Project Summary: The Society for Pelvic Research (SPR), founded in 2015, by and for career basic and translational scientists interested in normal function and benign disease states of the pelvic viscera and pelvic floor, is dedicated to cross-disciplinary basic and translational scientific interaction and trainee development. The society's primary mission is to promote the highest standards of basic and translational scientific research aimed at understanding the function and dysfunction of benign pelvic visceral and musculoskeletal systems through education, scientific discourse, interactions, and advocacy. This includes various conditions such as urinary and fecal incontinence, male and female sexual dysfunction, overactive and underactive bladder syndromes, colonic motility disorders, urologic chronic pelvic pain syndrome, and pelvic organ prolapse. These disorders are highly prevalent, particularly among our aging population, and exert significant negative impacts on the health, quality of life, and financial well-being of a substantial portion of the population. The SPR aspires to be the foremost professional organization for career basic and translational scientists and bioengineers interested in benign urogenital, distal gut, and pelvic floor research. It actively promotes multidisciplinary interaction, intellectual cross-fertilization, networking for collaboration, and career development through the regular dissemination of information via online resources, and, most importantly, through the annual SPR meetings. The objective of this R13 application is to request partial support for the 9th annual meeting of the SPR, scheduled to take place at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, from December 5 to 7, 2024, with the Trainee Workshop Session occurring on December 5. An innovative immersive hybrid option will be provided. While there are other forums to present research findings, the SPR is the only society whose stated primary focus is to support the careers of basic and translational scientists that form the backbone for the discoveries that will eventually be implemented into clinical practice. At the 2024 meeting, each session, covering a diverse array of topics of interest to current and prospective future members of the SPR, will be unified by the overarching theme of aging (thus, our request for support from NIA), further emphasizing the distinctiveness of this conference. At the 2024 SPR Meeting, invited keynote speakers that are recognized leaders in our field will cover the influence of aging and age-associated conditions on the bladder and lower urinary tract function, in presentations entitled: “Age-relatedloss of bladdercontractility”, “Purine nucleoside phosphorylase as a target to treat age-associated lower urinary tract dysfunction”, “How aging affects the conversations between our gut and our brain”, and “Newtherapies for age-related erectile dysfunction ”. The SPR is committed to diversity and inclusion, as evidenced by more than 50% of positions on its Board of Directors (BOD) that are held by women. Our intention for this meeting, as with previous meetings, is to ensure the participation by underrepresented basic and translational scientists as invited speakers and attendees using targeted advertising, targeted invitations, and travel grants.

Project Narrative: The Society for Pelvic Research (SPR), founded in 2015, by and for career basic and translational scientists interested in normal function and benign disease states of the pelvic viscera and pelvic floor, is dedicated to cross-disciplinary basic and translational scientific interaction and trainee development. The Specific Aim of this R13 application is to partially support the SPR 9th annual meeting to be held at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, December 5 to 7, 2024, with the Trainee Workshop Session being held on December 5. While there are other forums to present research findings, the SPR is the only society whose stated primary focus is to support the careers of basic and translational scientists that form the backbone for the discoveries that will eventually be implemented into clinical practice; and thus our intention for this meeting, as with previous meetings, is to ensure the participation by underrepresented basic and translational scientists.