10th Annual Multidisciplinary Benign Urology Research Symposium (2025)

Susannah Rose, PhD (featured speaker)

Dr. Rose is core faculty in the Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society and is an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Informatics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She has a secondary appointment in the Department of Health Policy and is a faculty scholar in the Center for Health Services Research. Her current research focuses upon the ethics and impact of medical technology innovations, including artificial intelligence in health care, improving patient experience and developing data-driven approaches to improve patient care.

Jim Hokanson, PhD

Dr. Hokanson is assistant professor of the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at Marquette University and the Medical College of Wisconsin and director of the Pelvic Diagnostics and Therapeutic Laboratory. His research interests include urologic function and dysfunction; electrical stimulation and neuromodulation therapies; signal processing and machine learning; clinical diagnostics; autonomic nervous system and organ physiology; and neural engineering.

Giulia Ippolito, MD, MS

Dr. Ippolito is a urologist with fellowship training in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery and a health services researcher at the University of Michigan. Dr. Ippolito’s clinical focus and practice include evaluating and treating urinary incontinence, neurogenic bladder, female pelvic floor dysfunction and reconstruction of the lower urinary tract, including ureteral obstruction. Her research is focused on understanding and improving decision-making between patients and clinicians, especially in the care of overactive bladder. 

David Sheyn, MD

Dr. Sheyn is division chief of female pelvic medicine at University Hospitals Urology Institute and an associate professor of urology and reproductive biology at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Dr. Sheyn is working on an NIH-funded trial of laparoscopic versus vaginal suspension at the time of hysterectomy for prolapse; he is also looking at treatment of urinary incontinence in the primary care setting. 

Adam Klausner, MD

Dr. Klausner is a neuro-urologist and professor of surgery and urology in the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. His clinical practice focuses on neuro-urology and voiding dysfunction; urinary incontinence; post-prostatectomy incontinence; disorders of bladder emptying; erectile dysfunction; and interstitial cystitis and bladder pain syndrome. Dr. Klausner has maintained a strong interest in basic science research and has collaborated with faculty in the Departments of Biochemistry and Mechanical Engineering, studying detrusor smooth muscle physiology. 

Aaron Mickle, PhD

Dr. Mickle is an associate professor of physiology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He leads a research program studying the neuronal mechanism of bladder dysfunction and pain. The group focuses on developing better treatments for bladder disorders such as overactive bladder, bladder pain syndrome, and bladder dysfunction following spinal cord injury. They work on research tool development, implantable biomedicine treatments, and validating new pharmacological targets for treating these diseases.

Andrew Shoffstall, PhD

Dr. Shoffstall is associate chair at the Case School of Engineering at Case Western Reserve University and an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. His research interests lie at the intersection of biomaterials and neural engineering with a particular focus on solutions that may readily translate toward an improved neural interface.

Sponsored by the NIH-NIDDK K12DK100024 (KURe), as well as the Duke Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Urology and Biomedical Engineering.

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