Prof. Dr. Ali Rıza Kural graduated from Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine and completed his residency in Urology at the Department of Urology, Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University. In 1985, he worked as an Honorary Registrar under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Geoffrey Chisholm at Western General Hospital in Edinburgh, Scotland.
In 1986, Dr. Kural initiated one of the first endoscopic kidney stone surgery programs in Turkey at the Department of Urology, Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine. The program included procedures such as percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) and ureteroscopy. In 2002, he established a laparoscopic urologic oncology program at the same institution, performing Turkey’s first laparoscopic radical nephrectomy and laparoscopic radical prostatectomy procedures. In 2005, he went on to establish the first robotic urology program in Turkey, as well as one of the earliest programs of its kind in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
Prof. Dr. Kural served on the Board of Directors of the European Robotic Urology Section (ERUS) from 2010 to 2016 and on the Board of Directors of the Endourological Society from 2017 to 2019. He also served as President of the Endourological Society for the 2017–2018 term. In 2013, he attended the 22nd Congress of the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons (SLS), held in Reston, Virginia, USA, as Honorary President of the Urology Section.
Throughout his career, Prof. Dr. Kural has organized numerous national and international congresses, meetings, and training courses in endourology. Among these, the World Congress of Endourology (WCE 2012), held in Istanbul under his presidency, was particularly noteworthy, attracting 2,672 participants—the highest attendance recorded at that time.
In 2018, he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, becoming the first surgeon from Turkey to receive this distinction. In 2021, he received the Endourological Society’s Ralph Clayman Mentor Award, recognizing his contributions to education and mentorship. In 2022, he was awarded Honorary Membership of the Endourological Society at the World Congress of Endourology in San Diego, California, USA.
Most recently, in 2023, Prof. Dr. Kural was awarded Honorary Membership of the American Urological Association (AUA). The distinction was presented to him at the AUA Annual Meeting, held in Chicago, Illinois, USA, from April 28 to May 1, 2023. He continues to work at Maslak Acıbadem Hospital, affiliated with Acıbadem University School of Medicine.