In 2018, I was a recipient of an AUA Data Grant, under the mentorship of Dr Jeremy B. Myers, for a project entitled “Long-term Complications from Treatments of Prostate Cancer: An Analysis of the Utah Population Database.” At the time, I was a rising resident in the urology training program at the University of Utah. This project sought to understand the long-term complications associated with radiotherapy, surgery, or both for localized prostate cancer. This project used a unique population-based cohort (the Utah Population Database) to overcome several limitations of prior SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results)-Medicare studies. We sought to better define the long-term morbidity and mortality associated with treatment specific complications (incontinence, urinary obstruction, rectal complications, secondary malignancies, etc) compared to a population control without prostate cancer.

This award enabled our team to leverage big data to inform patients and providers regarding the long-term implications of treatments for localized prostate cancer. Importantly, I learned the advantages and limitations of retrospective, population-based studies. This caliber of scientific inquiry would not be possible during urology residency without the support of this award. Additionally, this solidified my desire to focus on prostate cancer survivorship care clinically.

I am currently an assistant professor of urology at the University of California San Diego. My clinical practice primarily focuses on male sexual and reproductive health, specifically erectile dysfunction and prostate cancer survivorship. In establishing my own independent research program, I will leverage my prior research experience in clinical outcomes research and epidemiologic research towards techniques in genetic epidemiology to better understand various causes of organic erectile dysfunction.

I am grateful for the support and recognition the AUA provides for research and advocacy, especially for trainees. The continued support of such programs by the AUA and its leadership shapes the next generation of urologists. With this prior AUA award and the unwavering support from my mentors, Jeremy Myers and Jim Hotaling, I have been able to establish a strong foundation as an early-career surgeon-scientist. I was recently awarded a 5-year Mentored Clinical Scientist Award from the Department of Veterans Affairs to study the genetic and phenotypic overlap of cardiovascular and psychiatric conditions with erectile dysfunction using data from the Million Veterans Program.