Staff Profile

KAITLIN ALLEN

Preferred Name: Kaitlin Allen

Postdoctoral Scholar

Biology

Email: kaitlin.allen@whoi.edu

Phone:

Website: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kn-allen

Lab/Group Site: http://Shero%20Lab/

Some Info I am broadly trained in molecular and cell physiology, with expertise in molecular physiology in marine mammals. I study the cellular underpinnings of diving in marine mammals, with the goal of understanding the mechanisms modulating energy balance in these animals. I have developed primary cell culture systems from non-model species to support the investigation of physiological phenomena that are inaccessible in vivo. My research experience also includes tissue engineering, developing engineered bacterial circuits for immunotherapy applications, and fieldwork in marine mammal physiology in Antarctica. Additionally, I have ten years' experience with translational research models including transgenic mice, and I use this experience to develop innovative approaches to studying marine mammal physiology. My goals are to identify the molecular mechanisms critical to extreme diving behaviors in marine mammals, and to interpret the impacts of those mechanisms in a broader taxonomic and evolutionary context.

Education

PhD University of California, Berkeley (2024), Department of Integrative Biology. Advisor: Dr. José Pablo Vázquez-Medina. Dissertation: Cellular mechanisms underlying natural tolerance to low oxygen tension and extended fasting in elephant seals

BS Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2014), Department of Biology