (EAU) Exchange Program Scholarship (2023)
  • The Carolyn and Bill Stutt Scholar, Patrick C. Walsh Prostate Cancer Research Award (2022-2024)
  • American Urological Association (AUA) Urology Care Foundation Research Scholar Award (2022-2024)
  • Kidney Cancer Association (KCA) Young Investigator Award (YIA) (2021-2022)
  • Merit Award, Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, Conquer Cancer Foundation of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO): “Serum microRNA-371a-3p levels predict viable germ cell tumor in chemotherapy-naïve patients undergoing retroperitoneal lymph node dissection” (2020), 2020
  • American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)/Science Program for Excellence in Science (2020), 2020
  • American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Scholar-in-Training Award: “Comprehensive molecular and genomic characterization of pancreatic tropism in metastatic renal cell carcinoma” (2019), 2019
  • AVENIO Oncology Research Grant for ctDNA Competition (Roche): “Evaluating the prognostic utility of circulating tumor DNA profiling in metastatic and clinically localized clear cell renal cell carcinoma” (2019), 2019
  • American Urological Association (AUA) Early-Career Investigators Workshop Travel Award: “Evaluating the prognostic utility of circulating tumor DNA profiling in metastatic and clinically localized clear cell renal cell carcinoma” (2019), 2019
  • National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI) Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (T32 Physician Scientist Oncology Training Program Research Grant) (2018-2019), 2018 - 2019
  • Rising Star in Oncology, Society for Translational Oncology Fellows’ Forum (STOFF) (2018), 2018
  • John Quale Travel Fellowship Award, Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN) Bladder Cancer Think Tank (2018), 2018
  • Best Reviewer in 2017 Award, Elsevier (Journal of Urology), 2018
  • Winner, 6th Annual American Urological Association (AUA) National Chief Resident Debate (2018), 2018
  • Recognized Reviewer, Elsevier (Clinical Genitourinary Cancer (2015), Urologic Oncology (2018-2020), European Urology (2019), European Urology Oncology (2019), Urology Case Reports (2020)), 2015 - 2020
  • 1st Place, Resident Essay Competition. 95th Annual Meeting of South Central Section (SCS) American Urological Association (AUA) (2016)
  • Best poster in session, European Association of Urology (EAU) 31st Annual Congress. Munich, Germany (2016)
  • Full-Tuition Dean’s Merit Scholarship, University of Michigan Medical School (2009-2013), 2009 - 2013
  • Dean’s Award for Graduation with Distinction in (1) Research, (2) Medical Education, and (3) Service, University of Michigan Medical School (2013), 2013
  • Association for Academic Surgery (AAS) Student Research Award. “White matter hyperintensities and atrophy on MRI as a predictor of short term cognitive change following deep brain stimulation surgery in patients with Parkinson’s disease.” (2013), 2013

Memberships

  • American Urological Association (AUA)
  • Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO),Young Urologic Oncologists Section (YUO), SUO-Clinical Trials Consortium (CTC)
  • American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
  • American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
  • Kidney Cancer Association (KCA)
  • American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
  • Société Internationale d’Urologie (SIU)
  • American Medical Association (AMA)
  • Indian American Urological Association (IAUA)
  • American Association of Clinical Urologists (AACU)
  • University of Michigan Department of Urology Reed Nesbit Society
  • International Young Urological Association (IYUA)
  • Association for Academic Surgery (AAS)

Videos & Media

  • Play Video:

    Kidney Cancer Q&A with Dr. Nirmish Singla

  • Play Video:

    Kidney Cancer FAQ

  • Play Video:

    Testicular Cancer Q&A

  • Play Video:

    Johns Hopkins Brady Urological Institute's Testicular Cancer Program

  • Play Video:

    JHGBCI Virtual Grand Rounds | It's All Related: Kidney Health for Bladder Cancer Patients

  • Play Video:

    JHGBCI Virtual Grand Rounds | Upper Tract Urothelial Cancer: It's a Team Effort

Patient Ratings & Comments

The Patient Rating score is an average of all responses to physician related questions on the national CG-CAHPS Medical Practice patient experience survey through Press Ganey. Responses are measured on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best score. Comments are also gathered from our CG-CAHPS Medical Practice Survey through Press Ganey and displayed in their entirety. Patients are de-identified for confidentiality and patient privacy.

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