Kurt Allen Engleka

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology

Senior Research Investigator/Instructor B, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

Department: Cell and Developmental Biology

Contact information

Smilow Center for Translational Research, 09-187
3400 Civic Center Blvd., Bldg. 421
Philadelphia, PA 19104-5157

Office: 215-898-0252

Email:
kengleka@mail.med.upenn.edu

Education:
B.S. (Biology)
Pennsylvania State University, 1985.
Ph.D. (Biochemistry)
George Washington University, 1992.

Post-Graduate Training
Graduate Student/Research Technician, Molecular Biology, Laboratory of Jerome H. Holland Laboratory for the Biomedical Sciences, American Red Cross, Rockville, MD, 1988-1992.
National Research Council Biotechnology Fellow, Laboratory of Molecular Growth Regulation/NICHD/NIH, Bethesda, MD, 1993-1996.

Permanent link

> Perelman School of Medicine > Faculty > Details

Description of Research Expertise

Over 25 years of successful protein biochemistry and cell biology experience in academic research studying:

Neural crest in development and disease with a focus on the transcription factor Pax3 and cardiovascular morphogenesis

Endothelial cell signaling mechanisms underlying angiogenesis

Fourteen years dedicated to managing laboratory of Jonathan A. Epstein, M.D., University of Pennsylvania

Selected Publications

Ramjee, V., Li, D., Manderfield, L.J., Liu, F., Engleka, K.A., Aghajanian, H., Rodell, C.B., Lu, W., Ho, V., Wang, T., Li, L., Singh, A., Cibi, D.M., Burdick, J.A., Singh, M.K., Jain, R., Epstein, J.A. : Epicardial YAP/TAZ orchestrate an immunosuppressive response following myocardial infarction. J. Clin. Invest. 127: 899-911, 2017.

Engleka, K.A. and Epstein, J.A.: Neural Crest Formation and Craniofacial Development. In Epstein’s Inborn Errors of Development: The Molecular Basis of Clinical Disorders of Morphogenesis, Erickson, R.P. and Wynshaw-Boris, A.J., eds. (eds.). Oxford University Press, Page: 57-61, 2016.

Manderfield, L.J., Aghajanian, H., Engleka, K.A., Lim, L.Y., Liu, F., Jain, R., Li, L., Olson, E.N., Epstein, J.A. : Hippo signaling is required for Notch-dependent smooth muscle differentiation of neural crest. Development 142: 2962-2971, 2015.

Yzaguirre, A.D., Padmanabhan, A., de Groh, E.D., Engleka, K.A., Li, J., Speck, N.A., Epstein, J.A.: Loss of neurofibromin Ras-GAP activity enhances the formation of cardiac blood islands in murine embryos. Elife 4:e07780, 2015.

Manderfield, L.J., Engleka, K.A., Aghajanian, H., Gupta, M., Yang, S., Li, L., Baggs, J.E., Hogenesch, J.B., Olson, E.N., Epstein, J.A.: Pax3 and hippo signaling coordinate melanocyte gene expression in neural crest. Cell Rep. 9: 1885-1895, 2014.

Engleka, K.A., Manderfield, L.J., Brust, R.D., Li, L., Cohen, A., Dymecki, S.M., Epstein, J.A.: Islet1 derivatives in the heart are of both neural crest and second heart field origin. Cir Res. 110(7): 922-6, Mar 2012 Notes: Erratum in: Circ Res. 2012 May 25;110(11):e90.

Manderfield, L.J., High, F.A., Engleka, K.A., Liu, F, Li, L., Rentschler, S., Epstein, J.A.: Notch activation of Jagged1 contributes to the assembly of the arterial wall Circulation 125: 314-323, 2012.

Jain, R., Engleka, K.A., Rentschler, S.L., Manderfield, L.J., Li, L., Yuan, L., Epstein, J.A.: Cardiac neural crest orchestrates remodeling and functional maturation of mouse semilunar valves. J. Clin. Invest. 121: 422-430, 2011.

Degenhardt, K.R., Milewski, R.C., Padmanabhan, A., Miller, M., Singh, M.K., Lang, D., Engleka, K.A, Wu, M., Li, J., Zhou, D., Antonucci, N., Li, L., Epstein, J.A.: Distinct enhancers at the Pax3 locus can function redundantly to regulate neural tube and neural crest expressions. Dev. Biol. 339: 519-527, 2010.

Griffith, A.V., Cardenas, K., Carter, C., Gordon, J., Iberg, A., Engleka, K., Epstein, .JA., Manley, N.R., Richie, E.R. : Increased thymus- and decreased parathyroid-fated organ domains in Splotch mutant embryos. Dev. Biol. 327: 216-27, 2009.