Caleb Nelson

Researcher | Research Overview

Caleb P. Nelson, MD, MPH, is a pediatric urologist and a clinical and health services researcher. His research seeks both to improve the evidence base in pediatric urology, and to investigate problems in health services delivery including over- and under-use, unwarranted variation, and patient safety. He has been involved in significant clinical studies both locally and nationally, and also has a large experience with use of administrative databases to evaluate trends and practice patterns in urological care. His particular clinical areas of research interest include vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), kidney stones, hydronephrosis, and medical imaging.

Dr. Nelson is a site PI for the NIH-funded RIVUR study, a large multicenter randomized controlled trial of antibiotic prophylaxis in children with VUR. He also has a K23 career development award from the NIH (NIDDK) for the study of clinical outcomes among siblings of children with VUR. He is also conducting research on pediatric kidney stones, seeking to evaluate factors that cause stones, and improve the safety and quality of treatment of kidney stone in children.

Active Projects:

2010-2015 Clinical Outcomes and Decision-Making for Siblings of Children with Vesico-Ureteral Reflux

NIDDK 1K23DK088943-01
Principal Investigator

K23 Career Development Award. This research project seeks learn more about the best way to manage vesicoureteral reflux (backwards flow of urine from the bladder up to the kidneys) among siblings of children with vesicoureteral reflux (VUR). Although some people advocate testing these siblings for VUR even if they seem healthy, such “screening” would subject large numbers of asymptomatic children to invasive tests with potentially adverse effects, long-term follow-up, prolonged antibiotic use, and possible surgery. Therefore, it is important that we learn more about VUR in these siblings in order to decide whether such screening is indicated.

Researcher | Research Background

Dr. Nelson attended Dartmouth College and received his MD degree from Duke University. He completed a urology residency at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he also received an MPH in epidemiology and completed an NIH-funded Clinical Research Training Fellowship. He then completed a pediatric urology fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD. He has been a member of the faculty of Harvard Medical School, and an attending surgeon at Boston Children’s Hospital, since 2006. He is an assistant editor for the section of population and health services research for the Journal of Pediatric Urology. He is a member of the Society for Pediatric Urology, the American Urological Association, and the Society of Fetal Urology.