The Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine & Urogenital Reconstruction (SUFU) held its annual Winter Meeting March 7-11, 2023. This was a full in-person meeting and included a wide variety of topics in the Basic Science/Translational Science Program, chaired by John E. Speich, PhD (cochaired by Michel A. Pontari, MD). David A. Ginsberg, MD, presided over the meeting.

The Basic and Translational Science Program included 2 keynote speakers. The first was Janet Keast, PhD, BSc (Hons), who talked on Multi-scale Mapping of the Pelvic Visceral Nervous System: From Spinal Cord to Organ. She gave a detailed description of the pelvic nerve and the route of the individual nerves going to the urethral and rectal afferents, as well as to the cavernous and hypogastric nerves. The second keynote lecture was from Thomas A. Rando, MD, PhD, on Enhancing Stem Cell Function to Treat Muscle Disorders. He described a strategy to deliver nanocapsules with staged growth factor release, to enhance the ability of transplanted muscle stem cells to promote regeneration of muscle in vivo.

Aaron D. Mickle, PhD, moderated a panel on Advances in Neural Engineering. This included talks by Margot S. Damaser, PhD, on The UroMonitor Enables Ambulatory Wireless Catheter-free Closed Loop Neuromodulation, Tim Bruns, PhD, presenting on Interfacing With the Peripheral Nervous System for Responsive Bladder Neuromodulation, and Zachary Danziger, PhD, discussing Systems Level LUT [lower urinary tract] Computational Modeling as an Approach to Understand Neurourology and Design Neuromodulation.

The next panel was on Resources for SUFU Investigators, moderated by John Speich, PhD. The first presentation was “NIDDK [National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases]: What to Know About Research Funding Opportunities, Application Submission, and Review Panelist,” by Julia S. Barthold, MD, who is an NIDDK program officer. This was followed by “NIDDK and Other Resources Available to Urology Research Community,” presented by Eric W. Brunskill, PhD, also from the NIH.

A panel on cutting-edge imaging techniques was led by Rose Khavari, MD. The first talk was by Becky Clarkson, PhD, on Imaging the Brain’s Role in Continence. This was followed by Alejandro Roldan-Alzate V, PhD, who discussed MRI Urodynamics—Non-invasive Assessment of the Lower Urinary Tract. This included data on converting MRI flow dynamics into a noninvasive way to measure bladder pressure. The final talk in this session was by Wouter Everaerts, MD, PhD, who presented his work on Videocystometry, A Novel Tool to Study Bladder (Dys)function in Rodents.

Sylvia O. Suadicani, MSc, PhD, moderated the panel on Regenerative Medicine. Presentations included “The Role of Regenerative Therapy in Restoring Structure and Function in the Urinary Tract,” by J. Koudy Williams, DVM, “Pragmatic Regenerative Therapies for Pelvic Soft Tissues,” by Marianna Alperin, MD, MS, and “Stem Cell for Urethral Regeneration,” by Bertha H. Chen, MD.

SUFU recently lost one of its members, Phil Smith, MD, who embodied the spirit of being a surgeon-scientist. I moderated the panel in honor of Phil and had surgeon-scientists present their research as well as discuss the modern challenges to being both a practicing clinician and researcher. Larissa V. Rodriguez, MD, FPMRS, presented, “Stress and the Brain Bladder Connection.” Wouter Everaerts, MD, PhD, gave another presentation, this time on Transient Receptor Potential Channels in Bladder (Dys)function. Finally, Adam P. Klausner, MD, presented “Next Generation Urodynamics: Use of a Porcine Model to Develop Novel Urodynamic Tests.”

The top 10 basic science abstracts were presented as a podium session. The first-place winner was Margot Damaser, PhD, with “Measurement of Feline Bladder Pressure and Volume Using Catheter-free Wireless Intravesical Sensor.” Her group has developed a wireless pressure sensor that can be inserted into the bladder and measures intravesical bladder pressure that is wirelessly transmitted to an external radio which stores and then transmits it to a phone or computer.

The remaining abstracts were presented in 2 poster sessions. Winners were selected for each. The first was Ilaha Isali, MD, with “Modulation of Tissue Repair vis M2 Macrophage Subtypes In Vitro.” The winner of the second session was Star Okolie, who presented “Defining the Dynamics of Urogenital Microbiome Structure in Postmenopausal Women.”

On Thursday morning, March 9, 2023, a new investigators panel included Renea Sturm, MD, who presented “Engineering Elastic Biomaterials for the Lower Urinary Tract.” This was followed by “Microbial and Metabolic Markers of Recurrent UTI [urinary tract infection] Susceptibility,” by Nicole De Nisco, PhD, and “Computational Modeling of the Female Pelvic Floor,” by Megan Routzong, PhD. The final presentation was more clinically oriented, by Giulia I. Lane, MD, MS, on Personalized Treatment Decision Making in Overactive Bladder.

We are looking forward to next year’s meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, February 20-24, 2024.