October 2025
Louis in the news!
Postdoctoral Fellow Louis is highlighted in the Postdoctoral Researcher Spotlight section in this month’s SBU Newsletter! Click here to read more about Louis’ story and his current research.
September 2025
Success at the annual Department of Medicine Research Symposium!
Louis and Soo Ah presented posters at this year’s DoM Research Symposium. Special congratulations to Soo Ah who won the prize for best undergraduate poster!



Sama wins oral presentation prize at 2025 Women in Nephrology Conference

Sama’s presentation entitled “Sex differences in branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) catabolism in primary kidney proximal tubule cells” was selected as a best oral presentation – congratulations!
July 2025
F32 Award for Sama!

Congratulations Sama on receiving an NIH/NIDDK F32 Postdoctoral Fellowship! Sama’s project is entitled: “Alterations of Branched Chain Amino Acid (BCAA) Catabolism in Acute Kidney Injury and Fibrosis”
May 2025
Asha graduates!

Congratulations Asha on graduating with a double major in Biology and Political Science, both with Honors! Asha’s Biology Honors Thesis was entitled: “Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1 (mTORC1) activity in a nephrotoxic model of Acute Kidney Injury”. Asha will be returning to the lab as a Research Support Specialist soon!
April 2025
Paper accepted in Journal of the American Society of Nephrology
Our joint paper with Dr Mallipattu’s lab entitled “Krüppel-like factor 6 Induces RNA Polymerase II Subunit RPB1 to Promote Kidney Injury” has been accepted for publication in Journal of the American Society of Nephrology! Authors include current lab members Sama and Asha, and former lab members Maanasa and Merin.
Piret SE*, DiMartino S, Hanubal M, Davis M, Wang J, Bahadur T, Rath A, Gujarati NA, Frimpong BO, Bronstein R, Guo Y, Mallipattu SK*. Krüppel-like factor 6 induces RNA polymerase II subunit RPB1 to promote kidney injury. J Am Soc Nephrol (2025) doi: 10.1681/ASN.0000000722. *joint corresponding authors.

Stony Brook Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URECA) Summer Research Award for Soo Ah

Congratulations to Soo Ah for receiving a URECA summer research award to work on his project “Treatment of acute kidney injury by activation of BCAA catabolism”.
March 2025
Stony Brook University Women in Medicine & Science Day
Congratulations Sama for winning the award for best Postdoctoral poster at this year’s Women in Medicine & Science Day!

January 2025
New paper published in American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology
Our paper entitled “Activation of branched chain amino acid catabolism protects against nephrotoxic acute kidney injury” has been published in American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology. This paper has also been chosen as an “APS Select” paper in February’s collection of the best research articles across all APS journals! Congratulations Sama on your first first-author paper with the group!
DiMartino S, Revelo MP, Mallipattu SK, Piret SE. Activation of branched chain amino acid catabolism protects against nephrotoxic acute kidney injury. AJP-Renal (2025) 328: F152-F163


November 2024
Presentations at ASN Kidney Week
Sama and Asha gave poster presentations and Sian gave an oral presentation at this year’s ASN Kidney Week in San Diego! A special well done to Asha on her first Kidney Week presentation!



September 2024
Posters at Stony Brook University Department of Medicine Annual Research Symposium
Great poster presentations from Louis, Sama and Asha at this year’s DoM Research Symposium!



July 2024
Welcome to the group Anatoly!
We are happy to welcome Dr. Anatoly Mikhailik to our group! Anatoly is no stranger to Stony Brook University, having held various positions here. You can read his biography here.

April 2024
Stony Brook Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URECA) Summer Research Award for Asha!
Congratulations to Asha for receiving a URECA summer research award to work on her project “Effects of Downregulated Branched-Chain Amino Acid Catabolism on mTORC1 Signaling in Acute Kidney Injury”.
December 2023
Congratulations Maanasa on completing your BS in Biology with Honors!
Maanasa’s thesis was entitled “Upregulation of the largest subunit of RNA Polymerase II, POLR2A, leads to worse injury in AKI and CKD”. Maanasa’s work is also being prepared for publication!
