Keren I. Hilgendorf, PhD

Languages spoken: English

Academic Information

Departments: Biochemistry - Assistant Professor

Academic Office Information

keren.hilgendorf@biochem.utah.edu

(801) 581-2407

Emma Eccles Jones Medical Research Building

15 N Medical Dr E, Room:
Salt Lake City, UT

Labs

Keren Hilgendorf, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Utah. She is also a member of the Cell Response and Regulation Program at Huntsman Cancer Institute.

Dr. Hilgendorf received a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She received her postdoctoral training at Stanford University School of Medicine and was a Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow.

Research Statement

The Hilgendorf Lab studies the molecular mechanisms regulating adult stems cell expansion and differentiation to ensure proper tissue homeostasis, expansion, and regeneration. A major focus of the lab is to study the molecular mechanisms regulating fat tissue. We use a combination of animal models and cell culture techniques. We are particularly interested in how the primary cilium, an antenna-like signaling organelle, senses and organizes signal transduction pathways to regulate stem cell fate.

Education History

Fellowship Stanford University
Stem Cell Biology 		Postdoctoral Fellow
Fellowship Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cancer Biology 		Postgraduate Fellow
Fellowship Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cancer Biology 		Postgraduate Fellow
Graduate Training Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Biology 		Ph.D.
Undergraduate University of Texas at Austin
Biology 		B.S.

Selected Publications

  1. Hilgendorf KI (2021). Primary Cilia Are Critical Regulators of White Adipose Tissue Expansion. [Review]. Front Physiol, 12, 769367.
  2. Hilgendorf KI, Johnson CT, Mezger A, Rice SL, Norris AM, Demeter J, Greenleaf WJ, Reiter JF, Kopinke D, Jackson PK (2019). Omega-3 Fatty Acids Activate Ciliary FFAR4 to Control Adipogenesis. Cell, 179(6), 1289-1305.e21.
  3. Maynard MA, Ferretti R, Hilgendorf KI, Perret C, Whyte P, Lees JA (2013). Bmi1 is required for tumorigenesis in a mouse model of intestinal cancer. Oncogene, 33(28), 3742-7.
  4. Hilgendorf KI, Leshchiner ES, Nedelcu S, Maynard MA, Calo E, Ianari A, Walensky LD, Lees JA (2013). The retinoblastoma protein induces apoptosis directly at the mitochondria. Genes Dev, 27(9), 1003-15.