Willie Underwood, III, MD, MSc, MPH, FACS, is a board-certified urologist with more than 25 years of urologic surgery experience, including nearly 20 years focused on robotic urologic surgery. 

An expert in health care inequities and policy, Dr. Underwood was first elected to the AMA Board of Trustees in June 2019 and later served as chair in June 2023. He is a TEDx speaker and active presenter, with appearances in grand rounds, webinars, and TV and radio interviews. He has served on several national and regional health care policy committees, including as a board member of Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western and Northeastern New York and the Board of Commissioners of the Joint Commission.

 

Dr. Underwood earned his Bachelor of Science in biology from Morehouse College and his Doctor of Medicine and Master of Science in anatomy and cellular biology from the State University of New York Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, N.Y. He completed general and urologic surgery training at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington, Conn.

 

After his residency, he became the fifth urologist admitted into the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program, which he completed in 2002 at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. While in Ann Arbor, he earned a Master of Public Health in health management and policy from the University of Michigan School of Public Health in 2004.

 

In addition to co-authoring more than 120 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and published abstracts, he has received millions in research funding from the National Institutes of Health. He holds U.S. and Japanese patents for co-developing a biomarker for prostate cancer.