As a youngster, Lindsay Hampson remembers how important it was knowing that her father was not just working a job as a physician, he was also caring for patients.

Lindsay, who moved to Mercer Island with her family at age 7, would sometimes follow her dad, Neil, around the hospital during some of his long shifts. She got a feel for the hospital, got to know Neil’s colleagues, and understood that he worked copious hours because he was committed to his patients.

Now at age 39, Lindsay has logged a multitude of hours herself in hospitals and was recently named Young Urologist of the Year by the American Urological Association (AUA). She’s currently working as assistant professor of urology and associate program director for the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) Urology Residency Program.

“Lindsay combines a demanding academic medical career with raising two young sons (age 2 and 4 years) and excels in both arenas. She works so hard and accomplishes so much that it seems she must have 36-hour days,” Neil said.

“It’s a huge honor. It’s nothing I ever anticipated receiving,” said Lindsay, who graduated from Mercer Island High School (MIHS) in 1999 and delved into medicine at Duke University (majored in bioethics), National Institutes of Health (two-year pre-doctoral fellowship) and University of Michigan (medical school).

In practice for five years, Lindsay was nominated by her colleagues to receive the award, which celebrates her efforts and commitment to advancing the development of fellow early-career urologists, according to the UCSF Department of Urology.

Lindsay said the AUA is the pinnacle of urology internationally and she’s received congratulations from her supportive colleagues for the enormous amount of work she’s put into her days. During her week, Lindsay — who developed the UrologyCOVID lecture series at UCSF — spends two days in the operating room and one to two days each in the clinic and doing research.

On a recent Friday, the doctor took a break from her UCSF duties to hit the ski slopes in Tahoe with her husband and 4-year-old, who went with mom on some hospital rounds on weekends pre-COVID to see patients.

As their car moved toward Tahoe, Lindsay explained over the phone how Neil’s work and an MIHS class had a profound influence on her.

“I was really science-inclined. I did a biomed class when I was in high school with MaryMargaret Welch, and thought that medicine was something interesting,” she said, adding that when her young cousin passed away when Lindsay was in middle school, she was drawn toward the research aspect of the medical field.

“When I was in high school, I actually worked in the summer at the Benaroya Research Institute doing research. From early on, I had that interest spurred on,” Lindsay said.

After attending Duke, she became captivated by the surgery field while shadowing a surgeon at the National Institutes of Health. At the University of Michigan, she further developed a passion for surgery and also became drawn to her current field after working with a urologist.

“I really liked surgery. I liked working with my hands. I liked being able to solve problems. I liked the kind of immediacy that surgery offers and I really liked kind of on-your-feet decision making, which is really important to surgery,” said Lindsay, who has also received a pair of UCSF mentorship awards.

Lindsay said she felt the urology realm was a perfect fit for her because the people are “nice” and the field is diverse with the aforementioned clinic and procedure aspects. She conducts large, small and microscopic surgeries and utilizes all sorts of devices.

Along with skiing and raising her family, Lindsay has been a dancer since childhood and hopes to resume taking classes when she gets a break from her busy schedule.