CAIRIBU is a community of NIDDK-funded benign urology research centers and programs. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) U54 Urology O’Brien Cooperative Research Centers formed the basis for CAIRIBU.
The O’Brien Centers were initially established as P50 programs by the NIDDK in 1987. Each Center worked independently until 2012, at which time they were converted to the U54 mechanism. This was done to encourage collaboration between funded centers and with the larger research community.
In December 2013, at the “Urology Program Directors’ Meeting,” NIDDK program staff brought together the research teams of the U54 O’Brien Centers as well as those of the P20 Exploratory Centers for Interdisciplinary Research in Benign Urology, and the K12 Urology Career Development Programs. The “Directors’ Meetings” continued annually until 2018, at which time the meetings were formally transitioned to “CAIRIBU Meetings” in an effort to more formally promote interactions and collaboration between constituent Centers and Programs.
Our Mission
Support:
Support the next generation of urologic researchers by providing meaningful education, support and mentoring
Community:
Cultivate new research tools and ideas by expanding the collaborative network within and outside of the traditional urologic research field
Improve:
Enhance knowledge of mechanisms associated with normal development, function, and disease pathology related to the urinary tract, kidney, and prostate
Impact:
Translate the knowledge and tools generated from our collaborative work to the clinical setting to reduce the burden of benign urologic illness by developing and testing therapies to better treat, manage, and prevent these diseases
Why Benign Urology
Despite advances in clinical management, millions of Americans remain afflicted with “benign” (non-malignant) conditions of the bladder and urogenital system, including UTIs, urolithiasis, conditions associated with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and dysfunction (LUTD) – urinary incontinence, over/underactive bladder & bladder outlet obstruction – pelvic pain syndrome, and erectile dysfunction. The annual treatment cost of these illnesses is ≥$11.5 billion.
Inter- and cross-disciplinary collaboration within the benign urology research community is required in order to understand the mechanistic changes of the urogenital tract in disease and to establish clinically relevant models of urologic conditions
CAIRIBU is a community of NIDDK-funded research centers and programs whose overarching objective is to address gaps in knowledge related to the epidemiology, etiology, development, progression, and expression of benign urologic conditions, all of which contribute to inadequate clinical treatment.
