2011- 2012 Research Scholars
Karen Aitken, PhD
Project Title: "A Novel Molecular Approach to Hypospadias: The Epigenetic Link Between Hormonal Disruption and Development"
Institution: Hospital for Sick Children
Mentors: Darius Bagli, MD and Sevan Hopyan, MD/PhD
Sponsor: AUA Northeastern Section Research Scholar Endowment Fund
The most common live birth defect of boys is hypospadias (a defect in which the outlet of the male external genitals does not occur at the tip), which has become more common in the last 40 years, which may point to environmental causes, such as estrogens. Dr. Aitken's research will examine how estrogens can affect epigenetics (persistent changes in the packaging of DNA) during hypospadias, to alter protein expression and development. This study will have importance for understanding how hypospadias should be managed, both surgically and medically, as epigenetic changes can downregulate genes that may be involved in wound healing and general biological function of male genital tissue.
Lysanne Campeau, MDCM
Project Title: "Stem Cell Therapy in a Parkinsonion Animal Model of Neurogenic Bladder Overactivity"
Institution: Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine
Mentor: Karl-Erik Andersson, MD/PhD
Sponsor: AUA Southeastern Section Research Scholar Endowment Fund
Lower urinary tract symptoms in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) greatly decrease their quality of life and do not respond to pharmacological therapeutics. Dr. Campeau will study the effects of transplanting rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in an experimental parkinsonian animal model of neurogenic detrusor overactivity, and attempt to efficiently improve their voiding pattern. This research may provide translational information that can be useful for the development of future treatments of voiding symptoms associated with PD.
Sara Colopy, DVM
Project Title: "Interleukin-1 Signaling Induces Urothelial Proliferation"
Institution: University of Wisconsin Medical School
Mentor: Wade Bushman, MD/PhD
Sponsor: AUA North Central Section Research Scholar Endowment Fund
The three most common diseases affecting the bladder - urinary tract infection, interstitial cystitis and bladder cancer - all feature intense inflammation, dysregulation of epithelial proliferation, and activation of regenerative mechanisms associated with injury repair. Dr. Colopy's research will focus on the hypothesis that interleukin-1 (IL-1, a pro-inflammatory signaling molecule) plays an important role in stimulating epithelial proliferation in response to bacteria-induced injury. Her long-term career goal is to increase global understanding of the mechanisms of urothelial repair so that regenerative therapies can be developed to address needs of both human and veterinary patients with chronic inflammatory conditions and urothelial neoplasia.
Vivekanand Gupta, DVM, PhD
Project Title: "The Role of Activated Tumor-associated Stroma in Supporting Renal Cell Carcinoma Progression"
Institution: Institute for Cancer Research/Fox Chase Cancer Center
Mentor: Edna Cukierman, PhD
Sponsor: AUA Mid-Atlantic Section Research Scholar Endowment Fund
Dr. Gupta will investigate the role of stroma (non-cancerous cells and associated mass) on tumor growth and metastases. He has developed a renal 3D stromal system on which to study renal cell carcinoma stromal permissiveness during tumor development and progression in vitro (in the laboratory without using animal models). His project could help us to better understand the tumor-stoma interaction in a way that it will, in the future, facilitate developing new drugs that will inhibit stroma induced cancer cells invasion.
Takashi Kobayashi, MD, PhD
Project Title: "Molecular Mechanisms of Invasive Bladder Cancer: Analysis of Arf Function in a p53/Pten
Deficient Mouse Model"
Institution: Columbia University
Mentor: Cory Abate-Shen, PhD
Sponsor: AUA New York Section Research Scholar Endowment Fund
Treatment of muscle-invasive bladder cancer is still one of the major clinical challenges in our urological oncology field. The lab at Columbia has established a novel mouse model of invasive bladder cancer that recapitulates the human disease by deleting two important tumor suppressor genes, namely p53 and Pten, in bladder urothelial cells. They have also found that expression of another gene, namely p19Arf, is increased in the mouse bladder tumors. Dr. Kobayashi will investigate the functional relevance of ARF upregulation and its mechanism of function in the tumorigenesis of invasive bladder cancer, which can be a therapeutic target in the treatment of this clinically aggressive disease.
Weijun Liu, PhD
Project Title: "VHL Tumor Suppressor and Cell Cycle Regulation"
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Mentor: James Gnarra, PhD
Sponsor: Kidney Cancer Association
The von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor (VHL) is inactivated in patients with von Hippel-Lindau disease, an inherited cancer syndrome, as well as the majority of non-hereditary clear cell renal cancer patients. Previous studies showed that the VHL protein expression decreases as cells divide, and suggest that VHL plays a role in regulating cell proliferation. Dr. Liu will study how the cell division cycle is regulated by pVHL, in particular the functional relationship for pVHL association with the anaphase promoting complex.
Neema Navai, MD
Project Title: "MicroRNA Control of Growth Factor Resistance in Bladder Cancer"
Institution: MD Anderson Cancer Center
Mentors: Colin Dinney, MD and Liana Adam, MD/PhD and David McConkey, PhD
Sponsor: AUA South Central Section Research Scholar Endowment Fund
Bladder cancer is the 4th most common non-cutaneous malignancy in men and is the most costly cancer from diagnosis to death. The discovery of growth factor receptor (GFR) inhibitors in bladder cancer has generated much excitement and has yielded novel targeted therapies. Additionally, micro RNA (miRNA) regulation of genes is a burgeoning field with far reaching implications with recent evidence describing their regulation of specific cancer targets. Dr. Navai's project will bridge the two fields and determine how miRNAs regulate the expression or GFRs and determine their role in specific GFR resistance to inhibition.
Jenny Yiee, MD
Project Title: "Timing of Pediatric Orchiopexy in the United States: A Quality of Care Indicator"
Institution: UCLA
Mentor: Mark Litwin, MD
Sponsor: AUA Western Section Research Scholar Endowment Fund
Cryptorchidism, a condition in which boys are born with a testicle does not descend normally into the scrotum, occurs in 1% of all boys. National guidelines recommend that orchiopexy, surgery to move the undescended testicle, should happen by age one in order to receive maximum benefits of the surgery, however little is known about what age boys in the United States actually undergo this surgery. Dr. Yiee will review data on orchiopexy to discover more about how well the medical system is working in the United States, identify any roadblocks to timely surgery, and improve the testicular outcomes of many boys.
