Katie A. Waugh, Ph.D.

Professional Background

Dr. Katherine A. Waugh is a 4^th generation Jayhawk and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology at the University of Kansas Medical Center. She earned her Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Colorado – School of Medicine at National Jewish Health and has previous experience working in large-scale, team-based research initiatives at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research and the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome (www.trisome.org).

• BA, Microbiology, University of Kansas
• PhD, Immunology, University of Colorado - School of Medicine
• Post Doctoral Fellowship, Down syndrome, Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome
• Other, Instructor - Cytokine Signaling, Department of Pharmacology, University of Colorado - School of Medicine

Research

Overview

Valid science relies on heterogenous perspectives and values. We therefore strive to be a highly collaborative research laboratory that applies an immunogenetics lens more broadly to developmental biology through an efficient team-oriented systemic approach. This is a surprisingly rare tactic with potential for immediate clinical impact in our era of emerging global infectious disease. For although immunogenetics traditionally mines the genetic basis of immune responses, including identification of genes that potentiate defects of the immune system, it is unusual to come across studies to define variants in immune genes that impact development of other organ systems, as is commonly done in cancer immunology. Towards this end, we capitalize on recent advances in genomics to probe the impacts of inflammatory signaling cascades on organismal growth and development with a focus on immune genes triplicated in trisomy of human chromosome 21 (i.e., Trisomy 21 or “Down syndrome”). Through this work we hope to realize our vision of establishing an innovative yet solid foundation for developing immunomodulatory strategies that facilitate fetal development during high-risk pregnancies.

Mentoring statement: I take great satisfaction in building personalized mentorship programs. A lot of my time and effort are invested in tailored training and I encourage the same commitment from mentees. Available tools are leveraged for more efficient development (i.e., myidp.sciencecareers.org) and evolution (i.e., StrengthsFinder 2.0) of mentorship programs. Mentee projects within the scope of our broader research program can then appeal to their career goals through experiment engagement and guided discussions. Importantly, I work to establish mentorship programs with all trainees, including students and postdoctoral fellows, as well as research technicians, assistants, and associates. The overall lab environment that I strive for is therefore collegial with active learning opportunities available for diverse career trajectories.

• Rachubinski AL, Wallace E, Gurnee E, Enriquez Estrada BA, Worek K R, Smith KP, Waugh KA, Granrath RE, Lyford HR, Donovan MG, Paul Eduthan N, Hill AA, Martin B, Sullivan KD, Patel L, Fidler DJ, Galbraith MD, Dunnick CA, Norris DA, Espinosa JM. 2024. JAK inhibition decreases the autoimmune burden in Down syndrome. eLife. https://elifesciences.org/reviewed-preprints/99323
• Donovan Micah G, Eduthan Neetha P, Smith Keith P, Britton Eleanor C, Lyford Hannah R, Araya Paula, Granrath Ross E, Waugh Katherine A, Enriquez Estrada Belinda, Rachubinski Angela L, Sullivan Kelly D, Galbraith Matthew D, Espinosa Joaquin M. 2024. Variegated overexpression of chromosome 21 genes reveals molecular and immune subtypes of Down syndrome. Nature Communications. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-49781-1
• Galbraith Matthew D, Rachubinski Angela L, Smith Keith P, Araya Paula, Waugh Katherine A, Enriquez-Estrada Belinda, Worek Kayleigh, Granrath Ross E, Kinning Kohl T, Eduthan Neetha P, Ludwig Mike P, Hsieh Elena WY, Sullivan Kelly D, Espinosa Joaquin M. 2023. Multidimensional definition of the interferonopathy of Down syndrome and its response to JAK inhibition. Science Advances. https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/sciadv.adg6218?rfr_dat=cr_pub++0pubmed&url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org
• Waugh Katherine A, Minter Ross, Baxter Jessica, Chi Congwu, Galbraith Matthew D, Tuttle Kathryn D, Eduthan Neetha P, Kinning Kohl T, Andrysik Zdenek, Araya P, Dougherty Hannah, Dunn Lauren N, Ludwig Mike, Schade Kyndal A, Tracy Dayna, Smith Keith P, Granrath Ross E, Busquet Nicolas, Khanal Santosh, Anderson Ryan D, Cox Liza L, Enriquez-Estrada Belinda, Rachubinski Angela L, Lyford Hannah, Britton Ella C, Fantauzzo Katie A, Orlicky David J, Matsuda Jennifer L, Song Kunhua, Cox Timothy C, Sullivan Kelly D, Espinosa Joaquin M. 2023. Triplication of the interferon receptor locus contributes to hallmarks of Down syndrome in a mouse model. Nature Genetics. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-023-01399-7
• Tuttle Kathryn D, Waugh Katherine A, Araya Paula, Minter Ross, Orlicky David J, Ludwig Mike, Andrysik Zdenek, Burchill Matthew A, Tamburini Beth AJ, Sempeck Colin, Smith Keith P, Granrath Ross E, Tracy Dayna, Baxter Jessica, Espinosa Joaquin M, Sullivan Kelly D. 2020. JAK1 Inhibition Blocks Lethal Immune Hypersensitivity in a Mouse Model of Down Syndrome. Cell Reports. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/pdf/S2211-1247(20)31396-6.pdf
• Powers Rani K, Culp-Hill Rachel, Ludwig Mike P, Smith Keith P, Waugh Katherine A, Minter Ross M, Tuttle Kathryn D, Lewis Hannah C, Rachubinski Angela L, Granrath Ross E, Carmona-Iragui Maria, Wilkerson Rebecca B, Kahn Darcy E, Joshi Molishree, Lleó Alberto, Blesa Rafael, Fortea Juan, D'Alessandro Angelo, Costello James C, Sullivan Kelly D, Espinosa Joaquin M. 2019. Trisomy 21 activates the kynurenine pathway via increased dosage of interferon receptors. Nature Communications. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-12739-9
• Araya P, Waugh Katherine A, Sullivan Kelly D, Núñez Nicolas G, Roselli Emiliano, Smith Keith P, Granrath Ross E, Rachubinski Angela L, Enriquez Estrada Belinda, Butcher Eric T, Minter Ross, Tuttle Kathryn D, Bruno Tullia C, Maccioni Mariana, Espinosa Joaquin M. 2019. Trisomy 21 dysregulates T cell lineages toward an autoimmunity-prone state associated with interferon hyperactivity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1908129116
• Waugh Katherine A, Araya Paula, Pandey Ahwan, Jordan Kimberly, Smith Keith P, Granrath Ross E, Khanal Santosh, Butcher Eric T, Enriquez Estrada Belinda, Rachubinski Angela L, McWilliams Jennifer A, Minter Ross, Dimasi Tiana, Colvin Kelley L, Baturin Dmitry, Pham Andrew T, Galbraith Matthew D, Bartsch Kyle W, Yeager Michael E, Porter Christopher C, Sullivan Kelly D, Hsieh Elena WY, Espinosa Joaquin M. 2019. Mass Cytometry Reveals Global Immune Remodeling with Multi-lineage Hypersensitivity to Type I Interferon in Down Syndrome. Cell Reports. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(19)31352-X
• Waugh Katherine A, Leach Sonia M, Moore Brandon L, Bruno Tullia C, Buhrman Jonathan D, Slansky Jill E. 2016. Molecular Profile of Tumor-Specific CD8+ T Cell Hypofunction in a Transplantable Murine Cancer Model. Journal of Immunology. https://journals.aai.org/jimmunol/article/197/4/1477/106044/Molecular-Profile-of-Tumor-Specific-CD8-T-Cell
• Waugh Katherine A, Leach Sonia M, Slansky Jill E. 2016. Tolerance of Tumor-Specific T cells in Melanoma Metastases. Journal of Clinical and Cellular Immunology. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4874257/