Research

About Us

Blue Background

The Department of Urology has an outstanding research environment that is at the core of its mission. Our four major areas of research focus include basic science, engineering, clinical translational, and health services. The Department annually has funded research in excess of 4.0 million dollars and is ranked amongst the top urology departments nationally for federal research funding.

This is unpublished

Overview

The Department has retained a Research Year in its six year residency track to better support its mission of developing future Surgeon-Scientists. Some of the many opportunities for involvement are listed below.

 

Research Centers of Excellence

CHORD (Center for Health Outcomes Research & Dissemination)

The mission of CHORD is to design and implement research studies that impact clinical practice and health policy to improve the health and well-being of patients with urologic problems. CHORD supports research and dissemination programs devoted to the study of quality, access, and variations in care for patients with urologic health conditions, as well as the advancement of health equity and patient-centered outcomes in urologic care. CHORD’s infrastructure consists of investigators, staff, resources, and collaborators. CHORD’s research staff has extensive experience in stakeholder engagement, qualitative and quantitative research methods, and patient-centered outcomes and comparative effectiveness research. Professor John Gore, MD, MS, is the Director of CHORD and Assistant Professor Yaw Nyame, MD, MS, MBA, is the Associate Director of CHORD.

 

IPCR (Institute for Prostate Cancer Research)

Professor and Chair Emeritus Dr. Paul Lange spent considerable effort to establish the Institute of Prostate Cancer Research (IPCR), which supports research activities of approximately 15 programs at the UW and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. Together these researchers have already identified and/or assembled up to 80 percent of the genes expressed in prostate cancer, developed one of the largest serum and tissue banks in the world, undertaken some of the most advanced studies of bone biology and skeletal metastases, assembled information and genotypes for more than 300 families with hereditary prostate cancer, and developed many new therapeutic strategies. Professor of Urology Daniel Lin, MD, is the Director of the IPCR.

 

WISH (WWAMI Institute for Simulation in Healthcare)

The University of Washington’s premiere simulation training facility for healthcare education serving the WWAMI region, the Institute for Simulation in Healthcare (WISH) connects over 30 departments and programs throughout UW Medicine, School of Medicine, School of Nursing, School of Pharmacy, and Physician’s Assistant Training Program (MEDEX). Professor of Urology Robert M. Sweet, MD, FACS, is the Executive Director of WISH.

 

Genitourinary Cancer Research Lab 

The GU Cancer Research Lab was founded by Professor Emeritus Robert L. Vessella, Ph.D. The prostate and bladder cancer rapid autopsy programs provide a valuable resource for identifying emerging treatment resistant phenotype and establishment of patient-derived xenografts allow for systematic evaluations of treatment targets, response, and emerging resistance. The lab is co-directed by Dr. Colm Morrissey and Dr. Eva Corey.

 

Active Research initiatives

BACPAC (Black and African-Descent Collaborative for Prostate Cancer ACtion)

In the United States, Black and African-descent men are up to 80% more likely to develop prostate cancer and 120% more likely to die from prostate cancer. Led by Dr. Yaw NyameBACPAC is a community of patients, advocates, physicians, and researchers brought together with the mission of improving prostate cancer care for Black and African-descent men through community-based translational research. BACPAC is part of an overarching effort to perform translational research to address inequities in prostate cancer care and outcomes, with the goal of finding durable solutions that are also transferrable to other cancers at both the local and national levels.

 

Canary PASS (Prostate Active Surveillance Study)

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men. Prostate cancer treatment choices are complicated because the majority of prostate cancers will not be lethal, even if left untreated. Doctors cannot always tell which cancers can remain untreated and which will become more aggressive. As a result, some men may receive treatment unnecessarily and some men may not receive sufficient treatment. PASS is a multi-center research study for men who have chosen active surveillance to manage their prostate cancer. This study seeks to discover markers to distinguish aggressive cancers from less aggressive cancers. Researchers in this study aims to develop new tests and better strategies to help men decide if and when their cancers need treatment.

 

CISTO (The Comparison of Intravesical Therapy and Surgery as Treatment Options)

The nationwide study conducted by Dr. John L. Gore and Dr. Angela B. Smith, has the potential to fill critical evidence gaps, change care pathways for the management of NMIBC (non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer), and provide for personalized, patient-centered care. The purpose of CISTO is to conduct a large prospective study that directly compares the impact of medical management versus bladder removal in recurrent high-grade NMIBC patients with BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guerin) failure on clinical outcomes and patient and caregiver experience using standardized patient-reported outcomes (PROs).

 

LURN (Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction Research Network)

In an effort to better understand the nature of the symptoms that characterize LUTD, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) has established the Symptoms of Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction Research Network (LURN). The LURN is comprised of an interdisciplinary team of researchers, study coordinators, and medical facilities at six US clinical sites and a data coordinating center (DCC). These sites are working together to improve the lives of people with LUTD.

 

USDRN (Urinary Stone Disease Research Network)

The Urinary Stone Disease Research Network (USDRN) is a group of scientists and investigators designing and conducting research on urinary stones (kidney stones) in adults and children in order to learn more about

  • who forms kidney stones,
  • what are the best treatments,
  • how to prevent stones from forming.