By DoM Communications | Date published: February 12, 2026

Kerstin Nundel Awarded Shaffer Grant by The Glaucoma Research Foundation to Study the Role of SFasL in Glaucoma

Kerstin Nundel, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatology, was recently awarded a Shaffer grant by The Glaucoma Research Foundation to study the role of SFasL in glaucoma.  

According to Dr. Nundel, glaucoma is characterized by the progressive death of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). The protein, Fas ligand (FasL), was found to play a critical role in RGC death. FasL can be expressed as two different forms, a membrane-bound protein (mFasL) which induces cell death and inflammation or, a soluble protein (sFasL) that has anti-inflammatory properties. In experimental glaucoma models, Dr. Nundel found that increased expression of mFasL, results in inflammation, and the death of RGCs. 

“Overexpression of sFasL has been shown to protect RGCs and inhibit inflammation. Therefore, a better understanding of the different signaling pathways induced by mFasL versus sFasL is crucial for elucidating the mechanisms underlying glaucomatous neurodegeneration,” said Dr. Nundel.  

Dr. Nundel and her team plan to use several mouse strains that differ in mFasL and sFasL expression, to identify the sFasL-specific and mFasL-specific signaling pathways that regulate inflammation and cell death during the development of glaucoma and identify gene signatures that are involved in the neuroprotective effect of sFasL. “A better understanding of how changes in the natural balance of mFasL and sFasL contributes to the development of glaucoma will allow us to design new therapeutic strategies, such as enhancing sFasL or inhibiting mFasL, which may provide neuroprotection while minimizing inflammation,” explained Dr. Nundel. “In addition, a clearer understanding of the dichotomy in FasL signaling could pave the way for more targeted interventions that preserve RGCs and prevent vision loss in glaucoma patients.” 

The Glaucoma Research Foundation is a national nonprofit that funds global research and supports individuals and families affected by glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness. Through its Shaffer Grants program, the Glaucoma Research Foundation helps promising researchers to generate the early evidence needed to secure major government and philanthropic funding by providing one-year, $55,000 seed grants for high-risk, high-reward research projects.