Ron Korstanje, Ph.D., FAHA

Associate Professor

Studies the genetics of kidney function and disease, particularly in the context of aging, using genetically diverse mouse models.

JAX Center for Aging Research

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Contact me at: 207-288-6992

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About Ron Korstanje, Ph.D., FAHA

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a growing medical problem, and the number of patients progressing to end-stage renal disease has increased by 95 percent over the last 10 years in the United States. There are currently over half a million Americans on dialysis, a procedure that severely reduces quality of life and comes with much comorbidity. Furthermore, the impact of CKD is not limited to impairments related to renal failure. CKD is also recognized as an important risk factor for other ailments such as cardiovascular disease, including myocardial infarction, atherosclerosis, stroke and hypertension. A critical and unavoidable contributor to CKD is normal kidney aging.

Our goal is to identify key genetic factors that contribute to the decline of function and damage in the aging kidney, to learn their role in the kidney, and to understand why variations of these factors lead to different outcomes. We do this by studying the natural genetic variation in mice and their association with different kidney phenotypes. Once causal genes are identified, we develop precision disease models for further study of the gene and to develop therapeutics that will slow down the decline of kidney function and development of disease.

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Current Grants

P30 AG038070, NIH/NIA The Jackson Laboratory Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging
Role: Co-Principal Investigator and Core Leader

P50 GM076468, NIH/NIGMS Genome Dynamics: Evolution, Organization and Function
Role: Project Leader

U54 HG006332, NIH/NHGRI The Jackson Laboratory KOMP2 Phenotyping Center
Role: Domain Expert

AHA Cardiovascular Genome Phenome Study, Integrated genetic, transcriptomic, and epigenetic analysis of cardiovascular disease phenotypes.
Role: Co-Principal Investigator

Bayer Pharmaceutical Grants4targets
Role: Principal Investigator

Selected Publications

Highlighted Abstract

Obesity is a highly heritable and genetically complex trait with hundreds of potential loci identified. An intercross of 513 F2 progeny between the SM/J x NZB/BINJ inbred mouse strains was generated to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) that are involved in the weight of four fat pads: mesenteric, inguinal, gonadal, and retroperitoneal. Sex and lean body weight were treated as covariates in the analysis of these fat pads. This analysis uncoupled genetic effects related to overall body size from those influencing the adiposity of a mouse. We identified multiple significant QTL. QTL alleles associated with increased lean body weight and individual fat pad weights are contributed by the NZB background. Adiposity loci are distinct from these body size QTLs and high-adiposity alleles are contributed by the SM background. An extended network of epistatic QTL is also observed. A QTL on Chr 19 is the center of a network of eight interacting QTL, Chr 4 is the center of six, and Chr 17 the center of four interacting QTL. We conclude that interacting networks of multiple genes characterize the regulation of fat pad depots and body weight. Haplotype patterns and a literature-driven approach were used to generate hypotheses regarding the identity of the genes and pathways underlying the QTL.

View full list of publications

Research HighlightDecember 03, 2018
Hibernating bears provide clues for kidney regeneration
JAX researcher Ron Korstanje is closer to understanding exactly how bear kidneys recover from the damage caused by hibernation.
Search MagazineMay 03, 2017
Conservation and genetics
The word "conservation" has come to be associated with the environmental movement, and for good reason. For geneticists, however, conservation has an entirely different connotation.
Search MagazineJuly 07, 2016
Aerospace to Aging
It’s not rocket science — George Sutphin’s exploration of the processes underlying how and why we age is far more complicated.
- Aging
- Aging
Profile StoryOctober 22, 2015
A better way to find a cure for kidney disease
Learn how Diversity Outbred mice allow Assistant Professor Ron Korstanje, Ph.D., to zero in on the genetic factors of chronic kidney disease—a disease that costs Americans $42 billion a year.

Profile StoryMay 29, 2018
The future of aging
University of Arizona researcher George Sutphin had never touched a mouse before he arrived as a postdoctoral associate in the Korstanje lab at The Jackson Laboratory. Now he depends on the mouse and other models as he works to develop new clinical interventions to extend healthy human lifespan and treat age-associated disease.
- Aging
- Aging
Press ReleaseApril 12, 2017
C. elegans reveal aging-related genes, JAX researchers report
In a paper published in Aging Cell, Jackson Laboratory Assistant Professor Ron Korstanje, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow George Sutphin, Ph.D., and colleagues discovered 46 novel longevity-related genes and identified three genes that especially warrant further study.
- Aging
- Genetics and Genomics
Research HighlightOctober 23, 2015
The transcriptional landscape of age in human blood
As we age, it becomes more difficult to maintain good health, and we become more susceptible to diseases such as cancer, heart disease and stroke with each passing year. That fact seems so basic that it’s surprising that no one really understands the basic mechanisms underlying aging and why the aging process has such a large impact on wellbeing. And as researchers delve deeper into the subject, answers remain elusive.
Search MagazineNovember 19, 2014
Bearing down on kidney disease
Ron Korstanje, Ph.D., is researching the nephrons of mice, zebrafish, and black bears in order to find new ways to treat kidney damage and disease.

Bearing down on kidney disease at The Jackson Laboratory

Ron Korstanje, Ph.D., is researching the nephrons of mice, zebrafish, and black bears, in order to find new ways to treat kidney damage and disease.
UNE Keynote

The UNE Keynote address by Ron Korstanje.

Selena Neptune-Bear

Selena Neptune-Bear, JAX Summer Student Class of 2017

Ron Korstanje, Ph.D., FAHA

Associate Professor

About Ron Korstanje, Ph.D., FAHA

Selected Publications

Highlighted Abstract

Bearing down on kidney disease at The Jackson Laboratory

UNE Keynote

Selena Neptune-Bear