Robert Bronstein, PhD, a research investigator in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at Stony Brook University’s Renaissance School of Medicine, has been awarded a grant from KidneyCure to support his work on kidney disease. The grant will fund his research on the glomerulus, which is the main filtration unit of the kidney.
Bronstein is among 23 early career researchers across the country to receive a 2025 award from KidneyCure. Of these recipients, only nine were selected for the Transition to Independence Grants Program. This program is designed to help young investigators begin their independent research careers.
KidneyCure referred to these grantees as “future leaders in nephrology research ‘who are making discoveries that will improve the lives of people with kidney diseases.’”
Bronstein’s work focuses on understanding how different cells within the glomerulus are affected during disease and how this damage can lead to end-stage kidney disease. He stated, “Overall, our work aims to understand the different cellular players that make up this filtration unit in the kidney glomerulus and how they are adversely affected during instances of pathology, which we hope will lead to the development of novel therapeutic approaches that will preserve kidney function and quality of life.”
He also noted that recent studies have identified a role for proteins in the AP-1 transcription factor complex in kidney disease progression. According to Bronstein, “The award…will open new avenues of research into how AP-1 might be regulating parietal epithelial cell dynamics in human pathologies such as focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.”
The KidneyCure grant provides $200,000 over two years for Bronstein’s research, which he conducts in the Mallipattu Lab at Stony Brook University.
For additional information about Dr. Bronstein’s research program, more details are available through a Q & A link provided by Stony Brook University.
