Rafael Tomoya Michita, PhD awarded a K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award
Rafael Tomoya Michita, PhD, a postdoctoral associate in the lab of Indira Mysorekar, PhD, was awarded a K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health for the project titled "The Role of Tunneling Nanotubes and Mitochondrial Programming in HIV-Associated Placental Dysfunction“.
Indira Mysorekar, PhD awarded an R01 research grant from NIDDK
Indira Mysorekar, PhD, Professor of Medicine and Chief of Basic and Translational Research at Baylor College of Medicine and PI of a prior CAIRIBU P20 Exploratory Center at Washington University, was awarded an R01 research grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health for the project "Mechanisms of age- and sex-dependent changes in urinary bladder immunity.”
David Chu, MD, MSCE, awarded $10M from PCORI
David Chu, MD, MS, Associate Professor, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, co-investigator with Gregory Tasian, MD, MSc, for the CAIRIBU P20 Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, was awarded $10M from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to study strategies for improving bowel continence in people with spina bifida. Maryellen Kelly, DNP, CPNP, MHSc, will serve as Associate Director.
Jean-Phillipe Gourdine, PhD, MS awarded grant from NSF
Jean-Phillipe Gourdine, PhD, MS, was awarded a $249,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support his project, "Exploring the Role of Urinary Host N-Glycans as a Nutrient Source for Bladder Bacteria Metabolism."
David Bayne, MD, MPH Awarded a K23 Career Development Award from the NIDDK
David Bayne, MD, MPH, was recently awarded a K23 titled "Use of the electronic health record to target a patient navigation intervention preventing loss to follow up in the treatment of urinary stone disease." Dr. Bayne is a K12 alumnus from the CAIRIBU UCSF-Kaiser Permanente KUroEpi Program.
New UW-Madison KURe Scholars
Lindsey Felth Tanaka, PhD and Marcela Ambrogi, PhD were recently appointed as K12 Scholars for the CAIRIBU Multidisciplinary K12 Urologic Research Career Development Program (KURe) at UW-Madison.
New UMich UroEPI Scholar
Catherine Nam, MD was recently appointed as a K12 Scholar for the CAIRIBU Urological Epidemiology Career Development Program (UroEPI) at the University of Michigan. Congratulations, Dr. Nam!
Ajinkya Limkar of UW-Madison O’Brien Center receives F30 fellowship from the NIH
Ajinkya Limkar, MD/PhD candidate at UW-Madison and research assistant at the UW-Madison George M. O’Brien Urology Cooperative Research Center, recently received a highly competitive F30 fellowship from the NIH. Ajinkya's study aims to determine the role of senescent cells in BPH/LUTS pathogenesis and evaluate the therapeutic potential of senescent cell elimination.
Aaron Miller, PhD Presents at the 26th Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA) Annual Fall Scientific Meeting
Aaron Miller, PhD, recently presented his research during the Robert Krane Lecture at the 26th Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA) Annual Fall Scientific Meeting. His presentation was titled "Beyond Infection: Implications of Biofilms on Implantable Medical Devices."
Urology Care Foundation Bridge Award
In response to recent threats to urology research, the American Urological Association (AUA) has created a new funding mechanism aimed at keeping current research projects going. For calendar year 2026, 2 awards up to $60,000 each will support salaries and other research-related expenses.
IC/BPS Global Consensus Meeting
See information and the complete recorded proceedings of the April 2025 IC/BPS Global Consensus meeting at Wake Forest University. 7 review articles from the consensus meeting are are available in PubMed: Wolff et al, Sullivan et al, Snipes et al, Mezes et al, Hayes et al, Werneburg et al, Ruetten et al
Newest KURe Scholar at Stanford University - Jessie Ge, MD
Jessie Ge, MD was recently named the newest KURe Scholar at Stanford University. Dr. Ge completed medical school at Washington University in St. Louis and her urology residency at Stanford University.
OKRA Opportunity Pool Program
The George M. O’Brien Kidney Resource Alliance (OKRA) is excited to announce the third offering of the OKRA Opportunity Pool Program. This program will support large pilot grants (up to a maximum of $50,000 total costs) addressing scientific and technological gaps in kidney research and promoting new collaborations.
New KURe Scholars
Congratulations to the two new KURe scholars at Duke! Jennifer Hammel, PhD and Grant West, PhD began the program on September 1st, 2025. Dr. Hammel completed her undergraduate education in Bioengineering at Temple University, where she developed a 3D engineered model of vascularized adipose tissue. Dr. West developed expertise in mechanical testing conceptualization, analysis, and simulation for fatigue and fracture prediction.
Dr. Jill Macoska Named Guest Editor for Scientific Reports Special Issue on Fibrosis Research
Dr. Jill Macoska, a collaborator with the UW-Madison George M. O'Brien Center, is serving as Guest Editor for Scientific Reports(5-year IF=4.3) and putting together a special edition for fibrosis research. This collection will offer researchers an important platform to showcase new discoveries and innovative approaches in one of the most pressing areas of biomedical science.
CAIRIBU Investigators at AUGS 2025
See information and CAIRIBU affiliated investigators who presented at the 2025 American Urogynecologic Society (AUGS) meeting on October 14-17, 2025 in Vancouver, Canada.
CAIRIBU Investigators at SBUR 2025
See information and CAIRIBU affiliated investigators who presented at the Society for Basic Urologic Research (SBUR) on November 13-16, 2025 in Orlando, FL
Stephen I. Katz Early Stage Investigator Research Project Grant (R01 Basic Experimental Studies with Human Required)
The purpose of the Stephen I. Katz Early Stage Investigator Research Project Grant is to provide a new pathway for Early Stage Investigators (ESIs) who wish to propose research projects in a new direction for which preliminary data do not exist. This notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is open to a broad range of scientific research relevant to the mission of the participating NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs). [Posted August 25, 2025. Expires August 26, 2028.]
CAIRIBU Investigators at the 2025 AUA Meeting
See information and CAIRIBU affiliated investigators who presented at the 120th AUA Meeting on April 26-29, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The AUA annual meeting is the largest gathering of urologists in the world, providing access to new research.
CTSI Discovery Radio with Dr. Jon Ellison
Jon Ellison, MD, a co-investigator at the Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania FORWARD P20 Center, and valued member of the CAIRIBU research community, was featured on CTSI Discovery Radio, which aired Friday, April 18 on WMSE 91.7 FM.
2025 ROCK Society Meeting
See information and CAIRIBU affiliated investigators who presented at the 2025 ROCK Society Meeting, a prestigious urolithiasis-specific organization, on January 31-February 1. The meeting was led by President Kristina Penniston, PhD, RD.
The BackTable Podcast with Dr. Penniston and Dr. Monga
Dr. Kristina Penniston was recently featured on the BackTable Urology Podcast with Dr. Manoj Monga. They discussed the role of diet in kidney stone prevention and how urologists can partner with dietitians.
CAIRIBU Investigators at the 2025 SoBPD Meeting
See more information and all CAIRIBU affiliated investigators who presented at the 2025 Society of Benign Prostatic Disease (SoBPD) Meeting on February 7th-8th, 2025 in Orlando, Florida.
CAIRIBU Machine Learning Interest Group at AUGS
Members of the CAIRIBU Machine Learning interest group were invited to participate in a panel discussion at the 2024 AUGS Pelvic Floor Disorders Week in Washington DC in October 2024.
CAIRIBU Investigators at the 2025 Urobiome Conference
See information and CAIRIBU affiliated investigators who presented at the 2025 Urobiome Conference on February 24, 2025 in San Diego, California. Researchers presented the emerging science of the Urobiome.
CAIRIBU Investigators at the 2025 SUFU Winter Meeting
See information and CAIRIBU affiliated investigators who presented at the 2025 SUFU winter meeting February 26 – March 1, 2025 in Rancho Mirage, California.
Duke University Welcomes Dr. Wilkins to KURe - K12 Program
Natasha Wilkins, PhD, a preclinical scientist with over ten years of research experience in rodent models of spinal cord injury, was recently appointed as a CAIRIBU K12 Scholar in the KURe Program at Duke University.
Thomas Chi, MD, MBA, Named Department Chair of UAB Urology
Thomas Chi, MD, MBA, PI of a prior CAIRIBU P20 Center and current collaborator with the UCSF- UroEpi K12 program, was recently appointed as the Chair of the Department of Urology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
2024 Collaboration Award Recipients Announced
Jim Hokanson, PhD, prior K12 scholar in the Duke KURe program, and Kim Keil Stietz, PhD, Biomed Core Co-Director of the CAIRIBU Urology O'Brien Center, were both recently awarded CAIRIBU Interactions Core Collaboration Awards.
Dr. Kisby Selected for Best Paper Award by AUGS
Cassandra Kisby, MD, MS, K12 Scholar, Duke University, was selected for the Best Basic Science Paper Award for her research project “Exosomes for Prevention of Mesh Complications in a Porcine Sacrocolpopexy Model."
Dr. Mysorekar Awarded Outstanding Women in Science Award
Indira Mysorekar, PhD is the recipient of this year's Outstanding Women in Science award from the Association for Women in Science (AWIS). AWIS champions the interests of women in science.
Vinaya Bhatia Appointed 2024-2026 NIDDK LEAP Fellow
Vinaya Bhatia, MD, pediatric urologist at UW Health Kids and CAIRIBU K12 Scholar in the University of Wisconsin - Madison K12 Urologic Research Career Development Program (KURe), has been appointed as a 2024-2026 LEAP Fellow.
New Multi-Institution CAIRIBU P20 FORWARD Centers at Endeavor and CHOP
Endeavor Health System and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) were recently announced as the sites for two new CAIRIBU P20 FORWARD Centers. Congratulations to all the investigators!
Duke University Welcomes Dr. Bin Ni to KURe – K12 Program
The KURe - K12 Institutional Career Development Program at Duke University has announced the addition of Bin Ni, MD, PhD. Dr. Ni is a Fellow in the Divison of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Medicine at Duke University.
Dr. Penniston and Dr. Vezina Coordinate KUH Symposium
On August 3-4, 2023, Kristina Penniston, PhD, RDN, and Chad Vezina, PhD hosted over 150 students and faculty members affiliated with NIDDK-funded R25 undergraduate research programs from 12 institutions across the country.
Oluwaferanmi Okanlami Helps Organize NIDDK Workshop
Oluwaferanmi Okanlami, MD, MS, is part of the Organizing Committee for this NIDDK Workshop that aims to understand the consequences of racism, marginalization, and discrimination across population groups.
Dr. Penniston Elected President of ROCK Society
Kristina Penniston, PhD, RDN, PI of the CAIRIBU Interactions Core, has been elected President of the Research on Calculus Kinetics (ROCK) Society. Dr. Penniston brings extensive expertise to this leadership role.
Duke’s KURe Program Secures $3.8 Million NIH Grant Renewal
Cindy L. Amundsen, MD, Director of the KURe Program, and program specialists Friederike Jayes, DVM, PhD, and Rebecca Kameny, PhD, have been awarded $3.8 million over five years by NIH.
CAIRIBU Welcomes a New K12 Career Development Program
James Brooks, MD, Principal Investigator of the Stanford University U54 George M. O’Brien Center, and Joseph Liao, MD are the PIs of the new K12 Urologic Research (KURe) Career Development Program at Stanford University.
Inaugural Scholars of Stanford University's New K12 Program
The Multidisciplinary Urology Research K12 Urology Research at Stanford (KUReS) Career Development Program has announced Kathleen Kan, MD, and Alexandra Polasko, PhD as the first scholars to embark on this exciting journey
Gregory Tasian, MD, MSc, Featured on NBC Nightly News
Gregory Tasian, MD, MSc, PI of prior CAIRIBU P20 Exploratory Center at Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania, was featured on NBC to highlight work done by Tasian and his team about the rising incidence of pediatric stone disease.
CAIRIBU K12 Scholar Jennifer Yarger, PhD, Secures HHS Funding
Jennifer Yarger, PhD, recently received funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Office of Population Affairs (OPA). Dr. Yarger will be rigorously evaluating “Yes & Know!”