Dr. Keel is an academic high-volume robotic surgeon, focused on urologic oncology, and a department builder with a track record of creating and advancing clinical, educational, research, and surgical innovation programs. As founding chair of the Department of Urology at the University of South Alabama’s Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine, he helped establish USA Health’s first urology presence and has led its evolution into a comprehensive academic program.
Clinically, he has performed thousands of robot-assisted surgical procedures and has developed extensive expertise in robotic and minimally invasive urologic surgery, with a particular focus on complex and oncologic procedures. He is the director of Robotic and Minimally Invasive Urologic Surgery for USA Health and has been a regional leader in the adoption of advanced surgical technology, becoming the first surgeon on the Gulf Coast to perform da Vinci Single Port surgery in 2022 and introducing the first Histosonics platform in Alabama in 2025. These efforts have expanded access to advanced minimally invasive and image-guided treatment options for patients throughout the region.
Under his leadership, the Department of Urology has grown into a multidisciplinary academic enterprise supported by philanthropy, institutional investment, basic and translational research, targeted faculty recruitment, and a fully ACGME-accredited urology residency program. He continues to expand the department’s research portfolio while fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and developing new opportunities in surgical technology, robotic surgery, and urologic cancer care.
Nationally, he has served on the Society of Academic Urologists (SAU) Board of Directors and on the Urology Residency Match Committee. He also developed and led the AUA/SAU Workforce Initiative, a national effort to address the growing shortage of urologists through the development of new residency training programs. The initiative represents a novel collaboration between academic medicine and LUGPA practices in residency development. Additionally, he serves as a state alternate board member and Finance Committee member for the Southeastern Section of the American Urological Association (SESAUA).
His contributions to robotic and minimally invasive surgery, academic urology, surgical innovation, education, and national workforce development were recognized with the 2025 AUA Young Urologist of the Year Award.
Outside of medicine, he is a passionate aviator, holding a commercial pilot license and serving as an FAA-designated Aviation Medical Examiner. Aviation provides a parallel passion for precision, technology, risk management, and safety — principles that closely mirror his approach to surgery and academic leadership.
The University of South Alabama was named Best Local Company to Work For – Over 500 Employees, and USA President Jo Bonner received the award for Best Local College President. USA Health Pediatric Associates of Mobile received the award for Best Pediatric Group.
After being diagnosed with prostate cancer, Rhett Plash sought a second opinion from USA Health University Urology. Urologist Christopher Keel, D.O., FACS, designed a personalized treatment plan based on Plash’s age, health, and genetics.
The University of South Alabama won Best Local College and Best Local College President while USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute was named Best Oncology Practice in the 2025 Nappies.
The winners were selected by their colleagues who serve on the Young Urologists Committee and endorsed by their respective American Urological Association sections to receive the honor. They will receive their awards during the 2025 AUA Annual Meeting April 26-29 in Las Vegas.
Located at USA Health University Hospital, the new center provides consultations within 24 hours, rapid diagnostic imaging, less invasive procedures for faster recovery and medical management to prevent kidney stones.
With minimally invasive surgery, patients experience reduced trauma to the body, shorter hospital stays, reduced blood loss, less post-operative pain, less risk of infection and less scarring.
In a recently published study, researchers examined the expression of MYB in prostate tumor tissues of various histological grades and clinical stages from Black and white patients, and evaluated if it could be used to predict the risk of cancer recurrence following primary therapy.
As interim chair, Christopher Keel, D.O., FACS, led the creation of a five-year urology residency program. He also has worked to recruit urology specialists with an interest in academic medicine.
“This goes to show that our team is engaged with our regional academic community to provide subspecialized care to the people of the Gulf Coast,” said USA Health urologist Christopher Keel, D.O., interim chair of urology.
“To address race-associated prostate cancer disparities, it is important first to understand how tumors from different races differ in their biology and molecular landscape,” said Ajay Singh, Ph.D.
The Office of Graduate Medical Education recently received approval from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) for the five-year residency program to begin in July.
The robot-assisted surgical system allows for a single point of entry with the potential for less pain and shorter hospital stays for prostatectomy patients at USA Health.
“Our preliminary studies make strong suggestions for a pathobiological involvement of nicotine exposure in prostate cancer aggressiveness and therapy resistance.”
Christopher Keel, D.O., a urologist with University Urology and adjunct assistant professor of surgery at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, presented at the October Med School Café.
The October Med School Café will feature Christopher Keel, D.O., a urologist with University Urology and adjunct assistant professor of surgery at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine.
