The HARVARD UROLOGIC RESEARCH CENTER

对生殖泌尿系统基础知识的缺乏严重限制了针对各种常见疾病的新的创新治疗方案的开发，这些疾病包括与年龄相关的和产后尿失禁、各种形式的膀胱不稳定、良性前列腺疾病的尿路并发症、慢性盆腔疼痛以及源于先天性异常的排尿功能障碍。在接下来的几页中，我们将描述我们对一个卓越的泌尿外科研究中心的愿景，我们将其命名为哈佛泌尿外科研究中心(HURC)。我们开发这一项目的主要目标是 组建一个跨学科的研究团队，他们在基础科学和翻译研究中采用最先进的方法，他们有非常成功的合作关系的历史，他们致力于共同努力，将广泛的技术和科学专业知识带到泌尿系统疾病的基础研究中。HURC的综合主题是“泌尿生殖道的组织更新”。这一主题隐含着一种认识，即如果对组织结构和重塑、细胞间回路和细胞信号以及泌尿生殖系统细胞和组织的其他过程有基本的了解，临床上观察到的许多泌尿生殖系统功能缺陷可能会被逆转或恢复。这样做的长期目标是 该计划将把基础细胞生物学、组织工程、生物化学、分子生物学、蛋白质组学和基因组学方面的知识整合到一个前所未有的科学合作网络中。HURC的四个“使命”将是：(1)显著扩展对尿路中空器官(输尿管、膀胱和尿路)的基本知识；(2)指导专门针对临床泌尿系统问题(包括癌症)的新的尖端技术；(3)创建一个将吸引国内外研究人员的卓越研究和教学中心；以及(4)建立一个指导环境，鼓励优秀的新研究人员在其职业生涯中专注于泌尿系统疾病。 路径。为了支持“组织更新”的主题，HURC的研究人员将集中在三个主要的科学焦点领域，作为该中心的支柱学科：(1)组织工程学，(2)信号转导和(3)血管发生/血管生物学。我们寻求在泌尿外科研究领域创建一个全新的项目，该项目有可能发展成为世界上最强大和最具创新性的专注于泌尿外科疾病的调查项目之一。

The absence of fundamental knowledge of the genitourinary tract severely limits the development of new and innovative therapeutic options for a variety of common illnesses, including age-related and post-partum urinary incontinence, various forms of bladder instability, urinary tract complications of benign prostatic disease, chronic pelvic pain, and voiding dysfunction originating from congenital anomalies. In the following pages we describe our vision for a research center of excellence in urology, which we have named the Harvard Urologic Research Center (HURC). Our major goal in developing this program has been to assemble an interdisciplinary team of investigators who employ state-of-the-art approaches in basic science and translational research, who have had a history of highly successful collaborative relationships, and who are committed to working together to bring a broad range of technical and scientific expertise to fundamental studies of urological disease. The integrative theme of the HURC is "Tissue Renewal in the Genitourinary Tract". Implicit in this theme is the recognition that many functional deficits observed clinically in urologic practice might be reversed or restored if sufficient knowledge about tissue architecture and remodeling, intercellular circuitry and cell signaling, and other processes characteristic of the cells and tissues of the urogenital system were understood in fundamental terms. The long-range objective of this program will be to integrate knowledge in basic cell biology, tissue engineering, biochemistry, molecular biology, proteomics, and genomics into a scientific network of collaboration that has not existed before. The four "missions" of the HURC will be to: (1) significantly expand the fundamental knowledge of the hollow organs of the urinary tract (ureter, bladder and urethra); (2) direct new, cutting-edge technologies specifically toward clinical urological problems, including cancer; (3) create a center of research and teaching excellence that will attract investigators nationally and internationally; and (4) establish a mentoring environment that will encourage outstanding new investigators to focus on urologic diseases in their career path. To support the "Tissue Renewal" theme, the investigators in the HURC will be clustered within three primary areas of scientific focus that will serve as anchor disciplines for the Center: (1) Tissue Engineering, (2) Signal Transduction and (3) Angiogenesis/Vascular Biology. We seek to create a totally new program in urology research, one that has the potential to develop into one of the strongest and most innovative investigative programs focused on urologic disease in the world.