Kevin Van Bortle

Kevin Van Bortle is an Assistant Professor of Cell & Developmental Biology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He holds affiliations with the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology and the Cancer Center at Illinois. His research focuses on RNA polymerase III (Pol III) transcription dynamics, particularly its role in cancer and gene regulation. Van Bortle earned his B.S. from the University of Rochester (2009), Ph.D. from Emory University (2014), and completed postdoctoral training at Stanford University School of Medicine (2015–2021).

• Education: B.S. 2009 (University of Rochester), Ph.D. 2014 (Emory University)
• Postdoc: Stanford University School of Medicine (2015–2021)

Research Interests: His lab investigates Pol III transcription’s role in cell growth, differentiation, and cancer progression. Key areas include Pol III subunit POLR3G’s oncogenic potential, small noncoding RNAs like SNAR-A, and transcriptional dysregulation in tumors. Techniques employed include genomic approaches, molecular biology, and biochemical analyses.

Awards: NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00; 2019–2024), Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA F32 (2015–2018).

Teaching: Leads MCB545 (Functional Genomics), emphasizing computational analysis of genomic data. Students engage with multi-omic datasets to study RNA-binding protein functions.