Research undertaken at the UW-Madison George M. O’Brien Center for Benign Urology Research is dedicated to improving urologic health in aging men. The center is a multi-site research cooperative between the University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Massachusetts-Boston, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Our lobster and cheese insignia reflects the Wisconsin-Massachusetts collaboration.
CURRENT PROJECTS
In addition to building research tools and improving technology for benign urology research, the U54 O’Brien Center for Benign Urologic Research also supports basic science and translational research.
RESOURCES FOR RESEARCHERS
The U54 O'Brien Center for Benign Urologic Research provides funding opportunities, technical resources, and protocols for researchers.
SEMINARS AND EVENTS
Visit our Seminars and Events page for a full list of upcoming and past seminars and events hosted by the O'Brien Center.
MISSION
The O’Brien Centers were established by the NIDDK in 1987 as P50 programs and worked independently. They were converted to the U54 mechanism in 2012 to encourage collaboration between funded centers and sharing with the larger research community with the following mission:
- Support the next generation of urologic researchers by providing meaningful education, support, and mentoring
- Cultivate new research tools and ideas by expanding the collaborative network within and outside of the traditional urologic research field
- Enhance knowledge of mechanisms associated with normal development, function, and disease pathology related to the urinary tract, kidney, and prostate
- Translate knowledge and tools generated from our collaborations to the clinical setting to reduce the burden of benign urologic illness by developing and testing therapies to better treat, manage, and prevent these diseases
GOALS
The goals of the O’Brien Center are to:
- Identify factors that cause urinary dysfunction in aging men
- Build consensus around research approaches to model urinary dysfunction in rodents
- Provide opportunities for established investigators to transition into the field of benign urology
- Secure the future of urologic research by promoting development of the next generation of urologic researchers
- Disseminate urologic research knowledge through seminars, workshops and symposia
OTHER U54 O’BRIEN CENTERS FOR BENIGN UROLOGY RESEARCH
Columbia University George M. O’Brien Urology Center
The Columbia University O’Brien Urology Center brings together research programs in Human Genetics and Mouse models to address the causes of congenital urinary tract malformations.
University of Pittsburgh O’Brien Urology Research Center
The University of Pittsburgh O'Brien Urology Research Center's mission is to identify new targets for developing novel preventative & therapeutic treatment approaches for BPH.
Latest News
Dr. William Ricke receives the 2019 Society of Toxicology’s Kenneth P. DuBois Award
We would like to congratulation Dr. William Ricke, who received the 2019 Society of Toxicology’s Kenneth P. DuBois Award. The Kenneth P. DuBois Award honors an outstanding Midwest toxicologist with a career involving several years (15+) …
September 4, 2019Sam Thomas of the Ricke and Li labs defends his dissertation and completes his Ph.D.
Sam Thomas of the Ricke and Li labs defended his dissertation entitled, “A Systems Biology Perspective on Environmental Exposures and Inflammation in Prostatic Diseases via Mass Spectrometry,” today and has completed his Ph.D.! His interdisciplinary …
August 28, 2019Diya Binoy Joseph has been selected as the 2018 recipient of the UW-Madison Cellular and Molecular Biology Graduate Program’s Exceptional Thesis Award
The CMB committee that reviewed the nominated theses provided the following thoughts about Diya and her research. “During the course of her studies on prostate development and regeneration in Dr. Chad Vezina’s lab, she discovered …
May 2, 2019Kyle Wegner is first author on ‘Edar is a downstream target of beta-catenin and drives collagen accumulation in the mouse prostate’
Kyle Wegner is first author on ‘Edar is a downstream target of beta-catenin and drives collagen accumulation in the mouse prostate’, published in BIO. Kyle is a PhD candidate in the lab of Chad M. …
March 26, 20192019 O’BRIEN CENTER SPRING SYMPOSIUM
Click here to take the post-symposium survey Click here for the U54 2019 Symposium Program 2019, O’Brien Symposium Logistical Information, 3.22.19
February 7, 2019- More News