Young Academic Urologists: “the backbone of EAU research”
The Young Academic Urologists (YAU) “are the current backbone of research within the EAU,” said Arnulf Stenzl (DE), Chairman of the Scientific Congress Office, at the YAU Session on Friday afternoon.
“The scientific content of this meeting is based on the work of young academics and YAU members,” he said, noting that 82% of the group’s members are presenting at EAU19. “The EAU needs you, and what we can give you in return is something as a base for your research, your networking, and success in your career.”
Giving an overview of the scientific activities of the YAU, Chairman Selçuk Silay (TR) said it had been a record-breaking year for its members, with 44 publications, four meetings and eight hands-on courses, as well as a special session and 48 accepted abstracts at the EAU annual congress.
Silay encouraged young academics to attend the speciality session “Leadership and the EAU” and the ESU course “Improving your communication and presentation skills” on Monday at EAU19, as well as the forthcoming YAU19 meeting in Vienna.
This year is the second consecutive year that a YAU member has won the EAU Crystal Matula award, with Maarten Albersen (BE) scooping 2019’s prize after Silay’s success in 2018.
He is also one of two recipients of an EAU Research Foundation (EAU-RF) seeding grant awarded to support original research by a junior investigator. During the YAU session Albersen presented on how he developed this successful research bid, in order to help other young academics applying for the next round. He highlighted the importance of demonstrating innovativeness and the potential for larger-scale funding, as well as personal motivation and knowledge.
Anders Bjartell (SE), Chairman of the EAU-RF, echoed this when commenting on the quality, feasibility and potential impact of two research proposals presented by YAU members Maria Carmen Mir Maresma (ES), Paolo Capogrosso (IT) and Paolo Verze (IT). “The most interesting thing for a reviewer is what is in the design, what is going to be done, and whether it is possible,” he said. “Look at the Guidelines, the need, and the real-world data.”
Collaboration is also crucial to research, as exemplified by Veeru Kasivisvanathan (GB) who presented on the British Urology Researchers in Surgical Training (BURST) network. This trainee-led collaborative, which he set up in 2015, allows fast multi-center recruitment to well-powered studies, such as MIMIC, an evaluation of renal colic management in 4,181 patients from 71 sites across three countries, and IDENTIFY, an investigation into the prevalence and diagnosis of urological cancer after haematuria referral. IDENTIFY recruited 11,059 patients from 128 sites across 30 countries in just one year.
The YAU awards were also presented during this session: Fabio Castiglione (GB) was named as reviewer of the year; Bernhard Haid (AT) accepted the award for the best paper published in 2018 by a YAU group; and Panagiotis Kallidonis (GR) accepted the award for best poster presented at EAU19 by a YAU group.