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CAIRIBU COMMUNIQUE
January 2024
Collaborating for the Advancement of Interdisciplinary Research in Benign Urology
CAIRIBU PROGRESS SURVEYS ARE DUE
The CAIRIBU Interactions Core measures effects of CAIRIBU Community activities and networking. The twice-yearly CAIRIBU Progress Survey is one such metric we gather. We target ALL investigators and trainees in currently-funded CAIRIBU Centers (U54 and P20) and Programs (K12 KURe and KUroEpi) as well as recipients of CAIRIBU U54 Urology O'Brien Center Opportunity Awards and CAIRIBU Interactions Core Collaboration Awards. We collect your publication and grant funding information, but we need additional information from you about grants you've applied for within the past 6 months, collaborations you have formed or are forming, and your individual accomplishments.

WE DEPEND ON EVERY INVESTIGATOR & TRAINEE from a CAIRIBU Center or Program to complete progress surveys biannually

If you are affiliated with a currently-funded CAIRIBU Center or Program and/or a recipient of Urology O'Brien Center or CAIRIBU Interactions Core research funding, watch for an email from cairibu@urology.wisc.edu inviting you to participate in the January 2024 CAIRIBU Progress Survey. Your participation is critical in our efforts to gauge the CAIRIBU Community’s impact on collaborative grant applications and other urology research activities.
2023 ANNUAL CAIRIBU MEETING ROUND-UP
The 2023 CAIRIBU meeting brought together nearly 120 investigators and trainees from >30 institutions to exchange knowledge, network, develop synergy, and engage in discussion about advancing urology research. Most participants were from currently-funded CAIRIBU-affiliated Centers and Programs (U54 Urology O'Brien Centers, P20 Urology Centers, K12 Career Development Programs), but >30% were from the broader urology research community and institutions with previously-funded CAIRIBU Centers and Programs.

Postdoctoral trainees and students (both graduate and undergraduate) were nearly 35% of participants. They submitted nearly 50 abstracts presented as posters during the meeting. Trainees acknowledged for "best abstracts," those that scored highest during pre-meeting abstract reviews were:

  • Michael Odom, PhD, Duke University, CAIRIBU K12 KURe Career Development Program
  • Ajinkya Limkar, dual MD/PhD trainee, UW-Madison, CAIRIBU Urology O'Brien Center
  • Sara Stuedemann, graduate student in Dr. LaTasha Crawford's lab, UW-Madison
  • LaTasha Crawford, VMD, PhD was a prior K12 Scholar in the UW-Madison K12 KURe Career Development Program
Best posters were awarded to:

  • Kelly Weldon, dual MD/PhD student, University of California-Davis (mentor: Dr. Lindsey Burnett)
  • Alexandra Polasko, PhD, postdoctoral researcher, Stanford University, CAIRIBU U54 Urology O'Brien Center (mentor: Dr. James Brooks)
  • Lily Hiltebeitel, graduate student, Boston Children's Hospital (mentor: Dr. Nina Mann)
  • Ren Katz, undergraduate student, University of Florida (participated in the 2023 UW-Madison Summer Program for Undergraduate Urology Research, funded by an R25 grant to Drs. Chad Vezina and Kristina Penniston)
  • Monica Ridlon, graduate student, UW-Madison, CAIRIBU U54 Urology O'Brien Center (mentor: Dr. Kimberly Keil Stietz)
  • Qingsong Fan, PhD, postdoctoral researcher, University of Chicago (mentored by Dr. Po-Chun Hsu, collaborator of Dr. Pei Zhong, PI of the Duke University P20 FORWARD Center)
Go to the CAIRIBU website HERE for more details, photos, links to a comprehensive meeting summary, and other materials to download
2024 CAIRIBU MEETING
Mark your calendars now! Wednesday-Friday, December 4-6; location TBD
TRAINEES AND ESIs
CAIRIBU ARCTICS Community Forums
Monthly, January through May 2024
2nd WEDNESDAYS (virtual)
1:00 PM Eastern (12 PM Central | 10 AM Pacific)
Schedule and Zoom links available HERE

ARCTICS = Advancing the Research Capacity of Trainees and Investigators at Early-Career Stages

Since 2021, the CAIRIBU Interactions Core has engaged CAIRIBU trainees to plan and host 22 ARCTICS Community Forums. Trainees at all career stages and from a broad cross-section of urology research have attended. Recordings of ARCTICS forums posted on the CAIRIBU YouTube channel get a lot of attention! "Making the most of your collaborations" and "Facilitating clinician-PhD interactions" are 2 videos with particularly high viewership. View previous CAIRIBU ARCTICS Community forums HERE.

Topics for 2024 include how to read your grant summary statement and write a successful resubmission, lab management fundamentals, transgender and gender-diverse clinical care, navigating the research funding landscape, and more. Speakers include:

  • Rosalyn Adam, PhD, Director, Basic Science Research and the David E. Retik Chair in Urology Research, Boston Children's Hospital; Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard University Medical School
  • Chad Vezina, PhD, Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Director of the Molecular and Environmental Toxicology Graduate Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Madelyn Esposito, LPC, NCC, CST, Mental Health Clinician, UW Health Behavioral Health and Recovery Program; Preceptor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
  • Walid Farhat, MD, Professor of Urology and Chief of the Division of Pediatric Urology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
CAIRIBU K12 Scholar Seminars
Monthly, January through June
2nd THURSDAYS (virtual)
5:00 PM Eastern (4 PM Central | 2 PM Pacific)
Schedule and Zoom links available HERE

Now in its 4th year, current and former CAIRIBU-affiliated K12 Scholars gain visibility in their fields by presenting their research to other investigators and trainee peers. Honoraria to scholars are provided by the UW-Madison CAIRIBU Urology O'Brien Center (PI, William Ricke, PhD). Since 2021, the CAIRIBU Interactions Core has worked with K12 Scholars to host 18 seminars representing K12 Scholars from all CAIRIBU KURe and KUroEpi Programs.

Scholars already lined up for 2024:
CAIRIBU Graduate Student Seminars
Bi-monthly, odd-numbered months
3rd WEDNESDAYS (virtual)
2:00 PM Eastern (1 PM Central | 11 AM Pacific)
Zoom link available HERE

Graduate students from current and prior CAIRIBU-affiliated Centers and Programs and also from the broader urology research community practice their presentation skills and get valuable feedback about their research. Each seminar is moderated by a leader from one of the CAIRIBU Urology O'Brien Centers. The 2024 schedule is filling up. Students scheduled to participate so far are from the labs of Jeremy Burton, PhD (urobiome researcher, Western University, Ontario) and Tanya Sysoeva, PhD (urobiome researcher, University of Alabama at Huntsville and former CAIRIBU K12 Scholar). Watch for the schedule to continue to fill.
CAIRIBU O'Brien Center Summer Research Programs for Undergrads
All 3 CAIRIBU U54 Urology Centers have summer research programs for undergraduate students. Efforts such as these are critical for growing and diversifying the urology workforce pipeline and identifying the next generation of leaders in urology research. Below is information about CAIRIBU Urology O'Brien Centers' summer research opportunities. PASS ON THE WORD to curious, research-minded undergraduates you know. Mid-to-late summer, the CAIRIBU Interactions Core organizes and hosts a virtual "Summer Research Jamboree" to give all O'Brien Center-affiliated undergrads a chance to talk about their research and network with leaders in the field. Stay tuned for info about the 2024 CAIRIBU O’Brien Center Summer Student Research Jamboree. The program agenda and link to the virtual poster hall from the 2023 jamboree is available on the CAIRIBU website HERE. Details about summer programs are linked below.
Stanford University Pre-Renal Initiative (includes options for urology research). Applications due January 15, 2024.

Columbia University - Several programs may be available. Contact one of the Columbia University Urology O'Brien Center PIs for more information: Cathy Mendelsohn, PhD; Jonathan Barasch, MD, PhD; Ali Gharavi, MD; or Anne-Catrin Uhlemann, MD, PhD.

University of Wisconsin-Madison SPUUR (Summer Program for Undergraduate Urology Research). Apply through the UW-Madison Summer Research Opportunity Program website HERE. Applications due February 15, 2024.
CAIRIBU RESEARCH
Urobiome Research Interest Group Monthly "Research Hours"
The CAIRIBU Urobiome Research Interest Group (U-RIG) engages collaborative-minded investigators and clinicians from a variety of disciplines to discuss and develop strategies to advance urobiome science and urinary tract health. Collaborative research requires deep knowledge exchange. Summaries from U-RIG meetings and discussions are available on the CAIRIBU website HERE. The CAIRIBU U-RIG hosts 3rd Friday of the month virtual "research hours." Each hour features 1-2 investigators who describe their work followed by Q&A and discussion. Each research hour is recorded and archived on the CAIRIBU YouTube page.

CAIRIBU U-RIG Research Hours are organized by urobiome investigators Nicole De Nisco, PhD (UT Dallas) and her postdoctoral associate, Michael Neugent, PhD. Each installment brings fresh insights, knowledgeable speakers, and opportunities for networking and collaborative research leading to new grant proposals.
Next CAIRIBU U-RIG Research Hour

Friday, Jan. 19 (virtual)
3:00 PM Eastern
(2:00 PM Central | 12:00 PM Pacific)

Zoom link available HERE
Featuring:

Vanessa Hale, PhD, DVM, MAT, Assistant Professor, Department of Veterinary Preventative Medicine, The Ohio State University

A. Lenore Ackerman, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Urology; Director of Research, Division of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, UCLA
CAIRIBU Investigators Convene in La Jolla for Annual Microbiome Meeting
Join CAIRIBU Urobiome Research Interest Group (U-RIG) investigators and collaborators at the annual meeting of the Center for Microbiome Innovation - the Center for Microbiome Innovation International Microbiome Meeting - March 12-14, 2024. The event brings together experts and trainees from all areas of microbiome research. Several CAIRIBU-affiliated urobiome investigators from the CAIRIBU U-RIG are speaking: Naz Siddiqui, MD, MHS (Duke Univ); Nicole DeNicso, PhD (UT Dallas); Aaron Miller, PhD (Cleveland Clinic); Alan Wolfe, PhD (Loyola Univ Chicago); Linda Brubaker, MD (UCSD); and more.

A CAIRIBU get-together during the meeting is being planned. Contact the CAIRIBU Interactions Core at CAIRIBU@urology.wisc.edu to find out more.
New CAIRIBU Research Interest Groups to Form
In addition to the interdisciplinary CAIRIBU Urobiome Research Interest Group (RIG) the CAIRIBU Interactions Core is gearing up to foster the development of additional RIGS to stimulate new interdisciplinary knowledge exchanges and networking. Refer to the CAIRIBU website Research Interest Group page. Plans to start up a RIG on Aging in the Lower Urinary Tract are underway and will include investigators who met at the 2023 CAIRIBU meeting - Cindy Amundsen, MD and Alison Huang, MD, both are PIs of current CAIRIBU K12 Career Development Programs - as well as Indira Mysorekar, PhD, aging investigator and PI of a prior CAIRIBU P20 Urology Center. Goals are to get other RIGS started in the following areas are developing. ARE YOU INTERESTED???

  1. Stones and Ureteral Obstruction - We anticipate leaders from the CAIRIBU P20 Urology Centers at Duke University (PI, Pei Zhong, PhD) and Mayo Clinic (PIs, Kevin Koo, MD and John Lieske, MD) to be involved
  2. Machine Learning in Urology - Current and former CAIRIBU K12 Scholars Giulia Lane, MD and Jim Hokanson, PhD have initiated discussion around this topic; hoping to generate more activity as others become interested
  3. Animal Models in Urology Research - A group of investigators and trainees met to discuss this at the 2023 CAIRIBU meeting; is anyone interested in keeping the discussion going?

Other nascent RIG ideas include: inflammation and fibrosis in the lower urinary tract; neuro-urology; and diversity, equity, and inclusion in urology. Contact the CAIRIBU Interactions Core if interested.
CAIRIBU K12 PROGRAMS
NEW CAIRIBU K12 Program

The CAIRIBU Research Community welcomes a new K12 Multidsicplinary Urologic Research Program - the K12 Urology Research at Stanford (KUReS) Program, PIs Joseph Liao, MD and James Brooks, MD. Program investigators and resources are shown.
Duke University KURe Program 9th Annual Benign Urology Symposium
Urologic Effects of Aging
Friday, April 19, 2024
Duke University - Trent Semans Great Hall

For more information as it becomes available - including about submitting abstracts - go to the Duke University K12 Multidisciplinary Urologic Research Career Development Program page HERE. The event will feature panel discussions, trainee platform presentations, poster sessions, lunch with experts, and trainee abstract awards. The CAIRIBU Interactions Core is working with Duke KURe Program PI Cindy Amundsen, MD to make travel awards available to trainees. STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFO by checking the CAIRIBU Events Page.
UROLOGY RESEARCH FUNDING
ISAC Awards

Next application deadline is April 15, 2024

The Innovative Science Accelerator Program accepts 3-page essays describing your research proposal. The program aims to provide seed funding for exceptionally innovative, disruptive (high-risk/high-reward) research relevant to KUH research communities. Applicants may request up to $100,000 Total Costs (Directs + Indirects). More information HERE.
CAIRIBU Collaboration Awards

The 2024 Request for Applications is due out in a couple of months. Applications will be due June 1, 2024. STAY TUNED for details. Go HERE for list of prior recipients and their research topics.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Jan 10: CAIRIBU ARCTICS Community Forum, Grant Resubmissions (virtual, 1 PM Eastern)
Jan 11: CAIRIBU Community Leaders Meeting (virtual, 4 PM Eastern)
Jan 11: CAIRIBU K12 Scholar Seminar, Kristian Stensland, MD, MPH, MS (virtual, 5 PM Eastern)
Jan 17: CAIRIBU Graduate Student Seminar, Gerrit Stuivenberg (virtual, 2 PM Eastern)

Check the EVENTS LISTING on the CAIRIBU website for updates and other announcements
Events, Jobs, News
Check the CAIRIBU Kiosk frequently for updates. Are you looking for a postdoc or fellow? Let the CAIRIBU Interactions Core know. We will post it on the website and use CAIRIBU social media to promote it.
Are you reading the newest publications from investigators and trainees in the CAIRIBU Community? We update this monthly; it's available on the CAIRIBU website HERE.
HAVE YOU
WATCHED?
The CAIRIBU YouTube Channel features videos from CAIRIBU K12 Scholar seminars, CAIRIBU Catalyst Conversations, CAIRIBU ARCTICS Community forums, and MORE.
Kristina L. Penniston, PhD, RDN, FAND

PI, CAIRIBU U24 Interactions Core
(U24-DK127726)



Department of Urology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI
George M. O'Brien (U54) Urology Cooperative Research Centers Program
  1. University of Wisconsin-Madison (2014-2019 and 2019-2024)
  2. Columbia University (2014-2019 and 2020-2025)
  3. Stanford University (2021-2026)

Multidisciplinary Urologic Research (KURe) Career Development Programs (K12)
  1. Duke University
  2. University of Wisconsin-Madison
  3. Stanford University

Urological Epidemiology (KUroEpi) Institutional Research Career Development Programs (K12)
  1. University of California San Francisco-Kaiser Permanente
  2. University of Michigan

The NIDDK Program Officer who oversees the CAIRIBU-affiliated K12 Career Development Programs is Tracy Rankin, PhD, MPH
FORWARD P20 Urology Centers
  1. Mayo Clinic Rochester (2022-2025)
  2. Duke University (2022-2025)

Exploratory Centers (P20) for Interdisciplinary Research in Benign Urology
  1. Michigan Interdisciplinary Center for Urology Research and Education (MI-CURE) (2021-2023)

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The CAIRIBU U24 Interactions Core is funded by a grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. NIDDK Program Officers who oversee the CAIRIBU Interactions Core and the U54 Urology O'Brien Centers are: Chris Mullins, PhD, Project Scientist and Deepak Nihalani, PhD, Program Official


Links to websites for CAIRIBU Centers and Programs are on the CAIRIBU website HERE
Collaborating for the Advancement of Interdisciplinary Research in Benign Urology
CAIRIBU is a community of NIDDK-funded U54 and P20 Centers and K12 Career Development Programs whose overarching objectives are to address the gaps in knowledge related to epidemiology, etiology, development, progression, and expression of benign urologic conditions and to train the next generation of leaders in benign urology research. The CAIRIBU Interactions Core is the central coordinating body for the CAIRIBU Community.