The Division of Urologic Pathology at Johns Hopkins is committed to diagnosing and curing diseases affecting the urinary tract and male genitourinary system. Faculty members in the Division are world leaders in the diagnosis of kidney tumors and diseases of the bladder, prostate, testis, penis, and scrotum with the largest consult service in the world composed of cases sent in by patients, clinicians, and pathologists. Clinically related research in the Division has made major contributions to the field’s diagnosis, classification, prognostication, and grading of urological tumors, while also contributing to knowledge affecting their clinical management.
Investigators have deep expertise in tissue-based biomarker studies and biobanking in genitourinary cancer. They have uncovered novel molecular mechanisms regarding the pathogenesis of prostate cancer initiation and progression. Related and ongoing areas of study include the roles of inflammation, infection, telomeres and telomere biology, MYC as an oncogenic cancer driver, PTEN as a tumor suppressor, and DNA repair alterations as prognostic and predictive biomarkers. Other areas of expertise include studies of infectious agents involving the prostate and the role of the microbiome in prostate cancer development, progression and response to treatment. Studies also investigate the role of racial ancestry in prostate tumor molecular classification and racial disparities in prostate cancer outcomes. Studies also involve the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of kidney and bladder cancer pathogenesis.