KURe

Drs. Copp, Baskin and Choudhry

Multidisciplinary K12 Urologic Research (KURe) Career Development Program

The KURe program continues to recruit a group of talented junior faculty from diverse disciplines who are interested in pursuing careers in the study of benign urological diseases. KURe scholars will receive career development training and support to develop the skills necessary to become outstanding independent investigators able to lead multidisciplinary research teams. Successful scholars will ultimately use the program to obtain extramural (NIH) research funding and tenure track or equivalent academic positions.

To be a KURe scholar candidates must have either a doctoral level medical degree (MD) or have earned a PhD. Graduating residents are eligible to apply. The UCSF KURe encourages both clinically trained physicians in urology and related fields, and scholars from outside the field of urology to submit an application. The intent of the KURe program is to bring into the field of urology expertise in basic research, clinical sciences, epidemiology and biostatistics, and the physical sciences. Basic research expertise may include disciplines such as cell and molecular biology, genomics and proteomics, biochemistry, physiology, developmental biology, tissue engineering, immunology, pathology, neurobiology, and microbiology. Examples of clinical science expertise other than urology include infectious disease, gastroenterology, gynecology, endocrinology, anesthesiology, neurobiology, and radiology. Physical sciences expertise includes fields such as physics, bio-engineering, and chemical and mechanical engineering.

Successful applicants will receive a faculty appointment as clinical instructor, assistant professor or postdoctoral fellow, based on their qualifications, in the department of urology. Urologists (and non-urologic physicians)  will practice part-time in the UCSF health enterprise, and their salaries will be commensurate with their titles and clinical responsibilities. All scholars will be provided with a combined package of departmental support, research facilities, and resources to allow clinical scholars a minimum of 50% protected time for research. Continuing participation in the KURe program will depend on evidence garnered from the scholar’s annual progress report and relevant scholar meetings that demonstrate progress toward research independence and the ongoing need for support. Scholars will be matched with a team of experienced mentors from diverse disciplines. Each mentor team will assure that each scholar is integrated into laboratory based, clinical and translational programs at UCSF. They will support scholar research by providing access to resources and by integrating scholar training in core disciplines critical to their future success. Each mentor team will be comprised of a lead mentor, co-mentors, a research mentor, and a career mentor. Each mentor will play a unique role in the development of the scholar. Mentors are available from a wide range of disciplines and include internationally recognized senior clinical and laboratory based researchers with expertise in benign urologic disease.

 

Name

Hillary
Copp, MD, MPH

Shweta
Choudhry, PhD

Benjamin
Breyer, MD

Tom Chi, MD

Date started August 2009 October 2009 July 2010 July 2011
Field/discipline Pediatric Urology Human Genetics Urologic Reconstruction
and Voiding dysfunction
Urinary Stone Disease
Ethnicity Caucasian Asian (South Asian) Caucasian Asian
Recruitment  Stanford Urology 

UCSF Internal

Medicine 

UCSF Urology  UCSF Urology 
 Academic
appointment
Assistant Professor  Assistant Professor  Clinical Instructor
(Assistant Professor 7/1/10)
 
Clinical Instructor 
 Department Urology Urology  Urology  Urology 
 Title of Project

PNUT Study 

Genetics of Benign
Urologic Diseases 

Influence of HIV on Voiding

 

Drosophila as a model
organism for nephrolithiasis

 Mentors:
   Career
   Lead
   Co-mentor

Career:
Laurence Baskin
Lead:
Stephen Van Den Eden
Co-mentor:
Michael Cabana
Career:
Jeanette Brown
Co-mentor:
Steve Hulley

Career:
John Witte
Lead:
Laurence Baskin
Co-mentor:
June Chan

Career:
Jack McAninch / Peter Carroll
Lead:
Tom Lue
Co-mentor:
Leslee Subak

Career:
Marshall Stoller
Lead:
Pankaj Kapahi
Co-mentor:
Katja Bruckner

 

Name

Nadia Roan, PhD

Anne Suskind, MD

Adriane Sinclair, PhD            

Lindsay Hampson, MD

Date started May 2012 August 2014 January 2016 July 2016
Field/discipline Infection HIV Transmission Female Urology Laboratory Research Reconstructive Urology
Ethnicity South Asian Caucasian Caucasian Caucasian
Recruitment  Gladstone Institute 

Michigan Urology 

UCSF  UCSF 
 Academic
appointment
Assistant Professor  Assistant Professor 

Postdoctoral Fellow 

Assistant Professor 
 Department Urology Urology  Urology  Urology 
 Title of Project

Exploring the mechanisms by which semen amyloids promote HIV Infection 

Immediate and long-term outcomes of common urologic procedures in nursing home residents 

Animal Models of Hypospadias                                                           

 

Improving Shared Decision-Making inSurgery                  

 

 Mentors:
   Career
   Lead
   Co-mentor

Career:
Ruth Greenblatt
Lead:
Warner Greene
Co-mentor:
Laurence Baskin
and Linda Giudice

Co-lead mentors:
Emily Finlayson, Louise Walter
Career mentor:
Max Meng

Co-lead mentors:
Laurence Baskin, Jerry Cunha
Career mentor:
Steve Glickman
Co-lead mentors:
Ben Breyer, Leslie Wilson
Career mentor:
Peter Carroll

KURe Scholars

Available mentors have been categorized into areas of study and are listed below:

Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy

  • Stephen van den Eden, PhD
  • Tom Lue, MD
  • Ken Covinsky, MD
  • Seth Landerfeld, MD
  • Ralph Gonzales, MD
  • Charles McCulloch, PhD
  • Stacey Kenfield, ScD
  • John Witte, PhD
  • Benjamin Breyer, MD, MAS
  • Katsuto Shinohara, MD
  • June Chan, ScD
  • Sharon Kaufmann, PhD

Calculi and Metabolic Disease

  • Marshall Stoller, MD
  • Tom Chi, MD
  • David Lovett, MD
  • Mike Shlipak, MD
  • Maxwell Meng, MD
  • Sarah Nelson, PhD
  • John Kurhanewicz, PhD
  • Peter Stock, MD
  • Anthony Portale, MD
  • Deanna Kroetz, PhD
  • Kathy Giaccomini, PhD
  • Pankaj Kapahi, PhD
  • Katja Bruckner, PhD

Congenital, Development

  • Laurence Baskin, MD
  • Gerald Cunha, PhD
  • Ophir Klein, MD, PhD
  • Katherine Rauen, MD, PhD
  • Rik Derynck, PhD
  • Jason Pomerantz, MD, PhD
  • Brian Black, PhD
  • Susan Fisher, PhD
  • Zina Werb, PhD
  • June Chan, ScD
  • John Witte, PhD

Diabetes, Obesity, Hormones

  • Nancy Adler, PhD
  • Gerald Cunha, PhD
  • Steve Gitelman, MD
  • Walter Miller, MD
  • Melvin Heyman, MD

Environment and Endocrine Disruptors

  • Laurence Baskin, MD
  • Gerald Cunha, PhD
  • Linda Giudice, MD, PhD
  • Stephen Glickman, PhD
  • Leslee Subak, MD
  • Tracey Woodruff, PhD, MPH
  • June Chan, ScD.

Erectile Dysfunction

  • Tom Lue, MD
  • Stephen van den Eden, PhD
  • Ken Covinsky, MD
  • Seth Landerfeld, MD
  • Benjamin Breyer MD, MAS

Imaging

  • John Kurhanewicz, PhD
  • Sarah Nelson, PhD
  • Marshall Stoller, MD
  • Ron Cohen, MD
  • John McKenzie, MD
  • Andrew Phillips, MD

Pelvic Pain, Neurobiology

  • Tom Lue, MD
  • Mel Heyman, MD
  • Uma Mahadevan, MD
  • Jon Levine, MD, PhD

Regenerative Medicine, Stem Cells

  • Rik Derynck, PhD
  • Tom Lue, MD
  • Robert Blelloch, MD, PhD
  • Laurence Baskin, MD
  • Ching-Shwun Lin, PhD
  • Gerald Cunha, PhD
  • Rajvir Dahiya, PhD
  • Susan Fisher, PhD

Sexual Differentiation

  • Tom Lue, MD
  • Laurence Baskin, MD
  • Gerald Cunha, PhD
  • Walter Miller, MD
  • Stephen Glickman, PhD
  • Susan Fischer, PhD
  • Sharon Kaufman, PhD

Urinary Incontinence

  • Tom Lue, MD
  • David Thom, MD, PhD
  • Stephen van den Eden, PhD

Urinary Tract Infection, HIV

  • Tom Newman, MD, MPH
  • Michael Cabana, MD, MPH
  • Laurence Baskin, MD
  • Hillary Copp, MD
  • Nadia Roan, PhD
  • June Chan, ScD
  • Andrew Leavitt, MD
  • Ralph Gonzales, MD

Eligibility

Scholars must have a doctoral level degree such as an MD, DO, MD/PhD, or PhD. Graduating residents are eligible to apply. Scholars must be committed to a career in independent research in benign urologic disease. Scholars should have no more than five years of postdoctoral research experience and not more than 10 years should have elapsed since receiving the terminal doctoral degree. Time spent in clinical fellowships is not considered postdoctoral research training. Mid-career and senior faculty are not eligible. Final selection of scholars must be approved by NIDDK staff. Scholars must be a US citizen or have a valid green card.

Application Process

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis. Prior to submitting a formal application, interested applicants should identify at least two mentors from different disciplines on the list above (or identify another suitable mentor at UCSF). The applicant should then discuss these potential mentors with the program director, Laurence Baskin, MD ([email protected]). Candidates work with the program director and their selected mentors to develop a draft KURe independent development plan. The mentoring relationships will be formalized upon successful acceptance into the program. Application packets should be submitted electronically to Laurence Baskin, MD, program director. Application packets will include:

1) Cover letter. The letter should address why the candidate is qualified to be a KURe scholar.

2) Evidence of MD degree and clinical training (generally fellowship); or evidence of PhD or other degree (e.g. MPH, etc.)

3) Evidence of US citizenship or permanent residency, as per NIH guidelines

4) Curriculum vitae

5) Undergraduate (and graduate, if available) medical education transcripts

6) Three letters of recommendation

7) A one- to three-page statement of background, research interests and goals. The statement should identify the research resources available through the lead mentor

8) Early draft (1-3 pages, with mentor input) of a KURe independent development plan. The plan should be developed under the guidance of a program director. It will identify a possible lead, co- and career mentor, and explain the candidate's research interests and career goals.

Selection Process

Successful candidates will submit a complete application as described above that presents their experience, productivity and passion for biomedical, translational or clinical research. Applicants must provide evidence of their research experiences in undergraduate and medical or graduate school, of an outstanding academic record, and of authored publications, as well as strong letters of support. The most qualified candidates who have demonstrated their potential to develop an independent multidisciplinary career in urology will be selected.

The following specific criteria will be used to rank all applicants:

1) The quality of previous training and accomplishments

2) The strength and feasibility of the training plan

3) The nature and feasibility of the research plan

4) The importance of the research area and question

5) The level of support from the mentored research environment 

6) The quality, feasibility and potential for success of the research protocol

Selected Candidates

Upon entering the KURe program each scholar will meet with the program directors, the possible mentors identified in their draft KURe individual development plan, and the advisory committee. This group will recommend a final mentor team. With the input of the program director and each scholar's mentors, a working three- or five-year plan will be established for each scholar. Each scholar's plan will highlight research interests and career goals, as well as the particular plan for developing content and methodological expertise, and communication and leadership skills. Each plan will outline clear steps, including: a specific didactic curriculum, a research plan, and a mentoring plan. The plan will define the limited clinical and teaching activities expected of each scholar. Successful KURe scholars will use the experiences of the program to obtain NIH research funding as well as promotion to a tenure track or equivalent academic position.