Principal Investigator
Kevin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology at Baylor College of Medicine, and Duncan Faculty Scholar and Member in the Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Kevin received his B.S. degree in Biological Sciences from Virginia Tech in 2001. He then received his M.S. degree in Forensic Science from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2003. Taking a slight detour in his career path, Kevin received his Ph.D. in Cell Biology in 2009 working in the lab of Rosa Serra Ph.D. at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. In the Serra laboratory, Kevin identified Wnt5a, a prototypical noncanonical Wnt, as a downstream mediator of TGF-β action in the mammary epithelium. These efforts prompted the discovery of Wnt5a as a tumor suppressor and regulator of cellular heterogeneity in breast cancer downstream of TGF-β.
Kevin was Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Jeffrey Rosen, Ph.D. at Baylor College of Medicine and recipient of a Department of Defense Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Congressionally Directed Breast Cancer Research Program. During his postdoctoral studies, he identified Wnt signaling interactions within Basal-like Triple Negative Breast Cancer, revealing a cell state and adhesion program dependent on the balance of Wnt signaling in tumors.
Kevin’s lab is now dedicated to understanding breast cancer metastasis, the spread of cancer cells to distant organ sites and the primary cause of patient mortality. The lab is supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Susan G. Komen Foundation, the Caroline Wiess Law Fund for Research in Molecular Medicine, and the L.E. Gordy Cancer Research Fund.
Roarty Lab 