Miller School Urologists Lead Global Conversations on Overactive Bladder and Neuromodulation at AUA2026
Faculty from the University of Miami’s Desai Sethi Urology Institute spotlight advances in overactive bladder treatment, neuromodulation research and the future of precision urology at AUA 2026.
The American Urological Association (AUA) invited Desai Sethi Urology Institute (DSUI) faculty to lead conversations on treatments for lower urinary tract dysfunction, including overactive bladder, at AUA2026.
Raveen Syan, M.D., associate professor of clinical urology at DSUI, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, moderated “Urodynamics/Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction/Female Pelvic Medicine: Neuromodulation.”
Alan J. Wein, M.D., Ph.D. (hon.), professor of clinical urology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and director of business development and mentoring at DSUI, presented the latest on oral monotherapy and pipeline drugs for overactive bladder.
The Society of Women in Urology (SWIU) announced that Katherine Amin, M.D., associate professor of clinical urology and program director of the Urogynecology and Reconstructive Surgery Pelvic Surgery Fellowship at the Miller School, was elected to the society’s executive board as a member-at-large. This achievement reflects national recognition of her leadership in academic urology and highlights DSUI’s commitment to fostering mentorship and excellence in advancing women urologists and surgical leadership.
Dr. Amin co-chaired the Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine and Urogenital Reconstruction (SUFU) at AUA2026. At the meeting, she also presented the latest information about pelvic organ prolapse treatments, highlighting emerging innovations, evolving surgical approaches and contemporary literature on pelvic organ prolapse treatment.
Dr. Amin participated in the mainstage plenary “Survivor Debate: Management of OAB in the Male That Has Failed Other Medical Therapies,” providing expert perspective on minimally invasive treatment options for refractory overactive bladder. She highlighted the value of sacral neuromodulation as an effective, underutilized therapy for men with refractory OAB.
Dr. Amin also co-authored several studies presented at the AUA contributing to innovation and advancement in her field.
DSUI Faculty Take Center Stage at AUA 2026
Dr. Syan, DSUI’s director of female urology, specializes in female pelvic medicine and has earned a global reputation as a clinician, educator and researcher committed to advancing women’s urologic health. Participating as a moderator in urology’s premier annual meeting is an important distinction, according to Dr. Syan.
“Being chosen to moderate a world-class group of researchers suggests AUA leadership has confidence in my expertise, and it is an honor to serve the AUA in this way,” Dr. Syan said. “The role of moderator requires that one not only leads the discussion but also prompts researchers with meaningful questions.”
The neuromodulation panel discussion featured 15 researchers from the University of Minnesota, Cleveland Clinic, Vanderbilt University, the University of Toronto and DSUI, among others. Panelists shared new research on sacral neuromodulation programming, leads and anatomical landmarks, postprocedural infection and predictors of reprogramming.
Abstracts authored by Dr. Syan and DSUI colleagues and presented at AUA2026 included:
• Intraoperative stimulation threshold as a predictor of reprogramming burden in sacral neuromodulation
• Postoperative urinary retention as a predictor of improved outcomes following polyacrylamide hydrogel injection for stress incontinence
• Pelvic floor disorders among women with bladder cancer
• A dedicated urogynecology program for women with bladder cancer to improve pelvic floor disorders at three months
• A look at studies from the DSUI Pilot Grant program to create a dedicated urogynecology clinic for women with bladder cancer, from the time of diagnosis through post treatment.
New Insights Into Overactive Bladder Pharmacotherapy
One of the nation’s most accomplished and decorated urologists, Dr. Wein and a colleague actually coined the term “overactive bladder.” He presented on pharmacotherapy monotherapy and combined pharmacotherapy to optimize treatment for overactive bladder at AUA2026.
Dr. Wein’s focus was on monotherapy. He talked about antimuscarinics and β3 (beta 3) adrenergic receptor agonists, two overactive bladder treatment types that block sensory impulses from the bladder to the central nervous system.
The AUA and European Association of Urology insist little difference exists between the two drug types, efficacy-wise. While side effects tend to be less with β3 adrenergic receptor agonists, both drug classes are far from perfect, according to Dr. Wein.
“Antimuscarinic medications reduce urgency incontinence episodes between 70% and 75% in a three-month period, compared to about 40% with placebo, so the actual drug effect is quite small,” he said.
Dr. Wein also presented large studies that suggest the link between antimuscarinics and cognitive decline has been overstated.
What’s Next: AI, Genotyping and the Future of Personalized Urology
Dr. Wein noted that some overactive bladder therapies that are effective in pre-clinical models have not resulted in breakthroughs that benefit patients.
“Unfortunately, none of these mimic the symptoms of overactive bladder in humans,” Dr. Wein said. “None of the drugs being studied have been shown to be major improvements over the drugs that we have, and there have been a lot of notable failures that have come and gone over the years.”
Dr. Wein predicted that, in the next year or two, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may approve an oral or injectable that targets in a more efficacious fashion.
“Looking into the future, artificial intelligence will be able to phenotype and genotype an individual, allowing physicians to feed the information into a database and determine which OAB agent or agents will most successfully treat the condition,” he said.
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Tags: American Urological Association, AUA2026, Department of Urology, Desai Sethi Urology Institute, Dr. Raveen Syan, neuromodulation, Newsroom, overactive bladder, urology