# Underactive Bladder: Mechanisms and Recovery of Sensation and Function

> **NIH NIH K01** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $110,117

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Candidate (Eric J. Gonzalez, PhD): My long-term career goal is to develop a peripheral nerve stimulation
device to manage lower urinary tract symptoms and improve bladder emptying in underactive bladder. I am
seeking a Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01) to expand my translational research
program and develop leadership skills to independently manage a research team. The K01 award will provide
me with mentored training in human subjects research, didactic clinical coursework, and protected time for
professional development. Environment: My career development will be guided by a multidisciplinary team
with proven expertise in neural engineering, clinical research, basic science, and biostatistics. My training will
be implemented at Duke University, a world-class academic medical center with innovative scientific research
laboratories and neighboring medical facilities that enable rapid translation of novel ideas. Research:
Underactive bladder is an understudied health concern that occurs in diverse patient populations and exhibits
an age-related increase in prevalence. The palliative management options for persons with underactive
bladder are associated with poor quality of life and patients often fail to completely resolve lower urinary tract
symptoms. In order to improve therapeutic outcomes, there is a need to clarify the pathological mechanisms
underlying underactive bladder. The objective of this proposal is to determine the role of motor and sensory
nerve drive in the development of underactivity in a novel animal model, as well as in women with underactive
bladder. We will first utilize a novel rat model of underactivity to determine the mechanisms of reduced motor
drive and efficacy of pharmacological treatments and electrical neuromodulation in improving bladder emptying
(Aim 1). We will also quantify the contributions of reduced sensory drive to the pathophysiology of lower urinary
tract symptoms in neurologically-intact adult women with underactive bladder and determine the efficacy of
electrical neuromodulation in resolving symptoms (Aim 2). These studies will increase our understanding of the
muscular and neural alterations in the lower urinary tract that may accompany underactive bladder and will
provide a foundation for clinicians to develop innovative therapeutics to improve patient outcomes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9930605
- **Project number:** 5K01DK120632-02
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Eric J Gonzalez
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $110,117
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-05-20 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9930605

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9930605, Underactive Bladder: Mechanisms and Recovery of Sensation and Function (5K01DK120632-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-11 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9930605. Licensed CC0.

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