An article in Knowable Magazine featured several CAIRIBU-affiliated investigators, including Indira Mysorekar, PhD (Baylor College of Medicine), Hanneke Verstegen, PhD (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School), and Aaron Mickle, PhD (Medical College of Wisconsin). The article (available HERE) explores emerging insights into how the bladder functions and what happens when these complex functions break down. For example, while more than 1 in 10 adults have overactive bladder – a common constellation of symptoms including urinary urgency, bothersome nocturia, and incontinence – existing treatments are ineffective for most. Dr. Indira Mysorekar, Professor of Medicine and Chief of Basic and Translational Research at Baylor College of Medicine, studies inflammation, immunity, and aging in the lower urinary tract. She leads the CAIRIBU Community Uro-Aging Research Interest Group. She explained in the article that symptoms like incontinence should not be considered inevitable. She pushes against the common thought that such problems are “just part of getting old,” particularly for women. “While that’s true to some extent,” she said, “many common issues are avoidable and can be treated successfully.” She added, “We don’t have to live with pain or discomfort.” Ongoing research efforts by Drs. Verstegen and Mickle are addressed in the article and relate to new knowledge about a spinal reflex mechanism that controls voluntary voiding and the role of the bladder urothelium in signaling bladder stretch during filling.
For investigators and trainees in the CAIRIBU Community, this kind of feature is especially meaningful. It highlights the important work being done by CAIRIBU-affiliated investigators and draws broader attention to the impact of genitourinary disease research. It also reflects one of our core goals: supporting connections across disciplines and creating opportunities for researchers to share their work with wider scientific and public audiences.