Research

About Our Research Programs

The Catherine and Joseph Aresty Department of Urology is ranked #2 in research funding from the National Institute of Health (NIH) and has ranked in the top 2 over the past two years. “Alongside our clinical excellence, reflected by ‘Top 10’ rankings in U.S. News & World Report (2018-202), this NIH recognition for research excellence attests to the all-around stature of our team,” said Inderbir Gill, MD, Chair and Distinguished Professor of Urology, Shirley and Donald Skinner Chair in Urologic Cancer Surgery and associate dean for clinical innovation.

We attribute this research success to USC Urology’s inherently innovative mindset, which is strongly rooted in clinical-translational excellence. Our focus is on advancing the science, thereby improving the outcomes and lives of our patients

Distinguished Professor Inderbir Gill, MD

“More specifically, this ranking reflects our scientific innovations in epigenetics, robotic simulation, and stem cell & regenerative medicine, as well as our deep collaborations with inspiring colleagues in translational genomics, single cell genomics, drug development for novel therapeutic targets, and engineering & AI.”

The department includes four full-time Ph.D. basic scientists and four medical oncologists who have active laboratory programs focused on various aspects of urologic oncology. Each has a dedicated fully-equipped laboratory with technical staff support. The laboratories are located in either the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center or the adjacent Harlyne J. Norris Research Tower.

In addition to individual laboratory equipment, the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center has 12 laboratory cores with technical staff and equipment available to cancer center laboratories. These include DNA sequencing, genomics, microarrays, cell culture, cell and tissue imaging, small animal imaging, pharmacoanalytical core, transgenic mouse modeling, translational pathology, biostatistics and informatics.

Clinical Research

Innovation, discovery and game-changing urologic patient care are at the forefront of clinical research

In addition to the basic science facilities, the Catherine and Joseph Aresty Department of Urology also maintains three mature clinical databases for oncology patients treated with cystectomy, radical prostatectomy and partial or total nephrectomy at USC since 1981 and is actively developing a similar testis cancer database. Each of these databases has between 1000-4500 patients, and there is full-time trained staff responsible for chart abstracting, follow-up and management of the databases. These databases are IRB-approved, fully searchable and integrated with pathologic tumor banks of available frozen and fixed tissue and blood samples.

Clinical Research Activities

Inderbir Gill, MD, MCh: Minimally invasive techniques in management of genitourinary cancers. Needle biopsy of small renal mass: radiologic, histologic and cytogenetic and molecular correlates.
Sia Daneshmand, MD: Outcomes in multidisciplinary management of testis cancer and bladder cancer.
Anne Schuckman, MD: Outcomes in squamous cell cancer of the penis with tissue correlates.
Jacek Pinski, MD, PhD: LHRH receptor polymorphisms and response to androgen-deprivation therapy in prostate cancer patients.
Mitchell Gross, MD, PhD: Microtubule-targeted therapy for high-risk localized prostate cancer.

National/International Trials (Partial List)

The GU Oncology team at USC is involved in numerous national and international clinical trials and registries. The following is a partial list of some of the dozens of trials offered.

Sia Daneshmand:
- SWOG S1011- A Phase III Surgical Trial to Evaluate the Benefit of a Standard Versus an Extended Pelvic Lymphadenectomy Performed at Time of Radical Cystectomy for Muscle Invasive Urothelial Cancer.
- SWOG S1314- SWOG S1314- A Randomized Phase III Study Of Co-Expression Extrapolation (Coxen) with Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Localized, Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer- Study Co-Chair
- 4B-13-1 Cysview® Blue Light Cystoscopy Registry
- 4B-13-4 Evaluation of the UroVysion™ Test in Predicting Recurrence and/or Progression of Disease in Patients Receiving initial BCG for Primary High Grade Ta-T1 and CIS Urothelial Carcinoma of the Bladder

Basic Science Research

The department prioritizes and is committed bench to bedside urology research

The department’s basic research activities are directed by Gangning Liang, PhD. All of the faculty members below have indicated their willingness to have urologic oncology fellows in their labs. Past fellows have worked in the laboratories of Drs. Jones, and Pinski, among others.

Intramural Basic Science Research Activities (Partial List)

Gangning Liang, PhD: Epigenetic Alterations in Pre-malignant Tissue of the Bladder; Determining the mechanistic and therapeutic roles of microRNAs in bladder cancer
Jacek Pinski, MD, PhD: (medical oncology): Comparison of Neuroendocrine (NE) Cell Differentiation of Normal Prostates between Ethnic Groups (DOD PC 051 259)
Amir Goldkorn, MD (medical oncology): Telomerase as a therapeutic target and as a predictive biomarker in GU malignancies, specifically in tumor sub-populations (cancer stem cells, circulating tumor cells)
Parkash Gill, MD (medical oncology): Regulation of angiogenesis in bladder cancer; Eph4B expression in bladder and prostate cancer.
Mitchell Gross, MD, PhD (medical oncology): Circulating markers to predict docetaxel-response in CRPC; Proteomic Approach to Understand Therapeutic Response to Cancer Treatments
Vicky Cortessis, PhD (Environmental, genetic, and molecular epidemiology): etiology of testis cancer and related conditions (cryptorchidism, hypospadias, sub-fertility) and bladder cancer; determinants of recurrence, late effects and resistance of these malignancies to systemic therapy.
Gangning Liang, PhD: Epigenetic Alterations in Pre-malignant Tissue of the Bladder; Determining the mechanistic and therapeutic roles of microRNAs in bladder cancer
Jacek Pinski, MD, PhD: (medical oncology): Comparison of Neuroendocrine (NE) Cell Differentiation of Normal Prostates between Ethnic Groups (DOD PC 051 259)
Amir Goldkorn, MD (medical oncology): Telomerase as a therapeutic target and as a predictive biomarker in GU malignancies, specifically in tumor sub-populations (cancer stem cells, circulating tumor cells)
Parkash Gill, MD (medical oncology): Regulation of angiogenesis in bladder cancer; Eph4B expression in bladder and prostate cancer.
Mitchell Gross, MD, PhD (medical oncology): Circulating markers to predict docetaxel-response in CRPC; Proteomic Approach to Understand Therapeutic Response to Cancer Treatments
Vicky Cortessis, PhD (Environmental, genetic, and molecular epidemiology): etiology of testis cancer and related conditions (cryptorchidism, hypospadias, sub-fertility) and bladder cancer; determinants of recurrence, late effects and resistance of these malignancies to systemic therapy.

Labs & Facilities

Cutting-edge research is performed in state-of-the-art space

The laboratories of urologic cancer research include a 2,300 square foot unit located on the seventh floor of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and a 1,400 square foot unit located on the fifth floor of the Norman Topping Tower (adjoining the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center). The laboratory program focuses on the molecular and cellular biology of human bladder and prostate cancer.

Faculty members in the Catherine and Joseph Aresty Department of Urology who maintain individual laboratories include Roger DeFilippo, MD and Chih-Lin Hsieh, PhD, and Gangning Liang, MD, PhD.