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Brady Urological Institute

Singla Research Program: Clinical and Translational Research in Genitourinary Oncology

Our Mission and Approach

The overarching mission of our research group is to help scientific discoveries in the laboratory materialize for patients with urologic cancers in the clinic.

We combine both clinical and translational approaches while leveraging multidisciplinary collaborative expertise to achieve this goal. We seek to advance individualized, personalized medicine for patients affected by urologic cancer through multimodal approaches, including:

  • Understanding how urologic cancers develop biologically
  • Identifying molecular drivers of aggressiveness/metastasis in urologic cancers
  • Translating our findings to improve outcomes in patients by enhancing diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and quality of life across various urologic malignancies

We recognize the value and importance of collaboration in oncology research and have established numerous collaborations

  1. within the School of Medicine at Johns Hopkins
  2. among different schools across Johns Hopkins University
  3. with other renowned academic institutions nationally and internationally, and with industry partners
  4. Our unique collaborations span to include urologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, nephrologists, pathologists, radiologists, biomedical engineers, immunologists, basic scientists, bioinformaticians, epidemiologists, and statisticians.

Singla Research Program graphic

Our research efforts span across all major genitourinary (GU) malignancies. While our main focus areas include kidney cancer, upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC), and testicular cancer, we have active ongoing and funded studies/collaborations in prostate cancer, bladder cancer, and pan-GU malignancies as well. We have access to multiple large institutional databases that we regularly update prospectively, including:

  • UTUC
    • Patients who have undergone surgery (radical nephroureterectomy or ureterectomy)*
    • Patients managed endoscopically (with ureteroscopy)*
  • Testicular Cancer
    • Patients who have undergone orchiectomy and/or retroperitoneal lymph node dissection*
  • Prostate Cancer
    • Patients who have undergone prostatectomy
  • Bladder Cancer
    • Patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer
    • Patients who have undergone radical cystectomy
  • Public registries and national databases, including but not limited to the National Cancer Database (NCDB), Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER), National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP), TriNetX, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), AACR Project GENIE

*These databases are directly managed by Dr. Singla’s group.

Dr. Singla is also a member of the Brady Urological Institute Biorepository Faculty Oversight Committee and helps promote and manage prospective collections of various specimens (blood, urine, tissue, etc.) from patients diagnosed with urologic cancers. Our growing biorepository is annotated with clinicopathologic data and oncologic outcomes and offers a unique opportunity to directly analyze human tissue and correlate scientific findings with clinical information.

Meet the PI

Nirmish Singla, M.D., M.Sc.

Dr. Nirmish Singla is an Associate Professor of Urology and Oncology in the Brady Urological Institute at Johns Hopkins University, where he serves as the Director of Translational Research in Genitourinary Oncology. He is also the Director of the Kidney Cancer Program and co-directs the Upper Tract Urothelial Cancer (UTUC) Program as a founding member of the first-ever UTUC Multidisciplinary Clinic. He represents the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center (SKCCC) on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Testicular Cancer Guidelines Panel and helps lead the Testicular Cancer Program. He serves the Brady in a leadership capacity as Vice Chair and Physician Advisor for Quality, Safety, & Service and is also a core faculty member for the Hopkins Business of Health Initiative (HBHI).

Dr. Singla’s clinical practice spans the complete spectrum of genitourinary oncology, including adrenal, kidney, upper tract, bladder, prostate, penile, urethral, and testicular cancers. His surgical approaches include mastery of both open and minimally-invasive (endoscopic, laparoscopic, and robotic) techniques. Dr. Singla provides personalized and compassionate care for patients affected by urologic cancer by integrating cutting-edge technologies and multidisciplinary approaches to treatment.

As both a surgeon-scientist and clinical trialist, Dr. Singla’s overarching goal is to help scientific discoveries in the laboratory materialize for patients with urologic cancers in the clinic. He runs a well-funded, multidisciplinary, translational laboratory specializing in kidney cancer, testicular cancer, and UTUC. Dr. Singla has co-authored over 200 articles and textbook chapters, and he has developed an international reputation as a thought leader in urologic oncology. He has secured a substantial amount of research funding and serves as the lead PI on multiple grants from federal, foundational, intramural, and private sources across various GU malignancies.

Nirmish Singla, M.D., M.S.C.S., F.A.C.S.

Access the complete list of Publications from the Singla Research Program:

Our Research Team

Current Members

  • Fellows:
    • Stephan Bronimann, MD – Post-Doctoral Fellow
    • Roy Elias, MD – Medical Oncology Fellow
  • Residents:
    • Zhuo Tony Su, MD
    • Joseph Cheaib, MD, MPH
  • Students:
    • Pranjal Agrawal – Medical Student
    • Howard Li – Medical Student
    • Anthony Song – Graduate Student, Biomedical Engineering

  • Research Specialist:
    • Dimin Li, MD
  • Research Coordinators:
    • Rana Harb (clinical trials)
    • Tina Wlajnitz (DISSRM, databases, regulatory)
  • Multiple collaborating faculty across other departments, schools, and institutions

Previous Members

  • Fellows:
    • Maximilian Pallauf, MD – Post-Doctoral Fellow (2022-2023)
    • Michael Rezaee, MD, MPH — SUO Urologic Oncology Fellow (2022-2023)
    • Claire de la Calle, MD – SUO Urologic Oncology Fellow (2021-2022)
    • Sunil Patel, MD, MA— SUO Urologic Oncology Fellow (2020-2021)
  • Residents:
    • Sean Fletcher, MD
    • Ridwan Alam, MD, MPH

  • Students:
    • Emelia Watts, MPH – Medical Student (NIH/NIA MSTAR Program, Summer 2022)
    • Amir Khan – MPH Candidate, Johns Hopkins Surgery Center for Outcomes Research (JSCOR) (2021-2022)
    • Matthew Rabinowitz – Medical Student
    • Terrence Tsou – Medical Student (Persky Scholar 2021)
    • Shomari Sankara – Medical Student (Persky Scholar 2021)
  • Research Specialist:
    • Anirudh Yerrapragada, MPH (2021-2023)

Educational Development

One of our important missions to train the next generation of physicians and scientists. In order to foster the growth of our trainees, there are opportunities to attend various teaching conferences at Johns Hopkins. Some of the standing meetings are highlighted below.

  • The Brady Urological Institute Grand Rounds Conference
  • UTUC Working Group Meeting
  • Kidney Cancer Program Meeting
  • GU Oncology Clinical Trials Meeting
  • Multidisciplinary GU Oncology Tumor Board Conference
  • Sarcoma Tumor Board Conference
  • Adrenal Tumor Board Conference

We also encourage and promote the dissemination of research at regional, national, and international conferences. These conferences provide unique opportunities to network with other trainees and thought leaders in the field. Some of the conferences of interest include:

  • American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting
  • Mid-Atlantic Section of the AUA (MA-AUA) Annual Meeting
  • Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) Annual Meeting
  • American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting
  • GU Cancers Symposium of ASCO (GU-ASCO) Annual Meeting
  • Kidney Cancer Research Summit (KCRS)
  • International Kidney Cancer Symposium (IKCS)
  • Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN) Think Tank
  • American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting
  • European Association of Urology (EAU) Annual Meeting
  • European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Annual Meeting

Clinical Trials

Kidney Cancer

UTUC

Testicular Cancer

Media Spotlight

Alam, Elias, Singla
Alam, Elias, Singla: Socioeconomic factors and differences in inherited gene mutations contribute to the racial gap in kidney cancer survival. Featured in Discovery – Winter 2024

How to Get Involved

Interested in joining or collaborating with our group? Feel free to contact Dr. Singla directly at [email protected] with interest. We hold weekly virtual research meetings and have an active email list serve through which news, updates, and opportunities are disseminated.

Other ways to connect with Dr. Singla:

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Clinical and Translational Research in GU Oncology Donate

On behalf of the patients and their families affected by urologic cancers, thank you for considering supporting our research efforts. Every gift helps us propel urologic oncology research forward. To support the Singla Research Program, please follow the link below:

Support the Singla Research Program