About Us

Why USDRN?

Urinary Stone Disease (USD) is an important healthcare problem affecting about 1 out of 11 Americans, causing pain and suffering for the patient and a financial burden for the united States. The number of people in the US with USD has nearly doubled in the last 15 years, and is increasing in both adults and children. According to the Urological  Diseases in America (UDA) project funded by the NIDDK, the annual cost of USD is estimated at $10 billion, making it the most expensive nonmalignant urologic condition in the U.S.

And people who have one stone are more likely to have another. Recurrence rates  at 2, 5, 10, and 15 years were 11%, 20%, 31%, and 39%, respectively.

The treatment of USD has advanced over the last 30 years. Despite these advances, the limited state of knowledge is reflected in several clinical management guidelines that have been published by the American Urological Association (AUA) and European Association of Urology (EAU) using systematic reviews and data extraction. Only 1 of 27 and 3 of 17 recommendations are based on Level 1 evidence (Level 1 = based on randomized clinical research studies with clear cut results).

Who is USDRN?

USDRN is a network of investigators designing and conducting clinical  research studies in adults and children with USD. The network includes a wide range of experts including adult and pediatric urologists, adult and pediatric nephrologists, pediatricians, emergency department physicians, clinical trialists, nutritionists, behavioral scientists, and radiologists.

The network includes a coordinating center (Duke Clinical Research Institute) and four clinical sites:

  • University of Pennsylvania/Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
  • University of Texas Southwestern
  • University of Washington
  • Washington University St. Louis

Meet the USDRN Investigators

Click on a picture to learn more about the investigator

Duke Clinical Research Institute

(Scientific Data Research Center)

link to profile of Dr. Hussein Al-Khalidi
Dr. Hussein Al-Khalidi

Dr. Charles Scales link
Dr. Charles Scales

University of Pennsylvania/Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Dr. Gregory Tasian link
Dr. Gregory Tasian

Dr. Peter P. Reese link
Dr. Peter P. Reese

University of Texas Southwestern

Dr. Naim Maalouf link
Dr. Naim Maalouf

University of Washington

Dr. Hunter B. Wessells
Dr. Hunter B. Wessells

Dr. Jonathan D. Harper
Dr. Jonathan D. Harper

Washington University in St. Louis

Dr. H. Henry Lai

Dr. H. Henry Lai

Dr. Alana C. Desai
Dr. Alana C. Desai