Kristin L Boylan

Kristin L Boylan is a Research Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Her primary appointment is within the university's cancer research infrastructure, with active collaborations spanning the NIH National Cancer Institute, U.S. Department of Defense, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance.

Her research focuses on ovarian cancer biomarker discovery using advanced mass spectrometry techniques. Key areas include developing liquid biopsy approaches utilizing routine Pap tests and cervical swabs for early detection, investigating Nectin-4 signaling pathways to overcome chemotherapy resistance, and creating multiprotein classifiers for improved diagnostic accuracy. Her work represents a paradigm shift in ovarian cancer screening methodology.

Analysis of her 32 research outputs shows consistent productivity with 5 publications in 2024-2025 alone, demonstrating active current research. Her publications primarily appear in oncology and proteomics journals, with strong emphasis on translational applications for clinical diagnostics.

Dr. Boylan currently serves as Co-Investigator on two major active grants: an NIH-funded Deep Ovarian Cancer Metabolomics project (2024-2026) and a Department of Defense project developing targeted mass spectrometry assays for ovarian cancer detection (2022-2025). She has successfully led or co-led 11 funded projects since 2005, including multiple collaborations with the Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance.

Her research group operates at the intersection of clinical pathology and cancer biology, focusing on translating laboratory discoveries into practical diagnostic tools. Current projects aim to develop non-invasive screening methods that could enable at-home self-sampling for ovarian cancer detection - addressing a critical unmet need since most cases are diagnosed at late stages.