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Office: 3231 RCPIowa City, IA 52242 Phone: +1 319 353 8939 Email: michael-odonnell@uiowa.edu
Office/Lab: 3 RCPIowa City IA, 52242 Phone: +1 319 384 6981
Office/Lab: 3241 MERFIowa City IA, 52242 Phone: +1 319 384 4491
MD, Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, 1984Residency, Harvard, 1991Fellowship, Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, 1993
Primary: Urology
biological therapy, bladder cancer, cytotoxicity, immunotherapy
Dr. O'Donnell's basic and clinical research has a long history of focusing on bladder immunology and bladder cancer immunotherapy, particularly the anti-cancer mechanisms of bacillus Calmette-Gu�rin (BCG) and its enhancement with combination therapies. Dr. O'Donnell recently headed a national trial of bladder cancer treatment utilizing BCG plus interferon (a natural protein which induces healthy cells to combat disease) comprised of over 1,000 patients, and holds several U.S. patents for his work. While BCG has long been a standard treatment for bladder cancer, its toxicity profile can be devastating. Dr. O'Donnell's studies, both laboratory and clinical, seek to both determine the exact mechanism by which BCG targets bladder cancer tumor cells, and enhance its efficacy, either alone or in combination with other agents, while reducing its toxicity to healthy cells. Dr. O'Donnell's research efforts also include exploration of methods to detect bladder cancer at earlier stages, as well as new combination topical chemotherapy treatments for early bladder cancer. He has instituted two such methods, including a urinary FISH assay and the NMP-22 Bladder Check test in the Urology Clinic. He has pioneered several new sequential combination therapies involving adriamycin, gemcitabine, docetaxel and mitomycin for treating BCG-resistant/recurrent bladder cancers.