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Or find a doctor at another Johns Hopkins Medicine Member Hospital:
Edward Matthew Schaeffer, MD PhD
Associate Professor of Urology
Appointment Phone
Main Location
Johns Hopkins Outpatient CenterView All Locations
Out of State Patients
Call 410-464-6641 (8a.m. to 6p.m., EST, Mon-Fri)
International Patients
Call +1-410-502-7683 (7a.m. to 6p.m., EST, Mon-Fri)
- Director, International Urology
- Co-Director, Prostate Cancer Multi-Disciplinary Clinic
- Associate Professor of Urology
- Associate Professor of Oncology
Centers & Institutes
- James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center
Bladder Cancer, Kidney Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Robotic Prostatectomy, Robotic Surgery, Urology, Urology / Urologic Surgery
Research Interests
Prostate development; Prostate cancer; Bladder cancer; Kidney cancer; Robotic prostatectomy; Robotic surgery; Urology; Urologic surgery
Dr. Edward Schaeffer is associate professor of urology and oncology and assistant professor of pathology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. Schaeffer has an active clinical practice in urologic oncology specializing in prostate, bladder and kidney cancer, and he has expertise in open, laparoscopic and robot treatment of these malignancies.
As an active member of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Schaeffer participates in multidisciplinary approaches to the treatment of genitourinary cancers. He is the Director of International Urology and the Co-Director of the Prostate Cancer Multidisciplinary Clinic at Johns Hopkins.
Dr. Schaeffer received his medical training at the University of Chicago and scientific training at the National Institutes of Health. He completed his residency at the Brady Urological Institute at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Schaeffer joined the Johns Hopkins faculty in 2007.
Dr. Schaeffer is also a fully trained scientist and an expert in prostate development and prostate carcinogenesis. His laboratory currently investigates novel pathways of prostate and bladder carcinogenesis through utilization of experimental embryology and systems of epithelial injury repair.
Dr. Schaeffer's accomplishments in both medicine and science have been acknowledged with several awards including the American Urological Association/Astellas "Rising Star" award and a Howard Hughes Clinician-Scientist Early Careers Award. He is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, the American Urological Association and the American Medical Association.
- English
Alpha Omega Alpha, 2003
American Urological Association, 2002
American Medical Association, 1994
Clinical Trial Keywords
- Prostate Cancer
Additional Resources
Education +
- University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine (Chicago IL ) (2001)
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine / Urology (Baltimore MD ) (2007)
- Urology, American Board of Urology (2009)
Research & Publications +
Research Summary
After his grandfather died of prostate cancer, Dr. Edward Schaeffer decided to pursue a career in research to help discover underlying causes of prostate cancer and new treatments for the disease.
Dr. Schaeffer has been working to understand the molecular factors that create prostate cancer and cause it to spread. He believes clues to cancer's origins, and its subsequent pathways for growth, lie in the early development of the prostate itself.
Both prostate cancer and prostate development require male sex hormones called androgens. Dr. Schaeffer and his team have identified several new growth pathways that connect the two, and suggested that a molecule called PLA2 might link androgen-driven prostate cancer growth and prostate inflammation. He hopes that further research on inflammation, androgens, and developmental pathways may lead to new targeted therapies for prostate cancer.
Additionally, Dr. Schaeffer and his team are working to identify and define molecular subtypes of prostate cancer in patients. Schaeffer has recently published research that defines a subset of very-high-risk localized prostate cancer. By defining and prescribing outcomes for these patients, researchers will be able to better able to tailor treatments, reducing overtreatment for some men and, conversely, increasing treatment intensity in others.
Selected Publications View all on PubMed
Sundi D, Wang VM, Pierorazio PM, Han M, Bivalacqua TJ, Ball MW, Antonarakis ES, Partin AW, Schaeffer EM, Ross AE. "Very-high-risk localized prostate cancer: definition and outcomes." Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Disease. 2013 Nov 5. doi: 10.1038/pcan.2013.46. [Epub ahead of print].
Ross AE, Feng FY, Ghadessi M, Erho N, Crisan A, Buerki C, Sundi D, Mitra AP, Vergara IA, Thompson DJ, Triche TJ, Davicioni E, Bergstralh EJ, Jenkins RB, Karnes RJ, Schaeffer EM. "A genomic classifier predicting metastatic disease progression in men with biochemical recurrence after prostatectomy." Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Disease. 2013 Oct 22. doi: 10.1038/pcan.2013.49. [Epub ahead of print].
Pierorazio PM, Gorin MA, Ross AE, Feng Z, Trock BJ, Schaeffer EM, Han M, Epstein JI, Partin AW, Walsh PC, Bivalacqua TJ. "Pathological and oncologic outcomes for men with positive lymph nodes at radical prostatectomy: The Johns Hopkins Hospital 30-year experience." The Prostate. 2013 Nov;73(15):1673-80. doi: 10.1002/pros.22702. Epub 2013 Sep 9.
Sundi D, Ross AE, Humphreys EB, Han M, Partin AW, Carter HB, Schaeffer EM. "African American men with very low-risk prostate cancer exhibit adverse oncologic outcomes after radical prostatectomy: should active surveillance still be an option for them?" Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2013 Aug 20;31(24):2991-7. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2012.47.0302. Epub 2013 Jun 17.
Sundi D, Kryvenko ON, Carter HB, Ross AE, Epstein JI, Schaeffer EM. "Pathological examination of radical prostatectomy specimens in men with very low risk disease at biopsy reveals distinct zonal distribution of cancer in black american men." The Journal of Urology. 2014 Jan;191(1):60-7. doi: 10.1016/j.juro.2013.06.021. Epub 2013 Jun 14.
Academic Affiliations & Courses +
Activities & Honors +
American Urological Association/Astellas Rising Star in Urology Award, 2008-2013
Clinician Scientist Award, Johns Hopkins, 2010
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Physician Scientist Early Careers Award, 2009
Passano Foundation's Clinician Scientist Award, 2008
Northwestern University Clinical Investigator Training Program Scholar (recipient of tuition support through NIH Clinical Research Curriculum Award (K30)), 2003
Prostate Cancer SPORE career development award,Northwestern Memorial Hospital, 2003
Pfizer scholar in urology, Johns Hopkins Hospital, 2002
Praecis scholar in urology, AUA, Chicago, IL, 2002
"Prediction of biochemical (PSA) recurrence following radical prostatectomy for clinically localized prostate cancer," 2002
(Astro-Zeneca) resident's essay contest, clinical research, second prize. "Serum acid phosphatase level and biochemical recurrence following radical prostatectomy for men with clinically localized prostate cancer", 2002
(Astro-Zeneca) resident's essay contest, clinical research, first prize. "Ability of an artificial neural network predicts progression free survival for men with Gleason score 3+4 versus Gleason score 4+3 tumors following radical prostatectomy," 2001
(ACMI-Circon) resident's essay contest, clinical research, third prize, 2000
Dean's List, School of Arts and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Phi Beta Kappa, Graduated with General and Departmental Honors, 1988-1992
Videos & Media +
Prostate Cancer - Patient Story
Open or Robotic Prostate Cancer Surgery Which is Right for You?
Johns Hopkins urologist Dr. Edward Schaeffer describes open radical prostatectomy and robot-assisted prostate surgery, the pros and cons of each option, and when each is recommended.
Common Ground: Hope for Prostate Cancer at Johns Hopkins Medicine
Steve Lucido survived prostate cancer and feels it was due to the expertise of his surgeon Dr. Edward Schaeffer. Learn why Johns Hopkins is at the forefront of prostate treatment and research.
Men's Health - What Every Man Needs to Know
Video Links
Events +
Contact & Locations +
LocationsJohns Hopkins Outpatient Center601 N. Caroline Street4064Baltimore, MD 21287Phone: 410-502-2733Appointment Phone: 410-955-6100Fax: 410-614-8487Location Map
- Urology - Urologic Oncology