Young Researchers Committee

Committee members have quarterly online meetings and are expected to take an active role in research projects focused on the perception of young researchers on a variety of topics within sexual medicine.

Research projects potentially covered during the 2025-2026 term include:

•         Sexual function in couples trying to conceive

•        Penile aesthetics

In addition, committee members may be asked to contribute to a bi-annual report (mid-term and end of the year), prepared by the committee chair for review by the President and ISSM Board.

Expected time commitment per month: 2 hours

Dr Helen L. Bernie DO, MPH is a fellowship trained urologist and the Director of Sexual and Reproductive Medicine at Indiana University. She is also an Assistant Professor of Urology at the School of Medicine where she teaches the medical students. She completed her residency in Urology at the University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester NY, and went on to complete a two- year fellowship in Sexual and Reproductive Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY.  She is passionate about men's health, cancer survivorship and fertility preservation. When she’s not working, she enjoys spending time with her husband and three boys.

I am an experienced and certified psychologist, a CBT therapist, scientist and a sexuality expert. I have completed my psychology degree in Warsaw, Poland, as well as my specializations in Clinical Sexology and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) (no. 1371). I completed the course "the ESSM School of Sexual Medicine" in Budapest. I finished training in Sex Therapy in Florida, USA.Currently attaining my PhD in Clinical Sexology with and emphasis in Addiction in Miami, Florida, USA.I have publications in peer-reviewed journals and participates in scientific meetings.I help people establish healthy, loving relationships on a daily basis.

My special interest: compulsive sexual behaviour disorder and sexual health-related issues.

Dr Flavio Machado has been working in the field of Male Sexual Health for almost 10 years. He is clinical director of Instituto Homem and President of the Brazilian Association of Male Sexual Health. He trained more than 20 doctors and is a writer with renowned books in Brazil.

Dr. Mohammed Mahdi graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the Islamic University of Gaza, Palestine, in 2013. He subsequently served as a Teaching and Research Assistant at the same institution. In 2015, he commenced his Urology residency program at Hamad Medical Corporation in Qatar. Following this, he pursued advanced fellowship training in Andrology and Male Infertility at the same institution. He further enhanced his expertise through a Sexual Medicine Fellowship at the University of Texas McGovern Medical School and MD Anderson Cancer Center. Currently, Dr. Mahdi is a Clinical Fellow in the Men's Health Program at the University of California, Irvine.Dr. Mahdi has a distinguished publication record in the field of male infertility and sexual medicine. He is an active member of the International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM) and the Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA) and serves as a reviewer for several peer-reviewed journals.

Matthew Megson is a Urology registrar in the UK. Graduating from the University of Warwick in 2012, going on to gain his higher surgical training number in the Welsh Deanery in 2018. He is currently working toward his Doctor of Philosophy from Anglia Ruskin University entitled “the pathophysiology of Peyronie’s disease following radical prostatectomy” whilst working at University College London Hospital. His primary research areas include Peyronie’s disease, erectile dysfunction and male infertility.

Dr Karl Pang trained as a urological surgeon in UK and received fellowship training in andrological surgery at University College London Hospital. He obtained his MSc in clinical research and PhD in cancer epigenetics from the University of Sheffield.

He previously served in both the EAU-YAU Men’s sexual and reproductive health group and the Penile and testis cancer group, and is currently a senior associate of the EAU guidelines office. His clinical and research interests are in men’s sexual and reproductive health and male genital cancer.

Thairo Pereira, M.D., is a fellowship-trained urologist specializing in Male Infertility and Men's Health. He earned his medical degree from the University of Campinas in Brazil, where he also completed his Urology residency. During his residency, he simultaneously earned a Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology from the University of Campinas. Dr. Pereira then pursued a fellowship in Male Reproductive and Sexual Medicine at Indiana University in Indianapolis, IN. He is currently completing an additional fellowship in Sexual Medicine at the University of Texas McGovern Medical School and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX.

Assistant Professor of Urology at Albany Medical College in Albany, NY. I completed residency at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada (2023) and Andrology fellowship (2024) under Dr. Rafael Carrion, Dr. Justin Parker and Dr. Raul Fernandez-Crespo at the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL. My clinical focus is on ED, Peyronies and male infertility. Research interest include but are not limited to integrated multidisciplinary treatments of sexual health, surgical techniques and teaching. In my spare time, I love spending time with family and friends enjoying meals, playing hockey and getting outdoors.

Traian Roman is a certified psychotherapist by the Romanian College of Psychologists and has great interest in psycho-sexology. Providing the fact, the fields of sexology, sexual medicine and even more, psycho-sexology are definitely underdeveloped in Romania and similar countries, promotion of this specialty among professionals comes to be of special interest for him.He holds a bachelor's degree in economy and a bachelor's degree in psychology both from Babes-Bolyai University (Cluj-Napoca, Romania). He also holds a master's degree in psychosomatic medicine at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy (Cluj-Napoca, Romania). He works in private practice and is pursuing a master's degree in European law at Lucian Blaga University (Sibiu, Romania).Traian Roman has taken part in numerous activities in the field of psychology and followed many Romanian and foreign associations’ programs in the field of psychotherapy.He is president of the not-for-profit organization Progres & Protect (Alba, Romania), vice-president of the not-for-profit organization Actavis ( Alba, Romania ), Member of the Board of Romanian Associations of Psychotherapy through Relaxation and Symbols, Member of the College of Romanian Psychologists, and Member of ESSM.

Prof. Giorgio I. Russo is Associate Professor in Urology at the University of Catania since 2020. He has been research and Clinical fellow at the Department of Urology at the University of Tübingen with Prof. A. Stenzl from July 2017 to January 2018. He is Chairman of the EAU Young Academic Urologists since November 2024 and Ex-Officio member of the YOU, the ESAU section and member of the EAU guideline panel in Sexual and reproductive health. He is referent for assisted reproduction techniques at the U.M.R. HERA in Catania. He is statistical analyst at the Urological clinic of the University of Catania with more than 250 public publications (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=russo+gi). On 2019, He has been awarded with the Ferring 2019 Grant for a project on bladder cancer and on 2021 with the Young Academic Urologist Award of the European Association of Urology. Public speaker at many international (EAU, AUA, SIU) and National congresses in the field of andrology, sexual medicine and uro-oncology.

Dr. Josep Torremadé Barreda graduated in Medicine from the University of Barcelona and specialized in Urology at the Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge. Currently, he serves as the Head of the Andrology Unit at the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona. His main areas of interest include erectile dysfunction, sexual medicine, and urogenital reconstructive surgery, with a professional focus spanning both public and private healthcare.

Fellow of the European Board of Urology and the European Committee of Sexual Medicine, Dr. Torremadé has further enhanced his skills through advanced training at esteemed institutions such as the Fundació Puigvert, Hospices Civils de Lyon, and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.