Biography Dr. Marcela Ambrogi completed her master’s in Animal Reproduction at Sao Paulo State University in 2016, and her PhD in Reproductive Physiology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2024. Her K12 project will investigate Bladder Bowel Dysfunction (BBD) in children, focusing on how alterations in the microbiome and urobiome, serotonin signaling, and L-carnitine metabolism …
Biography Christina Bergemann, PhD is a postdoctoral associate in the lab of Nazema Siddiqui, MD, MHSc. Her KURe research project is titled “Investigating mechanisms behind Lactobacillus crispatus colonization in the urinary microbiome.”
Biography Dr. Bhatia is an Assistant Professor (CHS) in the Department of Urology at the School of Medicine and Public Health. Her mentors are Drs. Heidi Wendell Brown, Marisa Hilliard, and Kris Penniston. The title of Dr. Bhatia’s work is Transforming Care for Youth with Hypospadias: The Patient-Prioritized Care Plan. Hypospadias (HS) is one the …
Biography Alexandra Bicki, MD, MPH is a pediatric nephrologist and clinician-scientist interested in optimizing outcomes for children and young adults with chronic kidney disease. Currently, she is leveraging large datasets to improve allograft longevity for those with kidney transplants. Because childhood-onset chronic kidney disease often doesn’t progress to needing dialysis or transplant until patients’ mid-20s, …
Biography Dr. Felth Tanaka’s K12 research centers around understanding how differences in neuronal connectivity and excitability seen in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) contribute to Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (LUTS), such as incontinence, in people with ASD. More than 70% of adolescents with ASD experience LUTS with limited treatment options. Differences in neuronal excitability in human …
Biography Dr. Ge completed her MD in 2018 at Washington University in St. Louis. She then completed her surgical residency at Stanford University, where is now a K12 Scholar. Her project is titled “Chitosan-Induced Exfoliation and Regeneration as a Tunable Model for Urothelial Repair.” Impaired urothelial regeneration contributes to the chronicity of benign urologic conditions …
Biography Dr. Hammel completed her undergraduate education in Bioengineering at Temple University, where she developed a 3D engineered model of vascularized adipose tissue. Remaining inspired to continue research, she then pursued her PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Virginia Tech. During her time there, she developed engineered models of the lymph node and meningeal lymphatics to …
Biography Dr. Kisby completed her undergraduate education at Duke University, majoring in Biological Anthropology and Anatomy, Chemistry and Spanish. She continued her training at Duke University Medical Center for both medical school and residency. During her Obstetrics and Gynecology residency, she was recognized for both her surgical excellence and dedication to teaching. Dr. Kisby went …
Biography Catherine Nam is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urology at University of Michigan. She graduated from Emory School of Medicine and completed her urology residency at University of Michigan. She subsequently completed an andrology fellowship at Northwestern. Her primary research interest is to better understand factors contributing to worsening urologic workforce shortage …
Biography Dr. Abigail Shatkin-Margolis cares for patients with female pelvic floor disorders. She specializes in diagnosing and treating pelvic organ prolapse (when an organ such as the bladder drops into the vagina), urinary and fecal incontinence, genitourinary and rectovaginal fistulas (abnormal connections between various pelvic organs), overactive bladder and bladder pain syndrome. In research, Shatkin-Margolis …
