Uromicrobiota Research Interest Group (U-RIG)

The Uromicrobiota Research Interest Group (U-RIG) includes CAIRIBU and non-CAIRIBU investigators interested in the uromicrobiota. Investigators are clinicians and scientists from a variety of fields including urology, urogynecology, microbiology, microbial ecology, virology, bioinformatics, and computer and data science. Go HERE to read a brief abstract describing how the CAIRIBU Urobiome Research Interest Group was started and its progress to date (written October 2024 by the CAIRIBU Interactions Core)

The CAIRIBU U-RIG Research Hour series aims to facilitate knowledge exchange and spur collaborations in the urobiome and adjacent fields

PRIOR MEETING MINUTES AND SUMMARIES:

• MARCH 2025 U-RIG Research Hour summary HERE– “Lessons learned from canine urobiome research” (Emily Coffey, PhD, DVM, University of Minnesota) and “Bladder epithelium-derived organoids: a new model to investigate the role of metabolism in aging”(Adwaita Parab, graduate student, Baylor College of Medicine)
• FEBRUARY 2025 U-RIG Research Hour summary HERE– “Biofilm-forming bacteria drive calcium oxalate kidney stone propagation” (Kymora Scotland, MD, PhD, UC Los Angeles) and “Understanding the role of host adaptive immune response to recurrent urinary tract infection” (Jashkaran Gadhvi, PhD, UT Southwestern)
• JANUARY 2025 U-RIG Research Hour summary HERE – “The vaginal microbiota and colonization by uropathogens” (Katy Patras, PhD, Baylor College of Medicine) and “Pathogen evolution in neurogenic bladder” (Seth Reasoner, MD/PhD candidate, Vanderbilt University)
• DECEMBER 2024 U-RIG Research Hour summary HERE– Discussion on knowledge gaps and areas for improvement in urobiome research
• NOVEMBER 2024 U-RIG Research Hour summary HERE– “Bladder microbial catabolism and host urinary glycans, a new perspective on overactive bladder” (Jean-Philippe Gourdine, PhD, MSC, Lewis & Clark College) and “Understanding the etiologies of urine metabolites and their role in diverse disease states” (Emmanuel Elijah, medical school student, University of California San Diego)
• OCTOBER 2024 U-RIG “open floor” discussion on urobiome research strategies and directions forward; summary HERE – Brain writing activity to identify knowledge gaps in urobiome research
• SEPTEMBER 2024 Research  Hour summary HERE – “Fatty acid auxotrophy as a defining metabolic adaptation of urogenital lactobacilli” (Nicole De Nisco, PhD, UT Dallas)
• AUGUST 2024 U-RIG leadership meeting summary HERE
• MAY 2024 Research Hour summary HERE – “Recurrent UTI: lessons learned from the microbiome” (Nazema Siddiqui, MD, MHSc, Duke University); “Composition and consequences of polymicrobial bacteriuria during long-term catheterization” (Chelsie Armbruster, PhD, State University of New York at Buffalo)
• APRIL 2024 Research Hour summary HERE – “Microbial dysbiosis in recurrent urinary tract infection alters the gut-bladder axis” (Henry Schreiber, PhD, Washington University)
• MARCH 2024 Research Hour summary HERE – “Urinary microbiome resistance: urinary lactobacilli inhibit major uropathogens in vitro” (Tatyana Sysoeva, PhD, University of Alabama Huntsville)
• JANUARY 2024 Research Hour summary HERE – “The role of the microbiome in pelvic pain” (A. Lenore Ackerman, MD, University of California Los Angeles); “The dog as a model for urobiome research” (Vanessa Hale, DVM, PhD, MAT, Ohio State University)
• DECEMBER 2023 Research Hour summary HERE – “New ways of looking at the urobiome” (Jeremy Burton, PhD, University of Western Ontario); “Optimizing information to investigate the urobiome” (Lisa Karstens, PhD, Oregon Health & Science University)
• NOVEMBER 2023 Research Hour summary HERE – “An update on the urobiome” (Alan Wolfe, PhD, Loyola University Chicago); “People are convinced there is a urobiome: now what?” (Maria Hadjifrangiskou, PhD, Vanderbilt University)
• OCTOBER 2023 Research Hour summary HERE – “Sequencing the urobiome – going beyond profiling genera” (Catherine Putonti, PhD, Loyola University Chicago)
• SEPTEMBER 2023 Research Hour summary HERE – “Implications of kidney bacteria for urologic pathologies” (Aaron Miller, PhD, Cleveland Clinic); “Role of host cell metabolism in UTIs” (Lindsey Burnett, MD, PhD, University of California San Diego)
• JULY 2023 meeting summary HERE
• JUNE 2023 meeting summary HERE
• MAY 2023 meeting summary HERE
• JANUARY 2022 meeting summary HERE
• NOVEMBER 2021 meeting summary HERE
• SEPTEMBER 2021 meeting summary HERE

SUMMARY OF THE DEVELOPMENT & PROGRESS OF THE CAIRIBU U-RIG:

Go HERE to read a brief abstract describing how the CAIRIBU Urobiome Research Interest Group was started and its progress to date (written October 2024 by the CAIRIBU Interactions Core)

RESOURCES:

• “Beyond the usual suspects: emerging uropathogens in the microbiome age,” including co-authors Brubaker and Wolfe in Frontiers in Urology (2023)
• “Tarnished gold—the “standard” urine culture: reassessing the characteristics of a criterion standard for detecting urinary microbes,” by Brubaker et al. in Frontiers in Urology (2023)
• Review paper, “The Human Urobiome,” by Brubaker, Putonti, Dong, and Wolfe in Mammalian Genome (2021)
• Consensus paper on advancing urobiome research by Brubaker et al. in mSystems (2021)
• Consensus paper on microbiome studies for urolithiasis by Khachroo et al in Nature Reviews Urology (2021)
• “Urinary Tract Infection” – Requiem for a Heavyweight by Finucane in J Am Geriatr Soc (2017)
• “The Kidney: A filter for bacteria,” by Helmholz and Millikin inThe American Journal of Diseases of Children (1925)
• Talk on urobiome metadata standards by Dr. Lisa Karstens (recorded 2022)
• List of publications on urinary microbiota by CAIRIBU U-RIG Attendees. Note that this list is NOT exhaustive. Currently, it includes relevant publications by participants of the 2021-2023 CAIRIBU Connections discussions on the urobiome. This will be updated over time.