The mission of the Department of Urology at the Einstein School of Medicine is to be a world leader in both basic and translational research in erectile and bladder physiology. Under the aegis of the Institute for Smooth Muscle Biology the department has made significant contributions to the field of Urology, with much of its research establishing precedents in the field. For example, our work laid the foundation for gene therapy clinical trials for treatment of erectile dysfunction and overactive bladder in the World. The excellence of the work developed in our department has been recognized by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through award of several grants, including K01, R21, RO1, Program Project, and SBIR grants. Specific areas of interest include:
- Gap junction and Pannexin channels
- Potassium channels
- Myosin-actin contractile physiology
- Purinergic signaling
- Altered opiorphin synthesis and its effect on local and systemic smooth muscle function
- Effects of type I diabetes on bladder and erectile physiology
- Interactions between the urothelial and detrusor smooth muscle tissues in the modulation of bladder function.
- The development of priapism associated with Sickle cell disease
In addition, to pursue our goal as a translational department, we have created a biotechnology company, Ion Channel Innovations, LLC, that has licensed the patents from Einstein to begin two clinical trials to correct erectile dysfunction and overactive bladder using naked DNA gene transfer.
The Urology Department has a long standing collaboration with the Departments of Neuroscience, Neurology, Physiology & Biophysics, Pathology, Orthopedics and the Diabetes Research and Training Center. Our goal is to continue and extend those collaborations to other departments within and outside Einstein to help us meet the restraints of the current research environment.