Research

Research Priorities: Cell biology, cytoskeleton, cell adhesion mechanisms, molecular genetics, dermatology

Kathleen J. Green is an American cell biologist whose main focus is cell-cell communication. She looks at how the various structures in the cell membrane interact and how this may lead to the sending of incorrect signals. She is particularly interested in skin diseases, which are closely linked to disrupted cell-cell communication.

Communication between cells plays a key role in multicellular organisms. Kathleen J. Green researches molecular connections at the cell level, and shows both how adhesion strengthens the mechanical integrity of tissue and also how the transmitted signals regulate the development and differentiation of cells. She is especially interested in the tissue structures of the skin and heart, as diseases in which adhesion plays an important role, such as autoimmune, infectious and tumour diseases, arise in these areas. Alteration in cell-cell coupling not only changes tissue structure, but also affects communication via tissue hormones and cytokines between different cell types, including cells of the immune system.

Kathleen J. Green has pioneered research into various proteins for cell-cell adhesion, in particular desmosomes. These specialised cellular adhesion structures closely bind two cells and are present in epithelial and cardiac muscle cells. They help to anchor and provide mechanical stability in tissues exposed to shear stress. Within cells, desmosomes act as an anchoring structure for intermediate filaments, which are structural elements, usually cytoplasmic in nature, made up of proteins. They thus form bonds between the cell membrane and the cytoskeleton, a system of fibres that is responsible for the form and movement of cells, for material transport, cell division, and cell differentiation.

Another milestone in Kathleen Green’s work was the successful cloning, sequencing, and characterisation of desmoplakin, the most common protein found in desmosomes. Desmoplakin binds cytoskeleton structures, such as intermediate filaments, with the intercellular adhesive junctions known as desmosomes.

More recently, Kathleen J. Green has concentrated on the cell polarity of the outermost skin layer, the epidermis. Cell polarity refers to the specific direction of cell structures along different axes. These spatial differences play a key role in various cellular processes, such as cell migration, asymmetrical cell division, and tissue homeostasis.

Kathleen J. Green researches cell-cell communication all the way from subcellular levels up to the complex biology of organisms as a whole. Her wide-ranging research not only deepens our understanding of cell-cell communication, but also creates new ways of tracing the pathological mechanisms of various diseases of the human epithelium.

Career

• since 2017 Director, Skin Biology and Diseases Resource-based Core, Skin Tissue Engineering and Morphology Core, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, USA
• 2015-2016 Visiting Professor, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
• since 2015 Associate Director, Basic Sciences, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
• 2011-2017 Co-Director, Skin Disease Research Center Keratinocyte Core, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, USA
• 2009-2011 Director, Skin Disease Research Center Keratinocyte Core, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, USA
• since 1997 Professor, Department of Dermatology and Department of Pathology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
• 1996-2001 Associate Chair of Research and Graduate Education, Department of Pathology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
• 1993-1997 Associate Professor, Department of Dermatology and Department of Pathology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
• 1987-1993 Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, Feinberg School of Medicine, and Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
• 1987 Research Assistant Professor, Cell and Developmental Biology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
• 1984-1985 Associate Instructor, Marine Biological Laboratory, University of Chicago, Chicago, USA
• 1982-1987 Postdoctoral Fellow, Feinberg School of Medicine, and Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
• 1982-1983 Teaching Assistant, Marine Biological Laboratory, University of Chicago, Chicago, USA
• 1982 PhD, Washington University, St. Louis, USA
• 1978-1980 Teaching Assistant, Washington University, St. Louis, USA
• 1976-1977 Teaching Assistant, Pomona College, Claremont, USA
• 1977 Degree in Biology, Pomona College, Claremont, USA

Functions

• since 2023 Associate Editor, Science Advances
• since 2023 Deputy Editor, Journal of Investigative Dermatology
• 2016-2018 Chairperson, Arthritis, Connective Tissue and Skin (ACTS) Study Section, National Institute of Health (NIH), Bethesda, USA
• 2014-2018 Permanent Member, ACTS Study Section, NIH, Bethesda, USA
• since 2012 Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Cell Science
• 2012-2018 Secretary, American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB), USA
• 2010-2011 President, Society for Investigative Dermatology (SID), USA
• 2007-2010 Member, Advisory Council, National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease (NIAMS), USA             
• 2010 Discovery Grant Proposal Referee, National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Canada
• since 2006 Scientific Advisor, Chicago Biomedical Consortium (CBC), Chicago, USA
• 1998-2000 Chairperson, Study Section “General Medicine A1”, NIH, Bethesda, USA
• 1995-2000 Permanent Member, Study Section “General Medicine A1”, NIH, Bethesda, USA
• 1993-1997 Member, Advisory Committee on Cell Biology, American Cancer Society (ACS), USA
• 1992-1994 Member, Research Committee, ACS, USA

Projects

• 2022-2026 Co-Principal Investigator, Project “Intercellular junctions and cell polarity”, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, USA
• 2021-2024 Principal Investigator, Project “Keratinocyte contributions to inflammatory skin disease-Desmoglein 1 loss as a model”, Leo Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark
• 2019-2024 Participating Scientist, Project “Northwestern University Skin Biology and Diseases Resource-based Center”, Northwestern University of Chicago, USA
• 2019-2024 Principal Investigator, Project “Role of Desmoglein 1 in Keratinocyte-Melanocyte Communication and Melanoma”, National Cancer Institute (NCI), USA
• 2015-2016 Co-Principal Investigator, Project “Inter-junctional signaling in epithelial junctional complex”, Northwestern University, Evanston, USA
• 2009-2015 Member, “Structural Alterations in the Myocardium and the Substrate for Cardiac Fibrillation”, Leducq Foundation, Boston, USA
• 2006-2010 Principal Investigator, Project “Regulation of Desmosomal Cadherins in Oral Cancer”, National Institute of Health (NIH), USA
• 2006-2015 Leader, Program “TIMA Tumor Invasion, Metastasis and Angiogenesis”, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
• since 1998 Director and Principal Investigator, Carcinogenesis Training Program, NCI, USA
• 1996-2026 PrincipaI Investigator, Project “Desmoplakin Assembly and Function in Epidermis”, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, NIAMS, USA
• 1993-2027 Principal Investigator, Project “Function of Desmoglein 1/Pemphigus Foliaceus Antigen”, NIAMS, USA

Honours and Memberships

• 2020 Honorary Member, European Society for Dermatological Research
• 2019 Service Excellence Award, Mentor of the Year, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
• 2019 Driskill Graduate Program Faculty Service Award, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
• 2019 Honorary Member, Society for Investigative Dermatology (SID), Cleveland, USA
• 2019 Tripartite Legacy Faculty Prize in Translational Science and Education, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
• 2018 25th David Martin Carter Mentor Award, American Skin Association, USA
• since 2017 Member, American Society for Cell Biology, USA
• since 2016 Member, German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, Germany
• 2015 Humboldt Research Award, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Bonn, Germany
• 2015 Kligman Frost Leadership Award, Society for Investigative Dermatology (SID), USA
• 2012 Martin and Gertrude Walder Award for Research Excellence, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
• 2011 Method to Extend Research in Time Award, NIH, Bethesda, USA
• 2011 Women in Science and Society Lectureship, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
• 2011 Distinguished Women in Medicine and Science Award Lecture, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
• 2006 Tanioku Kihei Memorial Award Lecture, Japanese Society for Investigative Dermatology, Japan
• 2001-2004 Keith Porter Fellow, , USA
• 2002 William Montagna Award Lecture, SID, Cleveland, USA
• since 1999 Joseph L. Mayberry Professorship, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
• 1999 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), USA
• 1993-1998 American Cancer Society Faculty Research Award, ACS, USA
• 1992-1995 Johnson & Johnson Focused Giving Award, Johnson & Johnson Foundation, New Brunswick, USA
• 1990-1993 Junior Faculty Research Award, ACS, USA
• 1988-1991 Basil O'Connor Starter Scholar, March of Dimes, Arlington, USA
• 1981 Physiology Course Award, Marine Biology Laboratory (MBL), University of Chicago, Chicago, USA
• 1980 Young Scientist Award, American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB), Rockville, USA
• 1973 Pomona College Scholar, Pomona College, Claremont, USA