Dr. Hayes earned a BS degree in Biochemistry from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He then completed his PhD in Pathology at Duke University in 2021 in research focused on the interplay between the nervous and immune systems during bladder pain syndrome (BPS). Dr. Hayes subsequently continued in the Abraham Lab at Duke University as a postdoctoral associate.
Currently, Dr. Hayes is pursuing studies focused on further defining the mechanisms behind BPS following recurrent urinary tract infection (rUTI). Treatment options for BPS are limited due to poor understanding of disease pathogenesis. During his graduate studies, Dr. Hayes developed a novel animal BPS model based on rUTIs that successfully displayed symptoms similar to those observed in clinical patients. Under the mentorship of Dr. Soman Abraham and Dr. J. Todd Purves, Dr. Hayes aims to leverage this model and other previous observations to find novel therapeutic targets for BPS patients.