Dr. Lynn Stothers

Principal Investigator

Director of Research, Bladder Care Centre, University of British Columbia
Professor, Department of Urologic Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia
Active Staff, Vancouver General Hospital
Co-Appointment, Department of Healthcare and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia
Co-Appointment, Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia

Research Interests

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Dr. Stothers is a Principal Investigator at ICORD. She is the Director of Research for the Bladder Care Center at the University of British Columbia and a member of the Active Staff at Vancouver General Hospital. At the University of British Columbia, Dr. Stothers is a Professor in the Department of Urologic Sciences, and she holds Co-Appointments to the Department of Healthcare and Epidemiology and the Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics.

Currently recruiting for:

Using Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) on the Pelvic Floor Muscles

This study looks at a device that uses light to determine the fitness of muscles in the body, specifically the researchers want to look at the pelvic floor muscles that help with bladder control. This study will measure the difference Read More...

Using Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) on the Bladder

This study is looking at a device that uses light to determine how the bladder muscle uses oxygen, specifically the researchers want to look at the relationship between bladder pressure that is recorded during bladder function studies (urodynamics) and the Read More...

Survey: interface design preferences for measuring bladder fullness using light

Telephone Survey: Optical Monitoring of Neurologic Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction (NLUTD) Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS)/Bladder Fullness This study is a telephone survey to obtain opinions from men and/or women affected with spinal cord injury and neurogenic bladder about their preferences Read More...

Survey: interface design preferences for measuring pelvic floor muscles using light

Telephone Survey: Optical Monitoring of Neurologic Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction (NLUTD) Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS)/Pelvic Floor Muscle This study is a survey to obtain opinions from women affected with neurogenic bladder about their preferences in the design of near-infrared spectroscopy Read More...

Recent Collaborations

Dr. Stothers and Dr. Ismail Laher from the UBC Department of Pharmacology at UBC have been collaborating to investigate the relationship between estrogen and lower urinary tract function, while allowing graduate students and post-graduate students to study lower urinary tract physiology and gain experience in a clinical setting.

Along with Dr. Andrew Macnab from the Child & Family Research Institute and funded by a grant from the prestigious Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr. Stothers is currently working on developing a wireless bladder monitoring system for the developing world.

She is also working on a home spinal cord injury monitoring method using telemedicine with Dr. Mark Nigro and Dr. Blayne Welk from the University of Western Ontario.

Major Findings

Dr. Stothers completed a large-scale, randomized trial of cranberry products for prevent of recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) in women, supporting the conclusion that cranberry tablets appeared to be the most cost-effective prevention for UTIs.

Dr. Stothers compared factors pertaining to live donor kidney transplant (LDKT) between nondonors and live kidney donors, uncovering previously unavailable information for health care workers who design donor recruitment for donors of different ethnic origins. They discovered that increasing knowledge about LDKT might not necessarily lead to increase donation. Dr. Stothers and her colleague suggest that a focus on the recipient should be made initially when educating a potential donor, and that potential donors might benefit from speaking with a former kidney donor.

Between 2008 and 2009, Dr. Stothers and her colleagues provided the first alternative to invasive pressure monitoring for the classification of degrees of lower urinary tract obstruction in men.

She is the founding inventor on the use of Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) on the bladder and other targets in the pelvis, a considerably less invasive and less costly alternative to older urodynamics methods, while providing even richer information about bladder physiology.   The NIRS machines are currently at the clinical trials stage.

For more of her major findings, please see the selected papers below, as well as her recent publications listed at the bottom of the page:

Techniques employed in the lab:

  • Near Infrared Spectroscopy

Affiliation with organizations and societies:

  • American Urologic Association (AUA)
  • European Urological Association (EUA)
  • Fellow Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (FRCSC)
  • International Consultation on Incontinence, World Health Organization (WHO)

Awards

Some of Dr. Stother’s recent major awards and accomplishments include:

  • Victor A. Politano Award (American Urologic Association, 2020)
  • Distinction (Canadian Insider 58th Annual AUA Award Winners, 2020)
  • Harry G Cooper Award (Northwest Urological Association, 2017)
  • Peter Wall Scholar (Peter Wall Institute of Advanced Studies, 2017)
  • Elected to UBC Senate (UBC, 2017)
  • First prize research – best poster section on Urodynamics (American Urological Association, 2016)
  • First prize research – best poster section on non neurogenic voiding dysfunction (American Urological Association, 2016)
  • Best Original Research by a Member – Second Prize (Northwest Urologic Society, 2015)
  • First Place Ribbon, Section Urodynamics (American Urologic Association, 2010)
  • Harry Cooper Award for Research (Northwest Urologic Society, 2007)
  • Special Merit for Research (UBC, 2007)
  • Women of Distinction Nominee (YWCA, 2005, 2006)
  • Outstanding Researcher Award (UBC, 1998-1999)

Current Lab Members

Undergraduate Students Medical Students Research Staff
Kelsey Petersen Mostafa Seyedeh Ameneh Madjd Jabari
Kelsey Petersen
Kennedy Cresswell

*has graduated in the past year

Trainee Awards

Year Name Award
2017 Emily Deegan First Prize, Northwest Urological Association Student Category (Northwest Urological Association)

Current Opportunities in the Lab

Please contact Dr. Stothers with inquiries.

Recent publications

  • Burke, CA, Nitti, VW, Stothers, L. 2024. Melatonin and melatonin receptor agonists in the treatment of nocturia: A systematic review.. Neurourol Urodyn. doi: 10.1002/nau.25443.
  • Bondok, M et al.. 2024. Health Care Workers Online YouTube Content Compared to AUA Prevention of Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections in Women Guidelines: An Integrative Review of Quality and Comprehensiveness Analysis.. Urol Pract. doi: 10.1097/UPJ.0000000000000537.
  • Ghatas, MP et al.. 2023. A stepwise approach for functional near infrared spectroscopy measurement during natural bladder filling.. Transl Androl Urol. doi: 10.21037/tau-23-275.
  • Ngu, NL et al.. 2022. A home-based, multidisciplinary liver optimisation programme for the first 28 days after an admission for acute-on-chronic liver failure (LivR well): a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.. Trials. doi: 10.1186/s13063-022-06679-x.
  • Locke, JA, Macnab, A, Garg, S, McKeown, M, Stothers, L. 2022. Characterizing the cortical pathways underlying visual trigger induced urinary urgency incontinence by functional MRI.. Neurourol Urodyn. doi: 10.1002/nau.24824.
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