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
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.
Burks KH, Basu D, Goldberg IJ, Stitziel NO. 2022 Angiopoietin-like 3: An important protein in regulating lipoprotein levels. Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab, 37(3):101688.