Translational Research in Pelvic Floor Disorders

描述（由申请人提供）：我的长期职业目标是通过成为一名训练有素，独立的临床医生-科学家，能够使用创新工具识别盆底疾病的根本原因，并将这些发现转化为改进的临床实践，从而在泌尿妇科领域大幅改善女性健康。为了实现这一目标，我接受了泌尿妇科必要的临床和外科培训，以充分了解盆底疾病在预防、管理和治疗方面的挑战。通过我的流行病学硕士学位和之前的研究工作，我也在临床研究和建模方面打下了坚实的基础。通过这些集体经验，我最终意识到，需要在转化研究方面取得进展，重点是盆底疾病的病理生理学，以彻底改变泌尿妇科女性的健康。因此，我申请K23导师患者导向研究职业发展奖，以获得人类遗传学和遗传流行病学方面的高级培训和指导。主题：女性盆底疾病（PFD）代表了一个主要的公共卫生负担，因为他们的高患病率，生活质量的损害，和巨大的经济成本。这些疾病的潜在病理生理尚不清楚，如果没有这些关键知识，就无法制定有效的预防策略和长期治疗方法。确定PFDs的根本原因将通过创新的转化研究来实现。计划：我的多学科教育计划需要通过密集的课程、专门的指导和富有成效的研究来获得遗传流行病学方面的额外技能。我的研究将集中于通过候选基因关联研究来确定盆腔器官脱垂的遗传危险因素（Aim 1）。通过这项研究，我将获得至关重要的“动手”经验和知识，加强机构内部和跨机构的合作，并为未来的大规模调查奠定基础。随着我们对脱垂遗传易感性的理解的进步，同时探索如何最终将这些遗传发现整合到临床实践中是至关重要的。因此，我还将使用计算机模拟模型估计脱垂遗传易感性测试的潜在临床和经济影响（目的2）。这一新颖的建议将促进临床科学家和遗传学家之间的宝贵合作，并推动转化医学在泌尿妇科领域的发展，最终改善妇女的健康。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): My long-term career goal is to substantially improve women's health in the field of urogynecology by becoming a well-trained, independent clinician-scientist who is able to use innovative tools to identify the root causes of pelvic floor disorders and translate those findings into improved clinical practice. To achieve this goal, I have obtained the essential clinical and surgical training in urogynecology to fully comprehend the challenges in prevention, management and treatment of pelvic floor disorders. I have also developed a robust foundation in clinical research and modeling through my MPH in epidemiology and prior research endeavors. Through these collective experiences, I ultimately realized that advances in translational research, focused on the pathophysiology of pelvic floor disorders, are needed to revolutionize women's health in urogynecology. Thus, I am applying for this K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award in order to obtain advanced training and mentorship in human genetics and genetic epidemiology. Topic: Female pelvic floor disorders (PFD) represent a major public health burden given their high prevalence, impairment of quality of life, and substantial economic costs. The underlying pathophysiology of these disorders is not well understood, and without this critical knowledge, effective preventive strategies and long-term treatments have not been developed. Identification of the fundamental causes of PFDs will be achieved through innovative translational research. Plan: My multidisciplinary educational plan entails acquiring additional skills in genetic epidemiology through intensive coursework, dedicated mentoring and productive research. My research will focus on identifying genetic risk factors for pelvic organ prolapse through a candidate gene association study (Aim 1). Through this research, I will gain crucial "hands-on" experience and knowledge, strengthen collaborations within and across institutions, and establish the groundwork for future, large-scale investigations. With advances in our understanding of the genetic susceptibility for prolapse, it is critical to simultaneously explore how we will eventually integrate these genetic findings into clinical practice. Thus, I will also estimate the potential clinical and economic impact of a genetic susceptibility test for prolapse using a computer simulation model (Aim 2). This novel proposal will foster valuable collaboration between clinical scientists and geneticists and advance the implementation of translational medicine into the evolving field of urogynecology in order to ultimately improve women's health. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Female pelvic floor disorders represent a major public health burden given their high prevalence, impairment of quality of life, and substantial economic costs. Identifying the fundamental causes of pelvic floor disorders and translating these findings into improved preventive and treatment strategies will significantly impact women's health.