Clinical and Translational Research
Our physicians are active in clinical and translational research through clinical trials and studies exploring a diverse range of urologic disorders and clinical areas, as part of our comprehensive and integrated research program.
Highlights
Urologic Oncology
Christopher B. Anderson, MD
Dr. Anderson is leading a long-term prospective study collecting tissue on patients with bladder cancer. He is performing multiple types of tissue analysis, including single cell RNA sequencing, to learn more about cancer resistance mechanisms. He is additionally involved in a clinical trial on bladder preservation for muscle invasive bladder cancer.
Izak Faiena, MD
Dr. Faiena is committed to advancing the field of prostate cancer through groundbreaking studies and clinical trials, targeting both localized and advanced stages of the disease. Notable initiatives include research funded by the Department of Defense to explore the long-term effects of androgen deprivation therapy in patients with metastatic prostate cancer; the development of a clinical trial evaluating the combination of immunotherapy and irreversible electroporation for advanced prostate cancer; and the establishment of the Columbia University Prospective Focal Therapy Registry.
Michael A. Feuerstein, MD
Dr. Feuerstein's research focuses on quality of life and quality of care in urologic cancers. Most recently, he has published work highlighting interventions to improve clinical trial participation and improve compliance with guideline-directed care in prostate cancer and kidney cancer.
Andrew T. Lenis, MD
Dr. Lenis is a surgeon-scientist who performs basic and translational research as a member of the Michael Shen Laboratory within the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC). His research focuses on understanding progression of bladder cancer from non-muscle invasive disease to invasive and metastatic disease. He uses patient-derived tumor organoid models to study treatment resistance and response, and he is also the site PI for the phase III BRIDGE trial (NCT05538663) for patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. His current work is supported by an HICCC Clinical Trialist Early Career Development Scholars Award and generous philanthropy.
Endourology/Kidney Stones
Ezra J. Margolin, MD
Dr. Margolin’s research focuses on the medical and surgical management of kidney stones and benign prostatic hyperplasia. He investigates strategies to streamline and enhance patient care during acute stone episodes. Additionally, he studies quality of life for patients suffering from BPH and stones; optimizing performance of lasers during stone treatment; and developing education initiatives for medical students and residents.
Ojas Shah, MD
Dr. Shah is involved in research regarding medical and surgical treatments for kidney stones and kidney stone prevention in addition to upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma. He is involved in many clinical research trials regarding new surgical techniques in the start-of-the-art management of stone disease.
Reconstructive Urology
Gregory A. Joice, MD
Dr. Joice's research interests include prostate cancer survivorship, men's health, and complex reconstructive surgical outcomes. His team works on projects ranging from healthcare outcomes to clinical trials to translation research. Current projects include: understanding the role of the microbiome in men's health and prostate cancer survivorship, development of a benign urology biobank, and predicting benign impact of pelvic radiation using clinical and pathologic risk factors.
Voiding Dysfunction
Kimberly L. Cooper, MD
Dr. Cooper is involved in an O’Brien Center grant and works with colleagues in the Department of Medicine to investigate the role of the fecal and urinary microbiome on recurrent UTIs and asymptomatic bacteriuria. She also assesses anxiety levels secondary to UTIs.
Medical Education
Gina M. Badalato, MD
Dr. Badalato is the Vice Chair of Education and Faculty Affairs in the department and an Advisory Dean at VP&S. Her research focuses on medical education in urology across the training spectrum, including undergraduate, graduate, and continuing medical education.
Patient Care Improvement
David M. Weiner, MD
Dr. Weiner's clinical and academic interests are centered around improving the efficacy and performance of patient care. He has worked to create an acute care urology service to meet these goals. The positive impact on patient care and outcomes has been shared at national and international meetings and is expanding into our department outpatient setting.