Kara N Maxwell

Kara N Maxwell, MD/PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. She serves as a Member at the Abramson Cancer Center and a Staff Physician at the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center (5/8ths paid employee). Her laboratory focuses on translational human genetics and genomics in inherited cancer syndromes.

• Education: BS in Genetics & Biochemistry (University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1998), PhD in Molecular & Cellular Biology (Rockefeller University, 2006), MD (Weill Cornell Medical College, 2007)
• Clinical Expertise: Cancer risk evaluation, hereditary breast/ovarian cancer, Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, Fanconi Anemia

Research integrates multi-omics analyses with in vitro/in vivo modeling to study DNA repair deficiency-related cancers, particularly breast and prostate cancer. Key projects include BRCA1/2 cancers in men, Li-Fraumeni Syndrome early detection (EDISYN consortium, LIFTUp study), and mutational signatures in Veteran tumors. Collaborations span basic science labs and clinical teams.

Current funding sources include the National Cancer Institute, Prostate Cancer Foundation, Burroughs Wellcome Foundation, Li Fraumeni Syndrome Association, and Basser Center for BRCA. The lab actively engages with the VA Million Veterans Program and Penn Medicine Biobank.

• Lab Members: Greg Kelly (Lab Manager), Caitlin Orr (Project Manager), Renyta Moses/CAMB PhD Student, Taylor Crawford/CAMB PhD Student, Nabamita Boruah (Postdoc), and others
• Key Collaborations: Basser Center Men and BRCA program, EDISYN consortium, VA Million Veterans Program