A New Director of Cardiovascular Research at Gladstone

Senior Investigator Benoit Bruneau, PhD, has been selected as the new director of the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, one of the four research pillars that make up the Gladstone Institutes. His new role is effective July 1, 2019.

An extensive international search for a new director began after Deepak Srivastava, MD, stepped down to become president of Gladstone. The search committee composed of 10 investigators from Gladstone and UC San Francisco (UCSF), along with Gladstone’s trustees and the leadership at UCSF, determined Bruneau was the best candidate for this important position.

“I’ve worked closely with Benoit for over a decade and I’m excited about the future of the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, knowing we’re placing it in excellent hands,” said Srivastava. “Not only is he an outstanding scientist and leader in the cardiovascular field, but he is ideally positioned to help guide Gladstone’s growth and culture.”

Bruneau arrived at Gladstone in 2006 as an associate investigator. He became a senior investigator in 2011 and the associate director of the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease in 2012. In his new role, Bruneau now joins the senior leadership team at Gladstone.

“I recognize that I have giant shoes to fill, and that’s an awesome responsibility”

Benoit Bruneau, PhD

“I feel a deep allegiance to Gladstone and want to see it succeed,” said Bruneau, who also a professor in the Department of Pediatrics at UCSF. “My role will be to ensure that each scientist and trainee in the institute has everything they need to flourish in this golden age of biology. I’m here to serve and support them as, together, we continue to lead cardiovascular research around the world.”

Prior to Srivastava, Gladstone’s founding president Robert “Bob” Mahley, MD, PhD, held the position of director of the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease.

“I recognize that I have giant shoes to fill, and that’s an awesome responsibility,” added Bruneau. “Gladstone is an unusual place because of how selflessly collegial people are—they truly go out of their way to help their neighbor succeed, and that’s one of the things I cherish most here. This culture was instilled by both Bob and Deepak, and it’s one that I want to maintain and enhance.”

Before coming to Gladstone, Bruneau led a laboratory at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and was an assistant professor in the Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics at the University of Toronto. Holder of the William H. Younger Chair in Cardiovascular Research, he has distinguished himself internationally as a leading figure in the field of epigenetics and gene regulation, particularly as it relates to cardiac biology and disease.