Thomas Knoll attended the University of Heidelberg Medical School, where he received his M.D. degree in 1998. He completed his Urology and General Surgery residency at Mannheim University Hospital and became a staff member and vice-chair at the Department of Urology, Mannheim University Hospital in 2004 and 2007, respectively. In 2004, he received his Ph.D. and M.Sc. degrees for scientific work on urinary stone disease and health economics, respectively. Professor Knoll is currently Professor and Chair of Urology at the Department of Urology, Klinikum Sindelfingen, University of Tubingen. His research interests focus on minimally invasive treatments for urinary stone disease and benign prostatic hyperplasia. In his clinical practice, he mainly performs endoscopic and laparoscopic procedures for benign and malignant urological diseases. He has published and spoken extensively in his areas of interest. Professor Knoll serves as Vice-Chair of the Urolithiasis Guidelines Group of the European Association of Urology and as Chairman of the German Working Group. He is a member of the editorial boards of several peer-reviewed journals and does intensive review work for many urological journals. In 2005, he received the German Urological Society's Wolfgang Hepp Award for his extensive scientific work on urolithiasis. He serves on the Urology Residency Review Committee of the Southwestern German Medical Association. Margaret S. Pearle attended the University of Chicago, where she received her B.A. in Biology and M.S. in Biochemistry. She continued at the University of Chicago in the Medical Scientist Training Program, receiving her M.D. and Ph.D. degrees in 1985 and 1987, respectively. She completed her Urology residency at Northwestern University and then undertook fellowship training in Endourology and Minimally Invasive Surgery at Washington University, St. Louis, under the direction of Dr. Ralph Clayman. Dr. Pearle is currently Professor and Vice-Chair of Urology, with a dual appointment as Professor of Internal Medicine, in the Mineral Metabolism Center at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She is also holder of the Ralph C. Smith Distinguished Chair in Urologic Education at that Center. Her research interests include evaluation of dietary and medical therapies for kidney stone prevention and assessment of outcomes for minimally invasive surgical treatments. Patients needing medical and/or surgical treatment for kidney stones account for a major proportion of her clinical practice. Dr. Pearle served on the AUA Nephrolithiasis Clinical Guidelines Panel for Staghorn Calculi and Ureteral Calculi. She is on the editorial boards of several peer-reviewed journals and reviews extensively for many urological journals. In 2003, she received the American Urological Association's Gold Cystoscope Award for significant contributions to the field of urology. She was elected to the Board of Trustees of the American Board of Urology in 2008 and serves on the Urology Residency Review Committee of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.
