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Zachary Klaassen: Hi. My name is Zach Klaassen. I'm a urologic oncologist at the Georgia Cancer Center in Augusta, Georgia. I'm delighted to be joined by Dr. José Nolazco, who is a senior fellow at Mass General Hospital. José, thanks so much for joining us on your show today.

José Ignacio Nolazco: Thank you for the invitation, Dr. Klaassen. And I'm very happy to be here and extremely grateful to be part of this GU Early Career Thought Leaders Conference.

Zachary Klaassen: Absolutely. So we had this meeting in March of 2025. It was in Philadelphia. We had about 75 attendees and about 14 faculty that were here. And it was really a fun meeting, as you mentioned, GU Oncology Early Thought Leaders. And so we were delighted to have you today to speak about your experience as well.

José Ignacio Nolazco: Well, thank you. Thank you so much. It's my pleasure. And I'm curious, how did the idea of this conference come about? What motivated you to create a program like this for Early Career GU Oncologists?

Zachary Klaassen: Yeah. I appreciate you asking that question. And I think when we looked at this, we did not a similar event, but a comparable event in LA about two years ago. And it was awesome. And really, what it came down to was Prostate Cancer Foundation has always been very supportive of the next generation. And we had some tremendous industry sponsorship to be able to pull this off.

To answer your question, though, it comes down to that we go to a lot of meetings. We go to SUO, we go to AUA, we go to GU-ASCO, ASCO, ESMO, et cetera. Great meetings that we’re talking about the latest and greatest science. But the goal here was to have a completely different format in terms of almost like the soft skills.

How do you become a leader in medicine? How do you negotiate your first job? How do you partner with industry? How do you develop public speaking skills? And how do you avoid burnout? Time management? All these things that you can’t find in a textbook and you can’t find on PubMed. And it was really a lot of fun to co-chair this with Dr. Andrea Apolo at the NCI. And our job was easy.

We asked a ton of people to come, and they all said yes. Some of them couldn’t make it for travel or other arrangements, but they all said yes. And so I think it just goes to show that there’s a deep appreciation for our journey in cancer care and really getting the next generation—who’s going to take care of us and be the ones leading this program soon—getting them an event like this with the networking is just as important as the content. So that’s how it came about and why we wanted to do it.

José Ignacio Nolazco: Interesting. And, yeah, you nailed it, because it was really extraordinary and very unique. There is not really a conference like this one out there.

Zachary Klaassen: Absolutely. I mean, so, looking at yourself as an attendee, obviously first-year SUO fellow at Mass General, just tell us why it was important to apply to an event like this, to take a weekend away from your friends and family and training and come to an event like this.

José Ignacio Nolazco: Well, so I'm young. I'm still actively shaping the foundation of my career. And so during my master’s program at HMS, I took some courses in leadership, management, teamwork. And those experiences opened my eyes to the critical importance of these non-technical skills in medicine.

The truth is that we train for years in surgery and oncology, but we receive almost no formal preparation on how to lead teams, how to build a vision, how to manage our own well-being. That’s so, so important, isn’t it, to succeed in life, beyond our careers. And so when I came across this conference, which was recommended by Dr. Feldman, one of my mentors, and that was centered on leadership and early career development, I saw a huge opportunity.

For me, it’s all about preparation. There’s a phrase I like very much from—I think it’s Abraham Lincoln—that says, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” And I feel I am sharpening the axe now. I’m sharpening the axe. So that’s exactly what this weekend was about.

It was a chance for us to sharpen those tools that will help us grow beyond our clinical roles and eventually become better and better doctors, better mentors, innovators, and also family members and persons. We are much more than MDs, isn’t it? We have families and all those types of things that are so important.

Zachary Klaassen: No. That’s a great answer. I love that quote. Maybe just looking back on the weekend, what are two either fun or memorable experiences that you had at the conference?

José Ignacio Nolazco: Fun or memorable? Oh, it’s really hard, that one. There are so many great moments. Maybe, I mean, the trivia night at the welcome reception stands out. That was crazy, isn’t it? We were randomly placed at tables with strangers. There were 10, 15 tables, 10, 12 people per table. And the first minute, we were all strangers. But by the third question, we were already working together, laughing. I mean, we were making jokes with the next table.

And it’s interesting how you bring together a group of strangers from different backgrounds, states, countries, and give them the same purpose or objective—it was to win the trivia—and you just build a team, isn’t it? We became from strangers to team members and then from team members to friends because I really—that’s one of the biggest take-away, for me, for this conference, was the people I met.

Zachary Klaassen: Yeah, absolutely. I think that’s true. I mean, not just talking to faculty, but your colleagues as well. And from our side, I mean, I have new faculty friends and new fellow friends that I wouldn’t have had if I hadn’t been at that meeting as well.

José Ignacio Nolazco: And maybe another fun anecdote: So I went with my wife, and I was in the bar in Sofitel downstairs. So we ordered two drinks. And when I was handing my wallet, about to pay for the drinks, the waitress told me, “The gentleman at the corner already took care of it.” So I turned around, and it was Dr. Phillip Koo, the Chief of Diagnostic Imaging at MD Anderson Phoenix, who I had never met in person. I follow him on Twitter, and I knew him through social media.

And this was a very nice, kind gesture. So my wife was really impressed, and of course, I was impressed too. Another experience similar to this one—speaking about social media—was: I was speaking on the first night in the reception with the oncology fellow from City of Hope. And we were talking about our careers, and all of a sudden, two meters away, Dr. Sumanta “Monty” Pal walks in, and we start talking about him.

So I tell this fellow, “Hey, would you introduce me to Dr. Pal?” “Yeah, for sure.” So when we were going to shake hands, before I could say “Hi,” Dr. Pal told me, “Hey, Dr. Nolazco. How are you?” And it was crazy, isn’t it? And I think that’s the magic of social media, which is connected to his talk. He gave a talk about the importance of social media for networking.

And it’s really crazy, isn’t it, how a big fish in the field is able to remember your name—I’m very young—and recognize you. And I think that’s also a trait of leadership, isn’t it? Being aware of people who are coming after you.

Zachary Klaassen: Those are two great stories.

José Ignacio Nolazco: There are so many others we could say from that afternoon, yeah.

Zachary Klaassen: I love that. I think Monty is one of the best mentors out there. And Phil is fantastic. Neither of those stories surprise me, but I’m really glad that you shared them because they’re totally accurate for those two personalities. As we think about future meetings, why is it important to maybe have this every year or every other year?

José Ignacio Nolazco: Well, I mean, as we said, there are so many conferences out there, but we don’t talk enough or we don’t train enough in leadership and these soft skills. And I think it’s good to have a space for reflection and also try to incorporate these tips and tricks that will eventually enable us to become better doctors.

So science is important. It’s important to be at the edge of medical knowledge. But also, it’s important to—we are a holistic perspective of ourselves, trying to improve in so many aspects. In my personal experience, I am extremely lucky to have the mentor I have. He’s a walking book on leadership. And so, for me, also, it’s like I learn from him. And when you have some role model next to you, you can learn a lot. But maybe that’s not the case for every one of my young colleagues out there.

And I think these types of meetings, where you bring some leaders and accomplished urologists and medical oncologists and radiation oncologists, and you mix them with young colleagues, I think that’s where magic happens, isn’t it? You can get to know people, meet people—maybe you meet your future mentor. And also you can learn from others, isn’t it? And also from firsthand experience, isn’t it?

Zachary Klaassen: Yeah. No, that’s a great answer. Hopefully, somebody out there watching this video at some point in the next few weeks and months, and they’re thinking about applying to this meeting for next year. What would your message be to them in terms of what they can get out of this? And maybe just a couple of highlights of what their goals should be coming in and coming out of this meeting.

José Ignacio Nolazco: I mean, if you have the chance and you come across this one, just go for it. Don’t think twice. You won’t regret it, believe me. I mean, it’s not just a conference. You will meet your friends, your future friends—young colleagues from other institutions, maybe other countries—that are of your same generation. And you will share all your career with these people.

And that’s invaluable. I mean, you’ll make friends. Maybe you will meet your next co-authors, collaborators. And I think it’s so important from a networking point of view. I’ve never been in a meeting like this one, because it’s only the people of your own—it's young people. And we are all in the same situation in different places. We have the same things in mind, so it’s good to share and also to be in touch, in contact. I can’t wait to go to the AUA now and see some of these people I met in this conference.

Zachary Klaassen: So that was perfect. I just wanted you to say, somebody that’s sitting out there thinking about applying to it, why should they apply. That was a perfect answer. Listen, it was great to get to meet you in Philadelphia and to have your time on UroToday to discuss your experience. Your energy is infectious, and so any last comments or concluding remarks for UroToday listeners?

José Ignacio Nolazco: I mean, take-away from the meeting—there are so many things, impossible to share all of them. And I don’t know. I liked Dr. Phillip Koo’s talk about the four Bs—be purpose driven, be creative, be open to change, and be nice—as a kind of code for leadership and career development. I don’t know. The idea of prioritizing your being and personal growth, your family, time with your family—that was one of your talks, I think.

Those are things that you won’t find in books, and it’s good to hear them from accomplished urologists. They are important. Also, I don’t know, I was inspired by many of the people who were there as speakers. For example, Dr. Neil Fleshner’s story—it’s really amazing.

He was the former chair in Toronto, University of Toronto in Canada, a urologist. And he faced the BCG shortage. And he did not complain. He did not blame. He just took a plane. He took a plane. He went all the way to New Delhi. He drove for four or five hours to the first place in the supply chain of BCG. And he built a company. He built a company. And he sold that one to, I think, Lilly Pharmaceuticals or something like that. And that’s amazing how he transformed these challenges into opportunities. And instead of being an observer, he was a protagonist of change. And that’s really inspiring.

That’s really inspiring, isn’t it? And maybe the most inspiring thing from him is that, I mean, he continues working as a urologist. So I think he’s kind of the testimony of what our specialty is, how beautiful it is that you would do it forever. And it’s hard to quit our practice. And also the creativity—that’s also, I think, a trait of us urologists, so to speak.

Zachary Klaassen: That’s great. I love those anecdotes because that’s the part of the meeting that’s the fun part—the things that stick with you. So José, it was fabulous, like I said, getting to know you in Philly a little bit and to have you on UroToday. Thank you so much for your time and for sharing some of the highlights of the GU Early Oncology Thought Leaders Program.

José Ignacio Nolazco: It was my pleasure. Thank you so much for having me.