Information

Related Research Units

Urology Research

Research Overview

Dr. Xu’s research focuses on characterizing and improving patient care pathways and advancing health equity. She is conducting research to characterize patient care pathways for complex medical problems, with the goal of developing novel clinical decision support tools that can reduce diagnostic delays and improve quality of care and the patient care experience.

Research Background

Dr. Xu earned her MD degree from Harvard Medical School and her MBA degree from Harvard Business School. She completed residency training in urology at Massachusetts General Hospital and fellowship training in pediatric urology at Boston Children’s Hospital. She is an Affiliate Faculty Member in the BCH Computational Health Informatics Program. She is a member of the American Urological Association.

Education

Undergraduate School

Harvard College
2007 Cambridge MA

Graduate School

Harvard Business School
2014 Boston MA

Medical School

Harvard Medical School
2014 Boston MA

Internship

Department of Surgery Massachusetts General Hospital
2015 Boston MA

Residency

Department of Urology Massachusetts General Hospital
2019 Boston MA

Fellowship

Department of Urology Boston Children's Hospital
2022 Boston MA

Publications

  1. Editorial Comment. J Urol. 2024 Jul; 212(1):175. View Abstract
  2. Characterizing psychosocial services in a pediatric urology practice. J Pediatr Urol. 2024 04; 20(2):242.e1-242.e8. View Abstract
  3. Gender Affirmation-Related Information-Seeking Behaviors in a Diverse Sample of Transgender and Gender-Diverse Young Adults: Survey Study. JMIR Form Res. 2023 Aug 15; 7:e45952. View Abstract
  4. Cost analysis for mirabegron use in the treatment of children with neurogenic bladder. J Pediatr Urol. 2023 10; 19(5):535.e1-535.e10. View Abstract
  5. Hybrid Clinics: A New Model for Ambulatory Care to Reduce Infection Risk. Telemed J E Health. 2023 04; 29(4):560-568. View Abstract
  6. Prostatic metaplasia of the vagina in transmasculine individuals. World J Urol. 2022 Mar; 40(3):849-855. View Abstract
  7. Malignancy Yield of Testis Pathology in Older Boys and Adolescents with Cryptorchidism. J Urol. 2022 Mar; 207(3):694-700. View Abstract
  8. A World Out of Reach: Dispatches from Life under Lockdown. Medicine’s Innovation Problem. 2020. View Abstract
  9. Essentials of Men’s Health. Bhasin S, O’Leary MP, Basaria SS, editors. Genetics of Male Reproductive Deficiency. 2020. View Abstract
  10. Improvements in ureteroscopy efficiency when performed at an ambulatory surgery center. Urology Practice. 2019; 5(6):289-293. View Abstract
  11. Genitourinary cancer patients have worse baseline semen parameters than healthy sperm bankers. Andrology. 2019 07; 7(4):449-453. View Abstract
  12. Improvements in Ureteroscopy Efficiency When Performed at an Ambulatory Surgery Center. Urol Pract. 2019 Sep; 6(5):289-293. View Abstract
  13. Prognostic significance of indeterminate lung nodules in renal cell carcinoma. Urol Oncol. 2014 Apr; 32(3):355-61. View Abstract
  14. The teaming curve: a longitudinal study of the influence of surgical team familiarity on operative time. Ann Surg. 2013 Dec; 258(6):953-7. View Abstract
  15. Late Neck Metastasis of Clear Cell Salivary Carcinoma of the Soft Palate. Otorhinolaryngology Clinics - An International Journal. 2013; 3(5):145-147. View Abstract
  16. Living Will. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2012; 26(367):2558. View Abstract
  17. A differentiation diagnosis--specialization and the medical student. N Engl J Med. 2011 Aug 04; 365(5):391-3. View Abstract

Contact Rena Xu

Phone: 617-355-7796
Fax: 617-730-0474
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