The Department of Urology recognizes the importance of conducting state-of-the-art basic and translational research by our faculty. Our research mission is to develop novel treatment ideas and bring technological advances more quickly to the patients. The Urology Department focuses on research that investigates bladder and prostate tumorigenesis and cancer biomarkers.
Department of Urology Research Faculty
- Victor Romanov, PhD
- Flaminia Talos, MD, PhD
- Zhaoqing Cong, PhD
Dr. Romanov’s research centers on the molecular mechanisms underlying bladder carcinogenesis, with emphasis on environmental genotoxins, tumor cell biology, and translational biomarker development. His work has characterized the genotoxic and cytotoxic impacts of environmental pollutants such as 3‑nitrobenzanthrone on urothelial cancer cells, elucidating pathways of DNA adduct formation, oxidative stress, and differential cellular responses.
Publications:
- Reshetnikova G, Sidorenko VS, Whyard T, Lukin M, Waltzer W, Takamura-Enye T, Romanov V. . Exp Cell Res. 2016 349(1):101-108.
- Gabig TG, Waltzer WC, Whyard T, Romanov V. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2016 478(2):887-92.
- Whyard T, Waltzer WC, Waltzer D, Romanov V. . Exp Cell Res. 2016 341(1):77-83.
- Whyard T, Liu J, Darras, F, Waltzer WC, Romanov V. . Biotechnigues 2020 69(3) 193-199.
- Whyard T, Gnatenko D, Forthys E, Liu X, Povcher O, Waltzer WC, Romanov V. . Cancer Oncology and Research 2020 3 (2) 3-7
- Du, C., Waltzer, W. C., Wilusz, J. E., Spaliviero, M., Darras, F., Romanov, V. . Cancers 2024 16(5)
- Huang A., Waltzer, W., Hung, M., Darras, F., Kressel, A., Romanov, V. Identification of circCIAO1(5) and circMALAT1 as novel biomarkers for bladder cancer monitoring based on the binding to miR-101-3p. Cancers 2025
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Dr. Talos has elucidated clonal evolution and lineage plasticity in prostate cancer using multicolor lineage tracing and single-cell transcriptomics, uncovering immunomodulatory mechanisms driving aggressive disease. Her laboratory’s work has resulted in senior author publications and presentations at major national and international cancer meetings. Under a separate NCI R21 award, she has been extending reprogramming strategies toward de novo generation of urinary bladder tissue for regenerative medicine and cancer modeling.
To learn more about Dr. Talos' research, visit her website at .
Publications:
- Tshering L.F., Luo F., Russ S., Szenk M., Rubel D., Rail J., Tutuska K., Balázsi G., Shen M.M.*, Talos F*#. (2023); Developmental Cell, (12):1071-1086.e8., (*corresponding author, # lead author)
- Luo F., Tshering L.F., Tutuska K., Szenk M., Rubel D., Rail J., Russ S., J. Liu, Nemajerova A., Balázsi G., Talos F*. . (2023, Biorxiv preprint, revisions currently prepared for Nature Communications) (*corresponding author)
- Park JJ, Rageul J, Lo N, Patel JA, Talos F, Kim H. (2025) . Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2025 776:152203.
- Jin T., Talos F., Wang D. (2020) ECMarker: . Bioinformatics 23;37(8):1115-1124.
- Tshering L.F., Luo F., Nguyen N.D., Rail J.G., Jin T., Wang D., Talos F. (2021) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Annual Meeting 2021; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl): Abstract nr 3126
For a full list of all publications by Flaminia Talos -
Zhaoqing Cong, PhD, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Urology
Research:
Dr. Cong’s research is centered on pioneering nanoscale and molecular-level drug delivery platforms for cancer. He has significant expertise in drug delivery, clinical pharmacology, biomaterials, immunotherapy, and nanomedicine. He specifically focuses on peptide-based drug delivery systems and micro/nano-robotic medical systems for diverse diseases therapy. This novel microrobotic platform, which includes cell microrobots, herb medicine microrobots, and hydrogel microrobots, has demonstrated strong anti-tumor efficacy in bladder cancer models
To learn more about Dr. Cong's research, visit his website at
Publications:
- Chunlian Zhong, Menghuan Tang, and Zhaoqing Cong*. "s" Micromachines, 2026, 17,1: 24
- Phonpilas Thongpon, Menghuan Tang, Zhaoqing Cong*. “Peptide-Based Nanoparticle for Tumor Therapy”. Biomedicine. 2025, 13, 14154.
- Qingxin Yang, Wen Yuan, Tinghui Zhao, Yanixao Jiao, Menghuan Tang, Zhaoqing Cong*, Song Wu*. “”, Drug Design, Development and Therapy, 2024, 490652 (Corresponding Author)
- Zhaoqing Cong*, Yangyang Li, Leiming Xie, Qiwei Chen, Menghuan Tang, Phonpilas Thongpon, Yanxiao Jiao, Song Wu*, “” Small, 2024, 2400847, doi: 10.1002/smll.202400847
- Yangyang Li†, Zhaoqing Cong†, Leiming Xie1, Songsong Tang, Chunyu Ren, Xiqi Peng, Daitian Tang, Fangchen Wan, Hong Han, Xueji Zhang, Wei Gao, Song Wu. "" Small, 2023: 2301489. (Equal contribution, Frontispiece)
For a full list of all publications by Zhaoqing Cong -