Robert Bronstein, PhD

2025 Carl W. Gottschalk Research Scholar Grant

Institution: Stony Brook University

Project Title: Fosl2 Control of Epigenomic and Splicing Dynamics in Crescentic Glomerulopathies

How would you sum up your overall research focus in one sentence?

The overarching goal of our research program is to unravel the molecular and epigenomic drivers of crescentic glomerular diseases of the kidney, which may lead to specific vulnerabilities that can be exploited therapeutically.

Provide a brief overview of the research you will conduct with help from the grant.

Our recent studies of how parietal epithelial cells contribute to the progression of crescentic glomerulonephritis have uncovered a role for proteins in the AP-1 transcription factor complex. This ASN award will open up new avenues of inquiry into how AP-1 might be regulating parietal epithelial cell dynamics in human pathologies such as focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.

What inspired you to focus your research in this area?

I've always been really intrigued with understudied areas of biology, and until recently, mechanistic understanding of parietal epithelial cell behavior during disease pathogenesis was significantly lacking.

What impact do you hope your research will have on patients?

Although these pathological endpoints are relatively rare they originate from myriad diseases such as lupus nephritis, HIV infection as well as Goodpasture syndrome (to name a few) - which affect numerous individuals. I am sincerely hoping our work can make a small dent for patients suffering from these varied maladies.

What are your career goals at the end of the grant period? Five years out? Ten years out?

By the end of this grant period, I hope to have amassed sufficient preliminary data to obtain R01 funding from NIDDK, to further expand upon these research questions. In five to ten years, I will endeavor to establish a strong track record of basic research findings, which will hopefully shed new light on mechanisms of glomerular pathogenesis as well as targeted interventions.

What has surprised you most about your career?

I came into the world of research from a very unconventional direction, primarily attracted by the curiosity-driven approaches I was introduced to along the way. I transitioned through a couple of different fields before landing in nephrology, yet the capacity to ask curiosity-driven questions has served as a surprising tether across highly varied scientific disciplines.

What are the major challenges facing nephrology research today?

The kidney is likely the most understudied of the major organ systems, especially when it comes to the development and application of novel and cutting-edge technologies, as are prevalent in other disciplines. The slower adoption of these approaches has left many unanswered questions which may be currently tractable. This presents both a challenge as well a big opportunity to expand the toolkit available to basic and applied research scientists in the field of nephrology.

Something you may not know about me is…

Prior to immigrating to the US from the former USSR with my family, my mother was one of the initial and few nephrologists in the Soviet Union providing kidney dialysis services at a Moscow hospital. As a young kid, I remember my wonder and amazement upon seeing the construction and operation of those massive dialysis units.

In my free time, I like to…

Spend time with my wife and two boys in the New England mountains or out on the water here in Long Island.