NVA 2014 Career Award Recipient

Sonia Bahlani M.D., of the Smith Institute for Urology in New York, is the recipient of the 2014 Dr. Stanley C. Marinoff Career Development Award, which encourages junior faculty to pursue an interest in vulvodynia.

 

Sonia Bahlani, MD – The Smith Institute for Urology in New York

bahlani pictureSonia Bahlani, M.D., an attending physician at The Smith Institute for Urology in New York, received her medical degree from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in Richmond, Virginia. She completed her residency in ob/gyn at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and joined The Smith Institute following a fellowship in urology under the mentorship of Dr. Robert Moldwin, a pioneer in the field of pelvic pain.

With her NVA award, Dr. Bahlani will investigate the efficacy of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) in the treatment of vestibulodynia (aka vulvar vestibulitis).  DMSO, a by-product of the wood industry, is known to have analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and possibly even anti-carcinogenic properties. It is FDA-approved as an intravesical agent for the treatment of interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome. Its ability to penetrate skin and mucous membranes, in combination with its anesthetic, anti-inflammatory, and muscle relaxant properties, makes it a potentially powerful topical treatment for vestibulodynia and co-existing pelvic floor muscle dysfunction. Dr. Bahlani hopes that this study will eventually lead to a novel treatment for vestibulodynia.

 

For information on other NVA-funded research, click here.