Dr. David Gau is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Gau earned his Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of Pittsburgh, where he studied the role of actin-binding protein Profilin-1 (Pfn1) in angiogenesis and vascular biology. His postdoctoral training, also at the University of Pittsburgh with Dr. Partha Roy, further explored the intersection of cytoskeletal regulation and tumor progression in renal cell carcinoma. Dr. Gau’s current research program focuses on understanding how actin cytoskeleton dynamics regulate mitochondrial homeostasis in cancer and kidney disease. He is particularly interested in dissecting how cytoskeletal proteins, such as Pfn1, influence mitochondrial function and bioenergetics in tumor and stromal cells. For his work with the AKCI, Dr. Gau plans to investigate Profilin-1’s role in mitochondrial dysfunction in chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (ChRCC), a rare and understudied subtype of kidney cancer. His lab leverages genetic models, patient-derived cell lines, and emerging small molecule inhibitors to evaluate the therapeutic potential of targeting cytoskeleton–mitochondria crosstalk in ChRCC. Dr. Gau’s long-term vision is to develop mechanism-based treatment strategies for aggressive and treatment-resistant kidney cancers by integrating cellular bioengineering, molecular biology, and translational therapeutics.