The CAIRIBU Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Research Interest Group (BPH RIG) has officially launched. Kazumi Taguchi, MD, PhD (The University of Alabama at Birmingham), Petra Popovics, PhD (Old Dominion University), Scott Quarrier, MD, MPH (University of Rochester), and Renee Vickman, PhD (NorthShore University Health System), will lead the RIG.

The group connects investigators from a variety of fields who are engaged or interested in studying benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). This interdisciplinary initiative, involving basic and translational scientists as well as clinicians, will stimulate knowledge exchange, ideas, and research collaborations in BPH research. The RIG will involve monthly knowledge exchanges and strategic discussions, modeled off the highly successful CAIRIBU Urobiome Research Interest Group.

Initial meetings suggest a need for unity in the field, especially during grant reviews, as well as a need to pursue funds outside of traditional federal sources. Dr. Popovics and Manisha Tripathi, PhD, shared research recently published in their labs.

Dr. Popovics identified luminal macrophages and lipid accumulation as new pathological features of BPH.

Dr. Tripathi offers a new target, T-lymphoma invasion and metastasis-inducing protein-1, as a promising therapeutic strategy for BPH.

The next BPH RIG meeting is July 8th, 2026, at 7 PM Eastern (6 PM Central | 4 PM Pacific). The BPH RIG reflects the CAIRIBU mission to engage investigators in translational research.