Robert Geoffrey Nelson, M.D., Ph.D.

Senior Investigator

Chronic Kidney Disease Section, Phoenix Epidemiology and Clinical Research Branch

NIDDK

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Building PECRB, Room 604
1550 E Indian School Rd
Phoenix, AZ 85014

+1 602 200 5205

robert.nelson@nih.gov

Research Topics

Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney disease worldwide and is a major cause of death and disability. Our research goal is to find the causes and identify new and effective treatments to slow the progression or prevent the development of diabetic kidney disease.

Current Research

Our lab has worked with the Pima Indians in Arizona since 1986, focusing primarily on the kidney complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Current activities include identifying biomarkers and underlying mechanisms for diabetic kidney disease and characterizing the structural and functional changes within the kidneys that occur with the development and progression of diabetic kidney disease. Gene expression in kidney tissue and epigenetic modification of gene expression is also a major focus of our work.

Biography

Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles, 1998
M.P.H., Harvard University, 1986
B.S., M.D., Loma Linda University, 1978

Selected Publications

Nelson RG, Grams ME, Ballew SH, Sang Y, Azizi F, Chadban SJ, Chaker L, Dunning SC, Fox C, Hirakawa Y, Iseki K, Ix J, Jafar TH, Köttgen A, Naimark DMJ, Ohkubo T, Prescott GJ, Rebholz CM, Sabanayagam C, Sairenchi T, Schöttker B, Shibagaki Y, Tonelli M, Zhang L, Gansevoort RT, Matsushita K, Woodward M, Coresh J, Shalev V, CKD Prognosis Consortium.. Development of Risk Prediction Equations for Incident Chronic Kidney Disease. JAMA. 2019.
Niewczas MA, Pavkov ME, Skupien J, Smiles A, Md Dom ZI, Wilson JM, Park J, Nair V, Schlafly A, Saulnier PJ, Satake E, Simeone CA, Shah H, Qiu C, Looker HC, Fiorina P, Ware CF, Sun JK, Doria A, Kretzler M, Susztak K, Duffin KL, Nelson RG, Krolewski AS. A signature of circulating inflammatory proteins and development of end-stage renal disease in diabetes. Nat Med. 2019;25(5):805-813.
Looker HC, Mauer M, Saulnier PJ, Harder JL, Nair V, Boustany-Kari CM, Guarnieri P, Hill J, Esplin CA, Kretzler M, Nelson RG, Najafian B. Changes in Albuminuria But Not GFR are Associated with Early Changes in Kidney Structure in Type 2 Diabetes. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2019;30(6):1049-1059.
Ducasa GM, Mitrofanova A, Mallela SK, Liu X, Molina J, Sloan A, Pedigo CE, Ge M, Santos JV, Hernandez Y, Kim JJ, Maugeais C, Mendez AJ, Nair V, Kretzler M, Burke GW, Nelson RG, Ishimoto Y, Inagi R, Banerjee S, Liu S, Szeto HH, Merscher S, Fontanesi F, Fornoni A. ATP-binding cassette A1 deficiency causes cardiolipin-driven mitochondrial dysfunction in podocytes. J Clin Invest. 2019;129(8):3387-3400.
Saulnier PJ, Wheelock KM, Howell S, Weil EJ, Tanamas SK, Knowler WC, Lemley KV, Mauer M, Yee B, Nelson RG, Beisswenger PJ. Advanced Glycation End Products Predict Loss of Renal Function and Correlate With Lesions of Diabetic Kidney Disease in American Indians With Type 2 Diabetes. Diabetes. 2016;65(12):3744-3753.