Datta G. Wagle Young Investigator Awards

Datta G. Wagle Young Investigator Awards is sponsored by Northeastern Section of the AUA (NSAUA). The Datta G.

Wagle Young Investigator Awards, part of the NSAUA Scholarship Program, provide financial assistance to researchers in basic or clinical sciences related to urology.

Young Investigator Awards | NSAUA - The Northeastern Section of the AUA Datta G.

Wagle Young Investigator Awards Research and Education Fund Young Investigator Awards Resident Prize Essay Contest Resident Bowl Competition SWIU Resident Travel Award AUA Research Opportunities To apply, candidates must: Have an MD or DO degree and have completed clinical training in Urology Be within the first 5 years of their appointment as faculty member in a Urology program within the geographic area of the Northeastern Section Be a current member of the Northeastern Section Application Submission Portal Supporting Two Decades of Urology Research The Northeastern Section of the American Urological Association Foundation (NSAUA) established its Research and Education Fund in 1995 to assure continuing excellence in research and educational activity within the Section.

The NSAUA Scholarship Program was established in 1998 to provide financial scholarships to support research and educational projects. The Northeastern Section is able to fund up to two scholarship awards annually.

These Young Investigator Awards provide financial assistance to a researcher in basic or clinical sciences related to urology, and to acquiring, developing or improving his or her knowledge and skills in a specific aspect of the specialty. In 2020, the scholarship program was renamed the Datta G. Wagle Young Investigator Award in honor of NSAUA Past President, Dr. Datta G.

Wagle. Since 1999, the Northeastern Section is proud to have awarded 30 research grants. Recipients have gone on to leadership roles both at the Section level and the AUA National level.

The Section feels it particularly impactful to award these grants to young researchers in the beginning of their research careers. As its mission states, “NSAUA will stand at the forefront of education and research promoting excellence in the specialty of Urology serving both its members and the public.

” The Section proudly continues to sponsor an annual Young Investigators Research Grant aimed at supporting start-up research programs of faculty members. Over the course of the last several years the NSAUA has been able to fund numerous innovations and has been able to contribute to the academic careers of dozens of individuals.

The NSAUA Scholarship Program was established in 1998 to provide financial scholarships to support research and educational projects. The program currently offers up to two scholarship awards annually, of $30,000.

These Young Investigator Awards provide financial assistance to a researcher in basic or clinical sciences related to urology, and to acquiring, developing or improving his or her knowledge and skills in a specific aspect of the specialty. Patients that develop metastatic kidney cancer have very poor outcomes. These cancers have multiple ways of evading detection and destruction by the immune system.

Therapies designed to stimulate the immune system have significantly improved these outcomes, however the majority of patients will either not respond or eventually develop resistance to these therapies. Rigorous efforts are underway to identify additional mechanisms of how these tumors evade the immune system and target them with new therapies.

Our group has recently identified adenosine, a cellular metabolism byproduct, as a significant mediator of immune suppression in kidney cancer. In other parts of the body, adenosine is regulated by the protein Connexin-26. We found that patients with high levels of this protein were more likely to develop metastatic kidney cancer and have poorer survival outcomes.

Therefore, this project will examine whether Connexin-26 is a novel regulator of adenosine in kidney cancer. Using both cell line studies and our novel preclinical mouse model of kidney cancer, these experiments will determine if Connexin-26 plays a direct role in kidney cancer progression and lay the foundation for its potential as a novel predictor of clinical outcomes or therapeutic target.

This research project aims to critically evaluate the Urologic Transitional Care Model Program at SickKids, focusing on its impact on improving transition readiness and reducing healthcare resource utilization among adolescents with congenital urogenital conditions.

The program is designed to provide a structured and supportive environment for these adolescents as they navigate the complex transition from pediatric to adult healthcare systems.

Specific Aims: Assess the Increase in Transition Readiness: Measure the extent to which the transitional care program enhances readiness for adult healthcare among adolescents, using validated assessment tools to gauge changes in knowledge, self-advocacy, self-care, and social support.

Evaluate Reductions in Healthcare Utilization: Determine the effectiveness of the program in reducing the incidence of emergency room visits and unplanned hospital admissions, indicating better management of the patients' conditions and smoother integration into adult healthcare.

Examine Long-term Health Outcomes: Investigate the impact of improved transition readiness on long-term health outcomes, such as quality of life and independence in health management. Rationale: The transition from pediatric to adult healthcare is a critical period for adolescents with chronic conditions, and effective transitional care programs are essential for ensuring their health and wellbeing.

This project addresses this need by evaluating a program specifically designed for those with congenital urogenital conditions, aiming to provide evidence-based improvements in both clinical practice and patient outcomes. William B. Tabayoyong, MD, PhD William B.

Tabayoyong, MD, PhD We will test the hypothesis that treatment of bladder cancer with certain chemotherapy agents results in maximal potentiation of the bladder cancer tumor immune microenvironment for optimal combination with immune checkpoint therapy.

This research will benefit patients with bladder cancer because it will elucidate the mechanism underlying how combined chemotherapy plus ICT synergizes to improve outcome and evaluate whether a non-cisplatin-based chemotherapy regimen can effectively treat bladder cancer when combined with ICT.

These findings will allow us to design rational clinical trials with high likelihood for success, leading to improved treatment options for patients with bladder cancer. Monica Farcas, BEng, MEng, MD, FRCSC Monica Farcas, BEng, MEng, MD, FRCSC St. Michael’s Hospital, University of Toronto Peyronie’s disease is an acquired connective tissue disorder of the penis, characterized by local fibrosis.

This results in a number of signs and symptoms, including penile deformity, erectile dysfunction, penile pain, and plaque formation. While the condition is relatively easy to diagnose based on history and physical examination, the pathogenesis and burden of disease are difficult to determine as current methods to image Peyronie’s plaques and fibrosis are suboptimal.

Photoacoustic (PA) and enhanced ultrasound are non-invasive imaging techniques potentially capable of detecting fibrosis by imaging collagen. These imaging modalities have been previously optimized and validated for detecting kidney, bladder, and liver fibrosis. Our current objective is to investigate the use of photoacoustic and enhanced ultrasound to image Peyronie’s disease.

We would like to understand whether PA ultrasound-based fibrosis measurements correlate with standard-of-care assessment tools and can potentially be used to assess disease burden. Ultimately, we would also like to understand if PA ultrasound-based fibrosis measurements can predict response to therapy, compared to standard-of-care tools (clinical assessment and conventional US).

Jennifer Bjazevic, BHSc, MSc, MD, FRCSC Jennifer Bjazevic, BHSc, MSc, MD, FRCSC St. Joseph’s Hospital, St. Joseph’s Health Care London Kidney stones affect nearly 10% of the population and its prevalence has risen dramatically over the past twenty years2.

As a result, urolithiasis represents a tremendous burden on the health care system that can be reduced with an increased understanding of the causal factors. The majority of stones are calcium in nature suggesting that urolithiasis could have ties to other diseases of aberrant calcification such as vascular calcification.

Microbially-derived menaquinones (vitamin K2) have been shown to mitigate calcification via the activation of Gla protein. Thus, our study sets out to understand how microbial products from the gut microbiome could influence calcium stone disease. Using an observational clinical trial, we will investigate how makers of calcification differ between stone formers and controls.

We will also relate levels of circulating menaquinone to the composition of the microbiota. We also plan to develop an in vitro spheroid cell model of calcification where we can test the ability of microbially-derived menaquinones to reduce crystal formation. Together this research will build links between disease of calcification and kidney stone disease.

Competition of this study will result in a better understanding of how the gut microbiome can influence urolithiasis. Additionally, we will develop a new model of stone disease that can be used to test the ability of substances to mediate crystal formation.

Robert Christopher Doiron, MD, FRCSC Robert Christopher Doiron, MD, FRCSC Project Summary — Findings from a discovery cohort of IC/BPS patients has validated our novel methods and initial results are suggestive of novel findings, describing the immune and inflammatory microenvironment of Hunner lesions.

Our Queen’s collaboration between the Departments of Urology, Pathology and Molecular Medicine is poised to scale-up this discovery cohort into a prospective design amongst a neglected patient population. With assistance from funding from the Datta G.

Wagle Young Investigator Award, findings from this prospective study may inform novel therapeutic targets for future study with the hopes of improving patient outcomes in this challenging disease. Paul Toren, MD, PhD, FRCSC Paul Toren, MD, PhD, FRCSC Project Summary — Immunotherapy has created a paradigm shift in the treatment of many cancers, including bladder cancer. However, not all patients respond to immunotherapy.

Our prior research suggests androgens and the androgen receptor may play a role in the biology how bladder tumors respond to immunotherapy. We therefore seek to investigate the role of androgens and the androgen receptor in human bladder cancer immune cells such as macrophages.

Advancing on previously developed methods for detailed analysis of patient tumor biopsies, we seek to identify how immune cells in bladder tumors may be influenced by the presence of androgens and other hormones. We will further compare results between male and female patients.

Overall, we believe a better understanding of how androgens impact bladder cancer-associated immune cells will be pertinent to efforts to improve the response rates to immunotherapy. Michael Ordon, MD, MSc, FRCSC SUNY Upstate Medical University McGill University & Lady Davis Institute University of Toronto and Trillium Health Partners Roswell Park Cancer Institute Jehonathan H.

Pinthus, PhD, MD Pfizer Young Investigator Research Grant I received the NSAUA grant for “Heat Shock Protein Vaccine Targeting Carbonic Anhydrase IX in Renal Cell Carcinoma”. I've continued to work on heat shock protein vaccines. I'm also working on studies to identify biomarkers to predict response to some of the targeted therapies in use for metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

I am now funded by a K23 and a R01, both from the NCI/NIH. The funding was critical for generating preliminary data, which has been used to write an R01 application that is currently under review.

Pfizer Young Investigator Research Grant Since receiving my initial Young Investigator Grant from the NSAUA I have received a PCF Competitive Research Award, Edwin Beer Award, DoD Physician Training Award and Astellas/AUA Foundation Rising Star Award. I am currently re-submitting an RO1. As clinicians we can help one patient at a time.

Through research we have the potential to help generations. If we are not the ones making the discoveries that change the future medicine, who will? Here is a snippet of an anecdote that occurred to me during fellowship some years ago: The second person who has profoundly impacted me in this regard is Donald S.

Coffey, PhD of Johns Hopkins. Dr. Coffey's own intellectual ‘Horatio Alger' story is legend and his impact on science, particularly prostate cancer, the world over unquestioned. He has that wonderful quality about him that makes people in his midst feel like they can do anything, even surgeons.

I was once in a small group with him discussing the future of science when someone asked him why at his age (over 70) he was still so active in research. His reply was, “Well, I may not cure cancer” and then he looked right at me and with a twinkle in his eye said, ‘but, he might. ” That is enough inspiration to last a lifetime.

Pierre I. Karakiewicz, MD Since receiving the NSAUA Young Investigator Grant I have applied for and received peer-reviewed funding from my hospital, the IWK Health Centre and the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation ($150,000 over 3 years). I have also received a Clinical Scholar Award from Dalhousie University of $490,000 over 5 years.

I am very grateful for the funding provided to me by the NSAUA. I continue to have 50% of my time dedicated to research. My next goal is to secure national level peer reviewed funding from the National Kidney Foundation of Canada or the CIHR (Canadian Institutes of Health Research).

I have made many wonderful collaborations over the last few years. These collaborations are incredibly important as the majority of my training is in medicine, not science. Therefore, I am often very dependent upon the expertise of my colleagues.

University of Western Ontario My originally funded project, “Does Ochratoxin A Exposure Lead to Upper Tract Transitional Cell Carcinoma, Renal Cell Carcinoma or Germ Cell Malignancy? ” is still ongoing. Thus far we have developed an IHC method for detecting OTA in both benign and malignant tissues.

We are currently validating this technique. Additionally, we will be testing a series of tumor bank specimens from patients in Ontario. The Young Investigators grant provided funding to investigate the role of OTA in urologic malignanies.

This aided in my development as a urologic oncologist. The funding was critical to allow me to start my academic career to fund a high-risk study, of which I had personal interest, collaborate with other academic urologists/researchers and to become identifiable with others interested in research in genitourinary cancers. This was my first external source of funding which was a tremendous boost to my self-confidence as a researcher.

More importantly, receiving this grant inspired a great deal of confidence in my colleagues as to my abilities and commitment to research and academics. Subsequently, I have been able to secure external funding for two 3-year projects, including federal funding. I remain fully committed to research activity in collaboration with four scientists from 3 different departments and have 3 projects submitted for federal funding this year.

It is impossible for me to overstate the importance of the NSAUA Research Scholarship Grant and the role it has played in directing me towards an academic and research career. I have been involved with the Research Scholarship Program for many years, first as an applicant and then as the Chair of the committee for 3-4 years.

It's clear to me that this one-of-a-kind program is unequivocally the most worthwhile venture under taken by the leadership of our section. I would hope this program continues to foster the research interests of young faculty from the NSAUA for decades to come.

Pfizer Post Residency Scholarship Aventis Pharma Canada Post Residency Scholarship I am very active clinically and specialize in endourology and stone disease with other interests in erectile dysfunction and male infertility. Earlier in my career, I was involved in some more basic science research with the effects of PDE-5 inhibitors using a hypercholesterolemic rabbit model, but funding was difficult after the first few experiments.

The Northeastern Section grants were key to supporting continuing research and allowing some extra training that was not provided during my residency training. These grants are very important to the future success of our Section and to stimulate residents to pursue academic urology.

The Yamanouchi Post Residency Scholarships The Yamanouchi Post Residency Scholarships Graduated Urologist Award Post Residency Research Grant-in-Aid Centre for Applied Urological Research Since my originally funded research, “Vector Delivery and Cancer Genetic Immunotherapy” my research focus has continued to look at tumor adaptations to microenvironmental pressures such as hypoxia and cancer progression especially prostate and bladder cancer.

This has also included immuno-editing and immunotherapy which has been a continuation of my original project. The original funding was particularly important to help establish and refurbish an existing lab (which I am still working out of). Post Residency Research Grant-in-Aid While at the Albany Medical College I did research which was supported by a Post Residency Grant-in-aid of $10,000.

My research on “Sacral Neuromodalation Results in Improved Bladder Function in the Partially Obstructed Rabbit Bladder” was published in the Journal of Urology. I worked on the rat model for studying neuromodulation until I left Albany in 2003. The Scholarship help was significant and is very useful for early investigators.

I thank the Section for the opportunity to carry out this work. Graduated Urologist Award Since receiving my NSAUA Young Investigator Grant in 1999, I have received peer-reviewed research grant funding support from the Kidney Foundation of Canada, the University of Toronto Connaught Fund, and from the Physician Services Incorporated.

I have also received investigator-initiated research support from Sanofi-Synthelabo, Cook Urological, and LMA Medical. The NSAUA scholarship I received was instrumental in launching me on my research career, and in helping us to establish our laparoscopic donor nephrectomy program clinically and from a research perspective. Website Hosted and Maintained by WJ Weiser & Associates, Inc.