Support for the 2023 Society of Basic Urological Diseases annual meeting

PROJECT SUMMARY: This application requests support for 30 Trainee Travel Awards for the Society for Basic Urologic Research (SBUR) 2023 Fall Meeting entitled, “Advances in Basic Urological Research: Cellular Diversity and Crosstalk”, which will be held on November 9-12, 2023, at the Sheraton, San Antonio, TX. The

SBUR Fall Research Meeting has been held annually since 1992. To the best of our knowledge, this conference will be the only multi-day conference fully dedicated to basic urologic research in 2023. We have developed a strong program with topics that are current, cutting edge and relevant to the basic and translational urologic

research community. Invited speakers were selected to ensure subject diversity and bring together populations of investigators that will benefit from crosstalk but may not typically interact. This year’s program includes a Trainee Symposium, three keynote lectureships, and six plenary sessions. The Leland W.K. Chung Lecturer,

Owen Witte, will discuss immune targeting strategies for prostate cancer and the AUA lecturer, Aria Olumi, will discuss alternative androgen-independent pathways for prostatic growth. Plenary session topics include 1) New models and technologies for urological research; 2) Cellular heterogeneity and interaction in urological tissues;

3) Genetic and epigenetic alterations of epithelia in urological pathologies; and 4) Stromal microenvironment of urological pathologies; 5) Immunoregulation in urological diseases, and 6) Confounding factors for urological pathologies. The funds requested from this application will support travel awards for trainees and early career

investigators, with emphasis on supporting women and investigators from groups under-represented in research. The primary goals of the conference are to: 1) highlight recent findings in the study of basic mechanisms of urologic diseases; 2) identify critical knowledge gaps in the study of urologic diseases and stimulate approaches

to address them; 3) attract leading scientists from diverse fields in benign and malignant urology; 4) stimulate interactions between basic, translational and clinical research scientists from diverse backgrounds to facilitate cross-disciplinary communication and collaboration; 5) cultivate active participation of women, minorities, the

disabled, trainees, and early career investigators through providing opportunities to present their research and to create pathways for their integration into the field; 6) disseminate and accelerate novel discoveries in urologic diseases; 7) provide career mentorship and networking opportunities to trainees and early career investigators

through the Trainee Symposium. We anticipate a meeting attendance of >250, including SBUR members and non-members, including clinician, physician-scientist, and basic researcher attendees, with special emphasis on early-career investigators and groups typically underrepresented in urologic research. A robust plan is in place

to enhance diversity, publicize the conference and disseminate of the findings.