معرفی
Associate Professor Kellee Siegfried holds a tenure-track appointment in the Department of Biology at the University of Massachusetts Boston where she leads the Siegfried Laboratory. Trained at UC-Davis (B.S. Genetics) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Ph.D. Genetics), she carried out post-doctoral research with Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard before establishing an independent group focused on germ-cell and gonadal development in zebrafish.
Education
- Ph.D. Genetics, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- B.S. Genetics, University of California, Davis
Research Interests
The Siegfried Lab exploits the optical and genetic accessibility of zebrafish to ask how germ cells are set aside, how they progress through meiosis, and how the gonad differentiates into testis or ovary. By isolating and molecularly characterizing mutants that disrupt these events, her group has identified conserved genes whose human orthologues underlie infertility and Disorders of Sexual Development (DSD). Current projects integrate forward genetics, CRISPR knock-ins, single-cell RNA-seq and chemical genetics to probe:
- Genetic control of germ-cell survival and proliferation
- Mechanisms of meiotic chromosome pairing and recombination
- Polygenic sex-determination networks
- Environmental impacts on gonadal differentiation
Publication Trends
Over the past decade Siegfried’s peer-reviewed output has split into two major streams: (i) mechanistic studies—often led by her lab—on zebrafish germ-cell development, meiosis and sex determination (e.g., dmrt gene circuitry, cohesin function, RNA-binding proteins), and (ii) collaborative cancer-genomics papers that apply the developmental insights to human prostate tumorigenesis, focusing on chromatin modifiers (SETD7, EHMT1/GLP) and lineage plasticity driven by FOXA2/AP-1 rewiring. This duality highlights the translational reach of basic reproductive-biology discoveries.
Scientific Awards & Honors
No specific awards are listed in the supplied materials; the narrative CV notes invited seminars and steady NIH R01 support but no named prizes or fellowships.
Funding & Advising
The lab is currently supported by NIH R01 and NSF grants totaling >$1 M per year. Siegfried has mentored numerous Ph.D. students and post-docs; several alumni now run independent groups or biotech positions. Graduate students interested in developmental genetics, genomics or reproductive biology are encouraged to contact her directly.
Lab & Team
The Siegfried Laboratory (a.k.a. “We go nuts for gonads”) occupies ~1,200 sq ft in the Integrated Sciences Complex on the UMass Boston campus. The team consists of the PI, one post-doc, two graduate students, a research technician and 3-4 undergraduate researchers each semester. Shared zebrafish aquaria (3,000-tank capacity) and core facilities for imaging, genomics and CRISPR reagents are maintained within the same building.
