Kendall Burks
Program: Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Current advisor: Nathan Stitziel, MD, PhD
Undergraduate university: Rice University
Research summary
In Dr. Nathan Stitziel’s lab in the Center for Cardiovascular Research, I use mouse and cell culture models to characterize cellular mediators of cardiovascular disease. Previous human genetic studies revealed coding variants in two genes that independently regulate lipid homeostasis. Missense and nonsense alleles in both loci segregate in Mendelian fashion and associate with cardioprotective plasma lipid profiles. My goals include elucidating the molecular mechanisms by which these variants lower plasma lipid levels. To study the effects of one mutated gene product, I collect gene expression data and profile lipid phenotypes in a murine model. To study the second variant, I assay lipoprotein assembly and secretion.
Graduate publications
urks KH, Xie Y, Gildea M, Jung IH, Mukherjee S, Lee P, Pudupakkam U, Wagoner R, Patel V, Santana K, Alisio A, Goldberg IJ, Finck BN, Fisher EA, Davidson NO, Stitziel NO. 2024 ANGPTL3 deficiency impairs lipoprotein production and produces adaptive changes in hepatic lipid metabolism. J Lipid Res, 65(2):100500.
D’Erasmo L, Di Martino M, Neufeld T, Fraum TJ, Kang CJ, Burks KH, Di Costanzo A, Minicocci I, Bini S, Maranghi M, Pigna G, Labbadia G, Zheng J, Fierro D, Montali A, Ceci F, Catalano C, Davidson NO, Lucisano G, Nicolucci A, Arca M, Stitziel NO. 2023 ANGPTL3 Deficiency and Risk of Hepatic Steatosis. Circulation, 148(19):1479-89.
Burks KH, Basu D, Goldberg IJ, Stitziel NO. 2023 Angiopoietin-like 3: An important protein in regulating lipoprotein levels. Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab, 37(3):101688.
Elenbaas JS, Pudupakkam U, Ashworth KJ, Kang CJ, Patel V, Santana K, Jung IH, Lee PC, Burks KH, Amrute JM, Mecham RP, Halabi CM, Alisio A, Di Paola J, Stitziel NO. 2023 SVEP1 is an endogenous ligand for the orphan receptor PEAR1. Nat Commun, 14(1):850.
Jung IH, Elenbaas JS, Burks KH, Amrute JM, Xiangyu Z, Alisio A, Stitziel NO. 2022 Vascular smooth muscle- and myeloid cell-derived integrin α9β1 does not directly mediate the development of atherosclerosis in mice. Atherosclerosis, 360():15-20.