Welcome to the Kallen Lab

The Kallen Lab’s research program aims improve our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms underlying follicular development and reproductive aging in the mammalian ovary. Over the last several years, noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) have emerged as master regulators of tissue growth and differentiation, and my work has focused on these ncRNAs and their role in the reproductive tract. During her Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility fellowship, Dr. Kallen was awarded a position in the NICHD’s Reproductive Scientist Development Program (RSDP), a prestigious mentored career development program whose goal is to develop academic reproductive physician-scientists equipped with the skills to address important problems in the field of obstetrics and gynecology. This was a transformative experience, allowing Dr. Kallen to use her background as a physician to better understand reproduction at the cellular and molecular level, as well as to understand the importance of research that could translate from bench to bedside.

Dr. Kallen's published work in Molecular Cell, demonstrating that the ncRNA H19 acts as a molecular “sponge” for the micro RNA let-7, was completed under the guidance of her RSDP mentor, Dr. Yingqun Huang and been cited nearly 600 times. More recently, the Kallen lab described novel, noncoding-RNA-mediated mechanisms for regulation of follicular recruitment as well as for the rate-limiting step of steroidogenesis; the latter resulted in a manuscript which was recognized by the Endocrine Society as one of the "Top Endocrine Discoveries of 2017".

Since completion of the RSDP, Dr. Kallen received the American Society for Reproductive Medicine Research Grant and the 2020 Society for Reproductive Investigation “Early Career Investigator” Award for her work on mechanisms of reproductive aging. Dr. Kallen is currently the PI on an R01 which aims to investigate noncoding RNA-mediated regulation of ovarian follicular quantity and quality, a novel and understudied area of ovarian aging, and which received an Impact Score of 10 (1st percentile).


 

Publications

Expression and T cell regulatory action of the PD-1 immune checkpoint in the ovary and fallopian tube.Johnson J, Kim SY, Sam PK, Asokan R, Cari EL, Bales ES, Luu TH, Perez L, Kallen AN, Nel-Themaat L, Polotsky AJ, Post MD, Orlicky DJ, Jordan KR, Bitler BG. Am J Reprod Immunol. 2023 Mar; 2022 Dec 26. PMID: 36394352


Multifaceted Approach to Evaluation in a Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology Rotation for Medical Students.Solotke MT, Crabtree J, Cron J, Kallen A, Encandela J, Vash-Margita A. J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol. 2022 Jun; 2021 Dec 11. PMID: 34906684.

What is optimal timing of warming for transferring vitrified cleavage stage of day 3 slow-growing embryos? A cohort retrospective study.Geng L, Wu JH, Luo JQ, Liu R, Li JS, Shi Y, Kallen A, Wang TR, Xia X. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2022 Apr; 2021 Nov 8. PMID: 34746994.

Aberrant H19 Expression Disrupts Ovarian Cyp17 and Testosterone Production and Is Associated with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in Women.Chen Z, Liu L, Xi X, Burn M, Karakaya C, Kallen AN. Reprod Sci. 2022 Apr; 2021 Oct 15. PMID: 34655046.

Laser-assisted hatching zona thinning does not improve the pregnancy outcomes of poor-quality blastocysts in frozen-thawed embryo transfer cycle: a retrospective cohort study.Geng L, Luo JQ, Liu R, Wu JH, Shi Y, Zhang QJ, Liu F, Liu JJ, Kallen A, Peng YB, Li JS, Xia X. Lasers Med Sci. 2022 Apr; 2021 Sep 4. PMID: 34480664.

A multisociety organizational consensus process to define guiding principles for acute perioperative pain management.Mariano ER, Dickerson DM, Szokol JW, Harned M, Mueller JT, Philip BK, Baratta JL, Gulur P, Robles J, Schroeder KM, Wyatt KEK, Schwalb JM, Schwenk ES, Wardhan R, Kim TS, Higdon KK, Krishnan DG, Shilling AM, Schwartz G, Wiechmann L, Doan LV, Elkassabany NM, Yang SC, Muse IO, Eloy JD, Mehta V, Shah S, Johnson RL, Englesbe MJ, Kallen A, Mukkamala SB, Walton A, Buvanendran A. Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2022 Feb; 2021 Sep 22. PMID: 34552003.

Diagnosis and Management of Infertility: A Review.Carson SA, Kallen AN. JAMA. 2021 Jul 6. PMID: 34228062.

      Emerging roles for noncoding RNAs in female sex steroids and reproductive disease.Zhang R, Wesevich V, Chen Z, Zhang D, Kallen            AN. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2020 Dec 1; 2020 Jul 12. PMID: 32668269.

      Control of Murine Primordial Follicle Growth Activation by IκB/NFκB Signaling.Wright CJ, Cari EL, Sandoval J, Bales E, Sam PK, Zarate          MA, Polotsky AJ, Kallen AN, Johnson J. Reprod Sci. 2020 Nov; 2020 Jun 15. PMID: 32542534.

Efficacy of intrauterine perfusion of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) for infertile women before embryo transfer: meta-analysis.Yang DN, Wu JH, Geng L, Cao LJ, Zhang QJ, Luo JQ, Kallen A, Hou ZH, Qian WP, Shi Y, Xia X. J Obstet Gynaecol. 2020 Oct; 2019 Dec 3. PMID: 31791175.

Updates on molecular and environmental determinants of luteal progesterone production.DeWitt NA, Whirledge S, Kallen AN. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2020 Sep 15; 2020 Jun 28. PMID: 32610113.

The relationship between H19 and parameters of ovarian reserve.Xia X, Burn MS, Chen Y, Karakaya C, Kallen A. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2020 May 13; 2020 May 13. PMID: 32404103.

A novel, noncoding-RNA-mediated, post-transcriptional mechanism of anti-Mullerian hormone regulation by the H19/let-7 axis.Qin C, Xia X, Fan Y, Jiang Y, Chen Y, Zhang N, Uslu B, Johnson J, Kallen AN. Biol Reprod. 2019 Jul 1. PMID: 31286140.

H19 lncRNA identified as a master regulator of genes that drive uterine leiomyomas.Cao T, Jiang Y, Wang Z, Zhang N, Al-Hendy A, Mamillapalli R, Kallen AN, Kodaman P, Taylor HS, Li D, Huang Y. Oncogene. 2019 Jul; 2019 May 15. PMID: 31089260.

Absence of the long noncoding RNA H19 results in aberrant ovarian STAR and progesterone production.Chen Y, Wang J, Fan Y, Qin C, Xia X, Johnson J, Kallen AN. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2019 Jun 15; 2019 Mar 25. PMID: 30922932.

A counterintuitive lesson in family planning? Patience first: taking a "gap year" after live birth from assisted reproductive technology before frozen embryo transfer is performed.Seifer DB, Kallen AN. Fertil Steril. 2019 Jun; 2019 May 2. PMID: 31056317.

Translational activation of maternally derived mRNAs in oocytes and early embryos and the role of embryonic poly(A) binding protein (EPAB).Esencan E, Kallen A, Zhang M, Seli E. Biol Reprod. 2019 May 1. PMID: 30806655.

A novel, noncoding-RNA-mediated, post-transcriptional mechanism of anti-Mullerian hormone regulation by the H19/let-7 axis.Qin C, Xia X, Fan Y, Jiang Y, Chen Y, Zhang N, Uslu B, Johnson J, Kallen AN. Biol Reprod. 2019 Jan 1. PMID: 30137224.

      Untapped Reserves: Controlling Primordial Follicle Growth Activation.Kallen A, Polotsky AJ, Johnson J. Trends Mol Med. 2018 Mar; 2018 Feb 13. PMID: 29452791.

The Steroidogenic Acute Regulatory Protein (StAR) Is Regulated by the H19/let-7 Axis. Men Y, Fan Y, Shen Y, Lu L, Kallen AN. Endocrinology. 2017 Feb 1. PMID: 27813675.

Poor ovarian response in women undergoing in vitro fertilization is associated with altered microRNA expression in cumulus cells.Karakaya C, Guzeloglu-Kayisli O, Uyar A, Kallen AN, Babayev E, Bozkurt N, Unsal E, Karabacak O, Seli E. Fertil Steril. 2015 Jun; 2015 Apr 22. PMID: 25910568.

Blood type predicts live birth in the infertile population.Goldsammler M, Jindal SK, Kallen A, Mmbaga N, Pal L. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2015 Apr; 2015 Feb 21. PMID: 25701141.

HOXA10 Regulates Expression of Cytokeratin 15 in Endometrial Epithelial Cytoskeletal Remodeling. Kallen AN, Haines K, Taylor HS. Reprod Sci. 2014 Jul; 2014 Feb 14. PMID: 24532216.

Hormone therapy: A to Z. Fischer C, Kallen AN, Pal L. Menopause. 2013 Nov. PMID: 23921519.

The imprinted H19 lncRNA antagonizes let-7 microRNAs.Kallen AN, Zhou XB, Xu J, Qiao C, Ma J, Yan L, Lu L, Liu C, Yi JS, Zhang H, Min W, Bennett AM, Gregory RI, Ding Y, Huang Y. Mol Cell. 2013 Oct 10; 2013 Sep 19. PMID: 24055342.

Aberrant endocrinology and ovarian response to clomiphene citrate during the course of an undiagnosed early intrauterine pregnancy: a case report.Kallen AN, Luk J, Pal L. J Reprod Med. 2013 May-Jun. PMID: 23763012.

Does Lin28 Antagonize miRNA-Mediated Repression by Displacing miRISC from Target mRNAs?Kallen AN, Ma J, Huang Y. Front Genet. 2012; 2012 Nov 16. PMID: 23162570.

Cardiovascular disease and ovarian function.Kallen AN, Pal L. Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol. 2011 Aug. PMID: 21681091.

      Gender differences in cardiovascular disease: hormonal and biochemical influences. Pérez-López FR, Larrad-Mur L, Kallen A, Chedraui P, Taylor HS. Reprod Sci. 2010 Jun. PMID: 20460551.
     
      Endothelin type A receptor (ETA) expression is regulated by HOXA10 in human endometrial stromal cells. Penna IA, Hongling Du, Kallen AN, Taylor HS. Reprod Sci. 2010 May. PMID: 20371740.