Our research is currently funded by National Institutes of Health Grants U54DK104310, R01ES001332, U01DK110807, F30DK122686, and other sources.

Project 1: Remap the cellular anatomy of the prostate and urinary tract.

• Advanced molecular biology methods allow us to visualize organs in ways that were not previously possible
• We partnered with the Strand Lab at the University of Texas Southwestern to visualize the urinary tract at the cellular and subcellular level
• We are examining how aging, inflammation, and other processes influence prostate and urinary tract cellular composition, trajectories of cell differentiation, and physiological function

Prostate cells are identified by fluorescent staining. We are determining how aging, inflammation, benign enlargement and cancer influence the prostate’s cellular composition

Project 2: Identify new ways to combat prostate collagen accumulation.

• Collagen increases stiffness and reduces efficiency of many aging organs
• Collagen accumulates in prostates of some aging men, impairing passage of urine
• Collagen accumulates during development of some prostate cancers, potentially enabling tumor growth and metastasis
• We are identifying which prostate cells make collagen and testing new therapies to reduce collagen

The left image shows collagen (red) in the prostate of a young adult man. The right image shows expansive collagen in the prostate of an older man. We are measuring collagen abundance and determining how it changes during aging and in response to inflammation, which occurs frequently as men age

Project 3: Determine how the early life environment influences urinary health in adulthood.

• Why some men and male dogs develop symptoms at an early age or in a severe form is unknown
• Our seminal work demonstrated that adult male voiding function is not only shaped by the adult environment, but also by the fetal and neonatal environments
• We are currently unraveling how environmental chemicals program urinary tract anatomy and physiology to make males more susceptible to aging-related urinary dysfunction

We have evidence that environmental chemicals reprogram prostate neuroanatomy, causing prostate smooth muscle to contract excessively and obstructing urine flow through the urethra.

Nerve axons are detected as green fluorescence (urethral epithelial cells are white and cell nuclei are blue). We are counting axons and testing whether they become more numerous after environmental chemical exposures

Calcium is released when prostate smooth muscle contracts and is detected as red, green, and blue fluorescence. Contracted smooth muscle can interfere with urine flow through the urethra and prevent the bladder from emptying. We are testing whether environmental chemicals increase prostate muscle contraction

Project 4: Advance the urinary and prostate health of aging male dogs.

• Male intact dogs develop prostate-related urinary disease and cancer, much like human men
• We are using cutting-edge approaches to determine the natural history of prostate disease in dogs with the goal of identifying new therapies for veterinary medicine