department of developmental biology

Associate Professor
Department of Molecular Biology and Pharmacology

Developmental Biology Program
Molecular Cell Biology Program

Research Interests

We are interested in understanding how embryonic and embryonic stem (ES) cells regulate self-renewal, lineage commitment, and differentiation and are studying these questions in the context of vertebrate neural development. Stepwise transcriptional cascades convert pluripotent embryonic cells into neurons:  multipotent neural precursors form, commit to neuronal lineages, and then undergo cell cycle withdrawal and neuronal differentiation. We use both mouse ES cells and mouse and Xenopus embryos to study these processes.

A major focus of our work is on chromatin regulatory proteins, including the SWI-SNF and Polycomb complexes and the novel protein Geminin. These complexes critically regulate transcription to control self-renewal and differentiation in multiple cell contexts. They also regulate cell cycle progression and maintain genome integrity and their dysregulation is a pivotal aspect of multiple human malignancies.  Our current efforts include:

Transcriptional regulatory networks in neural development.  We are: 1. identifying direct targets and regulatory enhancers used by several key bHLH transcription factors to regulate neuronal commitment, 2. determining how neural precursor-specific gene expression is transcriptionally regulated in early embryos and ES cells, and 3. Using genomic and function-based screens to isolate novel regulators of neurogenesis.

Gem, SWI-SNF, and Polycomb interplay regulating transcription in embryonic and ES cells. We are defining how interactions between these complexes regulate transcription by defining direct transcriptional targets, composition of the protein complexes involved, and mechanisms of action at the chromatin level. We are also assessing how this is integrated with control of cell cycle progression and genome stability/euploidy, to determine how this occurs in normal cells and define its contributions to cancer progression.

• Keywords: cell fate, gene expression, embryonic development, neurobiology, transcription

Kroll Biosketch

Training:

• 1988 B.A. Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
• 1994 Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, California

Academic Positions:

• 1988-94 Dept. of Molecular and Cell Biology
  University of California at Berkeley
• 1994-2000 Postdoctoral Fellow with Marc W. Kirschner, Professor and Chair
  Dept. of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
• 1998 Independent consultant, Genetics Institute, Cambridge, MA
• 2000- Assistant Professor, Washington University School of Medicine, Dept. of Molecular Biology and Pharmacology
• 2007-Associate Professor, Washington University School of Medicine, Dept. of Molecular Biology and Pharmacology

Honors:

• 2007 Hope Award, American Cancer Society, Wash. U. School of Medicine
• 2006 American Cancer Society Research Scholar, Wash. U. School of Medicine
• 2000-02 Basil O'Connor Research Award, March of Dimes, Wash. U. School of Medicine
• 2000-02 Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Faculty Development-Basic Research Award, Wash. U. School of Medicine
• 1995-98 Postdoctoral Fellowship, Cancer Research Fund of the Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Foundation, Harvard Medical School
• 1992 Teaching Effectiveness Award, UC Berkeley
• 1992 Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor, UC Berkeley 1988 Phi Beta Kappa, Northwestern University
• 1987 Phi Eta Sigma honorary society member, Northwestern University
• 1987 National Science Foundation Undergraduate Research Fellowship, Northwestern University
• 1986-87 Alice G. Hough Scholarship, Northwestern University

Selected Publications

For a listing of ALL publications through PubMed, click here.


Kristen L. Kroll. Geminin in embryonic development: coordinating transcription and the cell cycle during differentiation. [Frontiers in Bioscience 12, 1395-1409, January 1, 2007].

Seongjin Seo, Kristen L. Kroll. Chromatin Connections that Regulate Transcription at the Transition from Proliferation to Differentiation. [Cell Cycle 5:4, 374-380, 16 February 2006]; ©2006 Landes Bioscience.

Jennifer J. Taylor, Ting Wang, Kristen L. Kroll. Tcf- and Vent-binding sites regulate neural-specific geminin expression in the gastrula embryo. Dev Biol. 2006 Jan 15;289(2):494-506.

Aline Boos, Amy Lee, Dominic M. Thompson, Jr and Kristen L. Kroll. Subcellular translocation signals regulate Geminin activity during embryonic development. Biol. Cell (2006) 98, 363–375 (Printed in Great Britain) doi:10.1042/BC20060007

Seo, S., Cook, G.A, and Kroll, K.L. (2004) The SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling protein Brg1 is required for neurogenesis and mediates transactivation of Ngn and NeuroD. Development, 132, pg. 105-115.

Postigo, A.A., Depp, J.L., Taylor, J.J., and Kroll, K.L. Regulation of Smad signaling through a differential recruitment of coactivators and corepressors by ZEB proteins. EMBO J. 2003 22 (10): 2453-2462.

Bainter J, Boos A, Kroll KL. Neural induction takes a transcriptional twist. Dev Dyn 2001 222: 315-327.

Kroll, K.L. and Kirschner, M.W. Easy Passage: Germline Transgenesis in Xenopus. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 1999 96 (25): 14189-90.

Amaya, E. and Kroll, K. L. A Method for Generating Transgenic Frog Embryos. Methods in Molecular Biology 1999 97: 393-414.

Kroll KL, Salic AN, Evans LM, et al. Geminin, a neuralizing molecule that demarcates the future neural plate at the onset of gastrulation. Development 1998 125:3247-3258.

Enrique Amaya and Kristen L. Kroll. A method for generating transgenic frog embryos. Methods Mol Biol. 1999;97:393-414.

Contact Information

Kristen Kroll
Department of Molecular Biology and Pharmacology
Washington University School of Medicine
Campus Box 8103
660 South Euclid Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63110
(314) 362-7045
kkroll@wustl.edu

Laboratory Website

http://molecool.wustl.edu/krolllab/index.html

Developmental Biology Program Website

http://molecool.wustl.edu/DevBiol/

.