Collaborating for the Advancement of Interdisciplinary Research in Benign Urology

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NEW CAIRIBU COMMUNITY INITIATIVES

1. A CAIRIBU Community mobile phone app. Will include easy access to upcoming events in the urology research community, links to meeting registration sites, links to CAIRIBU Community virtual events, etc. Future goals include the ability to push out timely notices as well as chat and message features.
2. CAIRIBU on Bluesky. In addition to posts on X (@CAIRIBU1), CAIRIBU Interactions Core staff simultaneously post on Bluesky in an effort to build a urology research presence there. Follow us on Bluesky @cairibu.bsky.social‬.
3. The CAIRIBU Compass. This is a new quarterly CAIRIBU Community journal. ALL investigators are welcome to submit articles, abstracts, reviews, etc. We plan to use the Compass as a mechanism for publishing abstracts presented at various urology meetings as a way to strengthen and extend CAIRIBU-affiliated investigators' research into the broader urology research community. The CAIRIBU Interactions Core will also use the Compass to publish "not-ready-for-prime-time" material such as early results demonstrating the impact of CAIRIBU Interactions Core initiatives. See more below.
4. A CAIRIBU Community trainee newsletter. This was borne from a suggestion from trainees at a recent meeting to plan the 2025-26 CAIRIBU ARCTICS Community forum series (ARCTICS = Advancing the Research Capacity of Trainees and Investigators at Early Career Stages). The newsletter will feature an "Ask a PI" column, and "Ask a Postdoc" column, a NIDDK Program Officer column, trainee-focused funding information, and more trainee-specific content. Inaugural issue scheduled for July 1, 2025.
5. CAIRIBU Capacity-Building Bootcamps. These will be unique, hands-on learning opportunities to demonstrate cutting-edge techniques and technologies. Ideas we are working on include Python basics (how to install, how to code, and what you can do with it), demonstrations of experimental techniques, and demonstrations of online research tools and technologies. STAY TUNED.

CAIRIBU COMPASS

The CAIRIBU Compass is an online, non-refereed journal of and for the CAIRIBU Community. Primary goal is to support the broader urology research community and raise the visibility of urology research.

Professional but informal, academic yet accessible, appropriate for works-in-progress and not-ready-for-prime-time research content. Commentaries and opinion pieces are also welcome.

The inaugural issue was published in April and is available HERE. The next issue, due out the first of July, will feature full-text abstracts presented at the 2025 annual meeting of the American Urological Association by CAIRIBU-associated trainees and early-stage investigators. Other articles in the next Compass will include:

• Synopses of recent virtual CAIRIBU Urobiome Research Interest Group knowledge exchanges
• Engagement data and other metrics collected from within the CAIRIBU Community that demonstrate impact in urology research
• Summary of the Urology O'Brien Centers Opportunity Pool Program over the past 10 years

YOUR abstract or article could be featured in future issues; contact the CAIRIBU Interactions Core to find out more

CAIRIBU MEETING 2025

WHAT: 8th annual CAIRIBU meeting

WHEN: Wed-Fri, December 3-5

WHERE: University of Wisconsin-Madison

WHO: Collaborative-minded investigators

WHY: Advance urogenital disease research!

The CAIRIBU Community grew out of the NIDDK Urology Centers Research Program, which primarily included the George M. O'Brien Urology Cooperative Research Centers and K12 Urology Research Career Development Programs. The Urology P20 Centers also became part of the CAIRIBU Community. Annual meetings are organized by the CAIRIBU Interactions Core to bring together CAIRIBU Community trainees and investigators as well as all collaborative-minded investigators engaged in urology and urogenital research. This is a fun and welcoming meeting. Hear from investigators involved in all kinds of urology research. Participate in structured and unstructured networking opportunities. Hear from leaders in the urogenital research world. Visit trainees' posters - last year more than 50 posters were presented!

The CAIRIBU Interactions Core was formally initiated in 2020 as a NIDDK-funded U24 cooperative agreement.

The Interactions Core provides coordination, support for collaborative research, platforms

for knowledge exchange and networking, and mechanisms for communication.

Below are annual meeting details worth noting:

• Meeting registration website will be ready later this summer; lodging information will be available
• Meeting registration covers most meals
• Meeting begins Wednesday afternoon, goes all day Thursday, and concludes Friday afternoon
• Abstracts from trainees and early-stage investigators (ESIs as defined by NIH) are accepted; watch for the "request for abstracts" in early August
• Deadline for abstracts will be mid-October
• The 5th annual pre-meeting for trainees and ESIs is on Wednesday morning

September 8-12, 2025

Hosted by the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato, CA

APPLICATION DEADLINE JULY 1, 2025

NO COURSE FEE

(travel and accommodations covered by National Institute on Aging)

Learn current concepts in human aging and experimental aging research from some of the world's leading scientists in the aging and longevity research community. Course topics include:

Brain aging | Stem cell and immune aging | Reproductive aging

Epigenetics and aging | Senescence and aging

Nutrient signaling and aging | Proteostasis and aging

Course is designed primarily for junior faculty and advanced fellows with at least 2 years postdoctoral experiences. Senior scientists wanting to learn more about current aging research may also apply. 15-20 research scientists will be selected. Application requirements and contacts available HERE.

RESEARCH FUNDING

High-Priority Research Opportunity Announcement

OTA-25-006

NIH recently released a Research Opportunity Announcement for the Autism Data Science Initiative (ADSI). The ADSI, funded via the Other Transactions mechanism, is a high priority for NIH leadership and HHS. The ADSI also includes several efforts of general interest for NIH-supported research including supporting data resources, participant privacy, and research replicability/validation. Research strategies of up to 6 pages are accepted. Other require elements include a one-page abstract, a Specific Aims page, biosketches, and Other Support documents. Application due date is June 27, 2025.

Notice of Short-Term Extension to ESI Eligibility

NOT-OD-25-114

NIH is granting the automatic extension of Early Stage Investigator (ESI) eligibility to mitigate delays impacting grant application submissions, peer review, or award processing timelines between January 1, 2025 and May 31, 2025. Updated ESI end dates will appear in eRA Commons profiles by June 8, 2025. (Release date 5/20/2025)

Notice of Continued Eligibility for Career Development Awards

NOT-OD-25-115

NIH is granting a temporary exception to the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 12.3.7 to allow individuals whose mentored career development awards prematurely ended on or after January 1, 2025 to be eligible to apply for a new mentored career development award, contingent on meeting all other eligibility requirements. This exception is effective immediately and will remain in effect until July 31, 2026. (Release date 5/28/2025)

Small Grant Program for NIDDK K01/K08/K23/K25 Recipients

PAR-25-091

This is a limited-competition program that provides NIDDK-supported K01, K08, K23, and K25 recipients the opportunity to apply for Small Grant (R03) support during the latter years of their K awards. Through this mechanism, the NIDDK seeks to enhance the capability of these award recipients to conduct research as they complete their transition to fully independent investigator status. The R03 grant mechanism supports pilot and feasibility studies; secondary analyses of existing data; small, self-contained research projects; development of research methodology; and development of new research technology. (Posted 1/10/2025)

Small R01s for Clinical Trials Targeting Diseases in the NIDDK Mission

PAS-23-086 (reissue)

This NOFO encourages submission of pilot and feasibility clinical trials conducted in humans that will lay the foundation for larger clinical trials releated to the prevention and/or treatment of diseases and conditions within the mission of NIDDK. Small, short-term, proof-of-concept clinical trials to acquire preliminary data regarding the effects of the intervention as well as feasibility data related to recruitment and retention are supported. (Reissue date 3/31/2025)

Innovative Science Accelerator Program

ISAC Awards

Seed funding for exceptionally innovative, disruptive (high-risk/high-reward) research relevant to the Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Research Communities is available. Proposals should demonstrate potential to lead to groundbreaking or paradigm-shifting results that will change the field. Pilot and feasibility projects are NOT allowed. 3-page applications may request up to $100,000 (direct + indirect) for 1 year. Next submission deadline is 9/17/2025.

SUMMER CAIRIBU EVENTS

Monthly, 3rd THURSDAYS

5:00 PM Eastern (4 PM Central | 2 PM Pacific)

2025 K12 scholar seminar series schedule available HERE

June 26 - Zoom link HERE

Jennifer Yarger, PhD

The role of telehealth in improving access to care for UTIs in young adulthood

Dr. Yarger is an Assistant Professor in the Institute for Health Policy Studies in the School of Medicine and a K12 Scholar in the K12 Urological Epidemiology Research (KUroEpi) Institutional Career Development Program at the University of California San Francisco (PI, Alison Huang, MD)

Quarterly, 3rd WEDNESDAYS

Jan - Apr - Jul - Oct

1:00 PM Eastern (12 PM Central | 10 AM Pacific)

2025 grad student seminar series schedule available HERE

July 16 - Zoom link HERE

Mariah Jensen-Wachspress & Samantha McGuire Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University

MENTOR:

Petra Popovics, PhD (prior K12 Scholar, University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Dr. Popovics’ research focuses on the molecular mechanisms of inflammation-induced pathological changes in the prostate through the development of animal and cellular models.

Mariah Jensen-Wachspress

Samantha McGuire

Petra Popovics, PhD

5th Annual Undergraduate Student Research Jamboree



Monday, July 28 | 1:00 PM Eastern

(12:00 PM Central | 10:00 AM Pacific)

SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGE THE GROWTH OF THE UROLOGY RESEARCH PIPELINE. Block July 28th on your calendar. Undergraduate students are spending this summer in urology research programs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Stanford University, and Columbia University. Students are mentored by Urology O'Brien Center leaders and other investigators at these institutions. This is the 5th annual virtual jamboree organized by the CAIRIBU Interactions Core to showcase these promising students' research projects. ALL are welcome to participate in this 2-hour jamboree. Zoom link to join will be available HERE.

CAIRIBU PROGRESS SURVEY

CAIRIBU Progress Survey Highlights CAIRIBU-Facilitated Interactions

CAIRIBU YouTube Playlists are "channels" that correspond to specific research interests

CAIRIBU Interactions Core staff recently categorized all CAIRIBU YouTube content by specific area within the lower urinary tract (more than 120 videos!). Now you can quickly find recordings in which you are most interested (e.g., bladder, prostate, infection, etc.). Content related to trainees is also categorized. Look HERE.

Kristina L. Penniston, PhD, RD

PI, CAIRIBU U24 Interactions Core

(U24-DK127726)

penn@urology.wisc.edu

Dept. of Urology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI

Links to websites for current CAIRIBU Centers and Programs are on the CAIRIBU website HERE