The 10th Annual Multidisciplinary Benign Urology Research Symposium was held on Wednesday, April 9, 2025 at Trent Semans Great Hall at Duke University. This year's themes — "Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare" and "Advancing the Precision of Neuromodulation in Urology" — attracted faculty, trainees, students and other researchers from over 20 institutions representing more than 25 subspecialties including urology, ob/gyn, nephrology, surgery, bioethics and biomedical engineering. Over 90 people attended this daylong symposium that engaged participants through stimulating presentations, poster sessions and informal networking, creating an interactive and collaborative atmosphere.
The Duke Department of Urology is one of the co-sponsors of this event that is organized by the K12-KURe career development program and 26 faculty, residents, staff and students from the department attended the symposium. Monty Hughes, PhD, served as a judge for the translational abstract category. Of note: KURe alumnus Michael Odom, PhD, co-authored three abstracts and his mentee Ananya Pinnamaneni won Top Basic Science Abstract and was selected for a podium presentation “Estrogen-dependent mechanisms increase urothelial c-fiber populations and contribute to the pathogenesis of overactive bladder in female type 1 diabetic Akita mice”. Urology resident Aaron Stewart, MD, also gave a podium presentation and won Top Clinical Science Abstract “Enhancing urology referral intake through artificial intelligence-assisted pre-charting: a pilot study.” Dr. Stewart also served as co-moderator for the panel session on “Artificial Intelligence — Where Are We Now? Practical Considerations for Al in Urogynecology and Urology.”
