CAIRIBU TRAINEE

NEWSLETTER

COLLABORATING FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH IN BENIGN UROLOGY

ISSUE No. 4 || 4.15.26

UPDATE: The CAIRIBU website is currently undergoing a full redesign and will be migrating to a new platform at the end of the month.


If you are viewing this newsletter after April 26 and encounter any broken links, please visit the Resources tab on the CAIRIBU website (www.cairibu.urology.wisc.edu) to access this issue of the Trainee Newsletter.

 
 

HELP PLAN THE NEXT ARCTICS SERIES

CAIRIBU ARCTICS forums are planned BY and FOR trainees and early-stage investigators. The 2026-2027 series begins in September.


If you're a trainee or early-stage investigator interested in contributing, please email us.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ASK A PI: Career Path Evolutions

ASK A TRAINEE: What to do in Grad School

TESTIMONIAL from Prior CAIRIBU P20 Center Trainee

NIDDK Training and Career Development Programs

 

ADVICE COLUMNS & TESTIMONIALS

In each issue of the CAIRIBU Trainee Newsletter, trainees have the opportunity to submit questions to be answered by CAIRIBU investigators from across the network.


This issue features insights from Principal Investigator Douglas Strand, PhD and Prior Urology Resident, Seth Reasoner, MD, PhD.


Click the button below each article to read the full feature on our website.

ASK A PI - Douglas Strand, PhD


Question: How did your career path evolve? 



Answer: Throughout his career, Douglas Strand, PhD, has had to balance different priorities such as publishing productivity, learning new disciplines, and mentoring. In this reflective piece, Dr. Strand highlights the importance of connecting with opportunities and people who support and challenge you to pursue your science at different stages of your professional life. Dr. Strand’s career journey is a testament to the fact that success does not happen overnight or in a vacuum. Read more in the full article.

ASK A TRAINEE - By Anonymous


Question: What is one thing you did in grad school to set you up for success as a post doc?


Answer: Academic journeys can be unconventional, but proactive connection-building is the most valuable investment you can make during graduate school — more so, perhaps, than a first-author publication or a narrowly focused research agenda. Collaborations and mentorships compound over time. They open doors that credentials alone rarely can. Read more in the full article.

TRAINEE TESTIMONY - Seth Reasoner, MD, PhD


Seth Reasoner recently completed his MD-PhD at Vanderbilt University. He is now entering an internal medicine/gastroenterology residency in the research pathway at Case Western University in Ohio. He was part of the CAIRIBU Community starting with Dr. Maria Hadjifrangiskou’s Urology P20 Center at Vanderbilt University.


He describes CAIRIBU as a welcoming and collaborative research community that fostered meaningful interdisciplinary partnerships and led to some of his most fruitful scientific collaborations. 

 

Hello CAIRIBU community! It’s my pleasure to again provide a few words on a topic that I believe will be of interest to you. Since this is a trainee newsletter it’s probably time I discuss opportunities through the NIDDK’s Training and Career Development Programs. 


The NIDDK has a long history of supporting the training of investigators interested in urology research all the way from high school students through established investigators. Indeed, this commitment to fostering the next generation of urology scientists and clinicians is central to our mission. This is, of course, evident in the many activities coordinated through CAIRIBU, but we also address this priority through numerous training and career development awards. 

 

TRAINEE-FOCUSED FUNDING

Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Predoctoral Fellowship (Parent F31)

NIH (incl NIDDK, NIA, NICHD, NIAID)



Stipend, tuition/fees, & institutional allowance for predoctoral students training from faculty sponsors while conducting biomedical research for <6y. Open to US citizens, nationals, or lawful permanent residents. Standard due dates (Apr, Aug, & Dec 8); exp. 5/8/28.

Translational Medicine Predoctoral & Postdoctoral Fellowships

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Foundation (PhRMA), Inc.


<$30K (predoc.) or <$60K (postdoc) supporting 2y of translational medicine research. Must state therapeutically relevant hypothesis.Submit LOI & include NIH biosketch, project abstract, & responses to research impact questions. Open to US & non-US citizens. LOI due 5/27/26.

Diana Jacobs Kalman/AFAR Graduate Student Awards in Geroscience

American Federation for Aging Research


$5K for research/academic advancement for graduate students with a track record of high-quality and relevant research in geroscience, biology of aging, or related discipline. Must have completed 2y of doctoral program. Nominations and supporting materials due: 5/8/26.

Career Transition Award (K22 Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

National Institute on Aging (NIA)



$116K/y salary + $58K/y research development cost for 3y to support mentored, postdoctoral aging researchers' transition to tenure-track or equivalent faculty positions. Open to US citizens, nationals, or lawful permanent residents. Next due date: 6/12/26; exp. 7/13/26.

 

JOB OPENINGS

University of Virginia – IGNITE KUH



The Integrated Virginia Research Training Centers in Kidney, Urology, and Hematology (IGNITE KUH), a pre-and postdoctoral research training program, is designed to address the increase in disease burden in kidney, urology, and hematology, where there is a shortage of the workforce to advance scientific discoveries and technology.


Pre-Doctoral deadline: March/April, 2026
Post-Doctoral deadline:
open, accepted on a rolling basis.

Public Health Laboratory Fellowships



The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) seek degreed applicants (bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate) who are interested in starting or furthering a career in laboratory science while working collaboratively with industry leaders and developing professional networks. 



Rolling deadline

University of California San Francisco (UCSF)-Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) UroEpi K12 Program



This program is inviting early-stage clinical researchers interested in launching research careers in the epidemiology of non-malignant urological conditions to apply for junior faculty K12 scholar positions at either UCSF or KPNC.


Rolling deadline

 

UPCOMING TRAINEE FOCUSED EVENTS

ARCTICS Community Forum


May 5, 2026
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm ET

ARCTICS Community Forum


May 13, 2026
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm ET

CAIRIBU K12 Scholar Seminar


May 14, 2026

5:00 pm - 6:00 pm ET


WANT TO ASK A QUESTION?

We want to hear from you! Use the short survey below to submit your question for a future issue of the CAIRIBU Trainee Newsletter. You'll also have the chance to share your thoughts on how we're doing and what you'd like to see in upcoming editions. Now anonymized.

 

WANT TO READ MORE?

See previous issues that feature more expert advice and include overviews of various NIH funding programs to help guide trainees through the research funding landscape. New issues of the Trainee Newsletter are released quaterly on the 15th of January, April, July, and October.

 

ABOUT CAIRIBU

Collaborating for the Advancement of Interdisciplinary Research in Benign Urology


CAIRIBU is a community of NIDDK-funded U54 and P20 Urology Centers and K12 Institutional Career Development Programs whose overarching objectives are to address gaps in knowledge related to epidemiology, etiology, development, progression, and expression of non-malignant urologic conditions and to train the next generation of leaders in urology research. The CAIRIBU Interactions Core is the central coordinating body for the CAIRIBU Community.

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