Multidisciplinary Benign Urology Research Symposium

April 20, 2023  Duke Trent Semans Center

* Panel Discussions * Trainee Platform Presentations * Poster Sessions * Lunch with Experts * Trainee Abstract Awards * Trainee Travel Awards

Program Booklet         Video Recording

A successful and exciting gathering! The 8th Annual Multidisciplinary K12 Benign Urology Research (KURe) Symposium attracted over 80 attendees from a wide range of scientific backgrounds representing 16 U.S. and Canadian academic institutions.

A successful and exciting gathering! The 8th Annual Multidisciplinary K12 Benign Urology Research (KURe) Symposium attracted over 80 attendees from a wide range of scientific backgrounds representing 16 U.S. and Canadian academic institutions.

Congratulations to the 2023 Award Winners

Platform Presentation Awardees

Top Basic Science Abstract: Byron Hayes, PhD, Duke University
Nerve growth factor drives sensory nerve sprouting and persistent pain after recurrent bladder infection

Top Basic Science Abstract: Michael Odom, PhD, Duke University
Underactive bladders from type 1 diabetic Akita female mice exhibit an increase in contractility via FP receptor activation as a result of NLRP3-mediated inflammation

Top Translational Science Abstract: Nicole Diaz, Duke University
Aging and the female urinary microbiome: associations between Lactobacilli, menopause, and vaginal estrogen use

Top Clinical Science Abstract: Robert Medairos, MD, Duke University
The impact of single use cystoscopes on clinical time workflow in an outpatient setting

Poster Presentation Awardees

Basic Science
Aya Hajj, MSc, McGill University
Improvement in bladder parameters of 12-month-old male and female mice with THX-B treatment, an antagonist to the P75NTR receptor

Translational Science
Bradley Barth, PhD, Duke University
Sacral nerve stimulation for constipation in virtual and rodent colons

Clinical Science
Gregory Vurture, MD, Jersey Shore University Medical Center
Barriers to adherence to overactive bladder treatment for Hispanic women

Clinical Associate Professor
Kidney and Urinary Tract Center
Nationwide Children’s Hospital

Dr. Ching is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatric Urology. She received her medical degree from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and completed her urology residency at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, OH. She then went on to complete a two-year fellowship in Pediatric Urology at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. Dr. Ching is interested in all aspects of urologic problems in children including urinary tract infections, hydronephrosis, urinary incontinence, hypospadias, kidney stones, ureteral reflux, spina bifida, and other complex pelvic and urinary conditions. She is trained in minimally invasive techniques of surgery as well as open. She has a strong interest in translational research and specifically how mechanisms of urothelial development and renewal are important in diagnosing, treating, and even preventing urothelial injury such as infection. Dr. Ching has an NIDDK-supported K08 award looking at the role of IL-6 signaling in UTI susceptibility.

Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education
The University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine

Dr. Cooper is Professor and Vice Chairman of Urology at the University of Iowa, Iowa City and serves as Director of the Pediatric Urology Division at the Children’s Hospital. In addition, he has served as the Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education in the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine since 2006.  Dr Cooper graduated from the University of Iowa College of Medicine and completed a two-year pediatric urology fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  His clinical research interests include vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), bowel and bladder dysfunction, neurogenic bladder, and hydronephrosis. In 2019, Dr. Cooper received the Societies for Pediatric Urology Clinical Research Prize for developing and patenting devices for home use in patients with neurogenic bladder that attach to a catheter to record bladder pressure and volume with intermittent catheterization.  In 2022, the Urology Care Foundation of the American Urological Association recognized Dr. Cooper's career-long research contributions "to enhancing the treatment of children suffering with urologic conditions and improving their quality of life" with the John W. Duckett, Jr., MD, Pediatric Urology Research Excellence Award.

Assistant Professor, Division of Healthcare of Women and Children Duke University School of Nursing
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Duke Health

Dr. Kelly is an Assistant Professor at Duke University and has been a pediatric nurse practitioner in urology since 2010. She obtained her MSN from Columbia University, Masters in health science clinical research from Duke University, and her DNP from the Univ of Pittsburgh. Currently, she is funded by the NIH’s NIDDK and NICHD centers, as well as the CDC for ongoing clinical and translational research related to spina bifida care and lower urinary tract conditions in children, namely overactive bladder, urinary tract infections, neurogenic bladder, and bowel. She is a manuscript reviewer for 8 journals and has over 20 publications. She sits on the Research Advisory Council for the Spina Bifida Association, is an Executive Board Member of the Pediatric Urology Nurses and Specialists Society (PUNS), and represents PUNS as an Editor for the Journal of Pediatric Urology.

Assistant Professor
Department of Pediatrics
Duke University

Dr. Lane received his PhD in Human and Molecular Genetics from Virginia Commonwealth University. After completing postdoctoral training in gene therapy at UNC Chapel Hill, he joined the lab of Rasheed Gbadegesin at Duke University to study the genetics of pediatric kidney disease.  While working under the mentorship of Dr. Gbadegesin, he was able to identify multiple single-gene causes of Nephrotic Syndrome as well as help define diagnostic criteria for genetic testing in these patients. The focus of Dr. Lane’s current work is identifying podocyte-related disease mechanisms and therapeutic targets for the development of personalized medicine for patients with Nephrotic Syndrome.

Assistant Professor
Dept. of Cell Biology and Physiology
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Dr. O’Brien obtained her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a research emphasis on basic mechanisms of cell division. With an evolving interest in developmental biology, she then began her postdoctoral studies at Harvard and subsequently the University of Southern California where she investigated several aspects of renal development. This included the regulation of nephron progenitor cells during fetal development and how they differentiate into cells of the nephron such as podocytes. Dr. O’Brien’s current lab at UNC-Chapel Hill continues to interrogate processes of kidney development such as vascularization and innervation of the kidney, how nephron progenitors transform into Wilms tumor, and the unique cell biology of podocytes. 

Chief, Duke Center for Children’s Surgery
Paul H. Sherman Distinguished Associate Professor of Surgery
Associate Professor in Pediatrics
Associate Professor in Population Health Sciences
Division of Urology, Duke University School of Medicine

Dr. Routh is a pediatric urologist and health services researcher at Duke University School of Medicine, where he serves as the Chief of Children’s Surgery and the Paul H. Sherman Distinguished Associate Professor (with Tenure) of Surgery, Pediatrics, and Population Health Sciences. His clinical & research interests include optimizing surgical and non-surgical management for children with vesicoureteral reflux, neurogenic bladder, disorders of sex development, and pediatric urologic oncology.

Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health
University of Pittsburgh, School of Public Health

Dr. Sanders is an environmental health scientist with a background in engineering and environmental molecular epidemiology. Her research program examines how toxic chemical exposures and their mixtures alter early life kidney dysfunction in population-based studies. Dr. Sanders earned her PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and completed postdoctoral work at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She is PI of an R00 award at the University of Pittsburgh and has founded and directed training and education programs for postdoctoral fellows, pre-graduates and 5^th graders interested in science. Her research employs molecular epidemiology, toxicological, and computational approaches to investigate the effects of environmental exposures and their mixtures that may predispose susceptible populations including pregnant women and children to poor kidney function, chronic kidney disease (CKD) or CKD of unknown origin (CKDu).

Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Associate Vice Chair of Education
University of Pittsburgh

Dr. Sims-Lucas is a basic research scientist. He is trained as an anatomist and developmental biologist. His research focuses on the formation of the kidney and the role of maternal stresses (including diabetes and malnutrition) on the formation of the kidney. Furthermore, his program focuses on acute kidney injury as well as the mechanisms that lead to predisposition to injury. The long-term goal of Dr. Sims-Lucas' research relates to the development of therapeutics to mitigate acute kidney injury. He has authored more than 70 publications and has an NIH R01 funded research program. He has a passion for education and is Associate Vice Chair of Education at the Rangos Research Center and is integral in all levels of training including high school students, undergraduate students, graduate students and post-docs. Finally, he is the Director of the Histology Core at the John G. Rangos Sr. Research Center.