2022 Urology Care Foundation Research Scholar Awardees Announced

Baltimore, MD, May 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/-- The American Urological Association (AUA) and the Urology Care Foundation, the official foundation of the AUA, are pleased to recognize 19 researchers as recipients of the 2022 Urology Care Foundation Research Scholar Awards. The Research Scholar Program supports future research leaders and ensures that they receive the necessary training and guidance for a successful research career. The awards provide $40,000 per year for one or two years mentored training for clinical and postdoctoral fellows or early career investigators.

"The Urology Care Foundation is committed to improving urologic health by supporting research, patient education and fostering humanitarian endeavors," said Harris M. Nagler, MD, Urology Care Foundation president. "When we support researchers we support individuals who will improve our ability to prevent, detect and treat urologic diseases and thus improve urologic health for all.”

Congratulations to the 2022 awardees:

AUA North Central Section Award: Austen Slade, MD, will receive this one-year award for a prospective, randomized study to assess clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction of virtual vs. in-person workup and treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms at Indiana University, Indianapolis under the mentorship of Marcelino Rivera, MD.

AUA North Central Section Award: Joshua Halpern, MD, will receive this two-year award for a study on the role of low testosterone in perioperative surgical outcomes at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine under the mentorship of Robert Brannigan, MD.

AUA Northeastern Section Award: Priyank Yadav, MCh, will receive this one-year award for a study on the identification of genome wide epigenetic changes and their influence on smooth muscle cell phenotype in murine model of partial bladder outlet obstruction at The Hospital for Sick Children under the mentorship of Darius Bagli, MD.

AUA Northeastern Section Award: Kait Al, PhD, will receive this two-year award for a study on the role of toxic xenobiotics and the gut microbiota in kidney stone formation at The University of Western Ontario under the mentorship of Jeremy Burton, PhD.

AUA Southeastern Section Award: Asmaa El-Kenawi, PhD, will receive this two-year award for a study on identifying immune tumor cell metabolic dependencies in prostate cancer at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute under the mentorship of Kosj Yamoah, MD, PhD.

AUA Western Section Award: Eugene Shkolyar, MD, will receive this one-year award for a study on improving the quality and outcomes of transurethral resection of bladder tumor through the use of adjunctive molecular biomarkers and optical imaging at Stanford University School of Medicine under the mentorship of Joseph Liao, MD.

AUA Western Section Award: Elizabeth Koehne, MD, will receive this one-year award for a study on DNA methyltransferase inhibition and immune stimulation in bladder cancer at the University of Washington under the mentorship of Jonathan Wright, MD.

Bristol Myers Squibb Award: Juan Javier-DesLoges, MD, will receive this two-year award for a pilot study to improve germline testing in at-risk patients with prostate cancer at the University of California San Diego Health System under the mentorship of Rana McKay, MD.

Chesapeake Urology Associates Sanford J. Siegel, MD Prostate Cancer Award: Weiping Li, PhD, will receive this two-year award for a study on harnessing ferroptosis in treating advanced prostate cancer at Columbia University under the mentorship of Michael M. Shen, PhD.

Endourological Society Award: Robert Potter, PhD, will receive this two-year award for a study on genomic diversity driving the commensal-pathogen axis in the urogenital tract at the Washington University School of Medicine under the mentorship of David Hunstad, MD.

Endourological Society Raju Thomas, MD, Award: Gregory Hosier, MD, will receive this one-year award for a randomized controlled trial of ambulatory versus inpatient percutaneous nephrolithotomy at the University of California, San Francisco under the mentorship of Tom Chi, MD.

Indian American Urological Association Anupam Ted Kedia Award: Nirmish Singla, MD, will receive this two-year award for a study on tumor evolution of brain-specific tropism in metastatic renal cell carcinoma at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine under the mentorship of Chetan Bettegowda, MD, PhD.

Indian American Urological Association Sakti Das, MD, Award: Firoj Alom, PhD, will receive this two-year award for a study on development of an optogenetic-based strategy for controlling the external urethral sphincter at the University of Florida under the mentorship of Aaron Mickle, PhD.

Sexual Medicine Society of North America Award: Jessica Schardein, MD, will receive this one-year award for a study on epigenetic profiles of men with erectile dysfunction and Peyronie's disease at The University of Utah under the mentorship of Alexander Pastuszak, MD, PhD.

Sexual Medicine Society of North America Award: Karen Hannigan, PhD, will receive this one-year award for a study on the identification of cellular targets of neurotransmission in the corpus cavernosum at the University of Nevada, Reno under the mentorship of Caroline Cobine, PhD.

Societies for Pediatric Urology Sushil Lacy, MD Award: Nathalia Amado, PhD, will receive this two-year award for a study on the mechanism of interaction of FLNA and MYOCD on smooth muscle development and association with Prune Belly Syndrome at UT Southwestern Medical Center under the mentorship of Linda Baker, MD.

Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine & Urogenital Reconstruction Hari Badlani Award: Nnenaya Mmonu, MD, will receive this two-year award for a study on the development of patient reported outcome measures for genital gender-affirming surgery at the New York University School of Medicine under the mentorship of Danil Makarov, MD.

Society of Urologic Oncology Award: Laura Bukavina, MD, will receive this one-year award for a study on the investigation of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes: an immunoscore prediction model at The Research Institute of Fox Chase Cancer Center under the mentorship of Philip Abbosh, MD, PhD.

Society of Urologic Oncology Award: Karla Parra, PhD, will receive this one-year award for a study on therapeutic targeting of prostate cancer metastases at UT Southwestern Medical Center under the mentorship of Ganesh Raj, MD, PhD.

"The AUA and the Urology Care Foundation understand the importance of recruiting exceptional young investigators into urology research and fostering their career success,” said Steven Kaplan, MD, chair of the AUA's Research Council. "We’re proud of the 2022 awardees and know that their work will have a significant impact on the practice of urology and the lives of those affected by urologic diseases and conditions.”

To learn more about the Urology Care Foundation Research Scholar Awards visit www.AUAnet.org/Research-Scholars  

About the Urology Care Foundation: The Urology Care Foundation is the world's leading nonprofit urological health foundation, and the official foundation of the American Urological Association. Collaborating with physicians, researchers, patients and the public, the Foundation supports and improves urologic clinical care by funding research, developing patient education and pursuing philanthropic support. To learn more about the Urology Care Foundation and its programs visit: www.urologyhealth.org.

About the American Urological Association: Founded in 1902 and headquartered near Baltimore, Maryland, the American Urological Association is a leading advocate for the specialty of urology, and has more than 23,000 members throughout the world. The AUA is a premier urologic association, providing invaluable support to the urologic community as it pursues its mission of fostering the highest standards of urologic care through education, research and the formulation of health care policy.