Kristen Ramsey

Assistant Professor

Molecular and Cell Biology / Structural Biology, Biochemistry and Biophysics (SB3)

Bio: Dr. Ramsey is a biophysical biochemist whose broad research interests are focused on using biophysical techniques combined with in-cell functional assays to understand how changes in the biophysical characteristics of proteins and the mechanisms of their interaction with ligands translate to functional consequences in cells. As an undergraduate at Florida State University, she received a Goldwater Scholarship to study the mechanistic basis of allostery in human glucokinase in the lab of Dr. Brian Miller. She then moved to the University of California San Diego where she performed her dissertation research with Dr. Elizabeth Komives focused on elucidating the role of protein structural dynamics in the interaction of NFkB dimers with their inhibitor proteins as a mechanism for regulating NFkB signaling. After receiving her Ph.D., she began her postdoctoral work in the lab of Dr. Doug Barrick at Johns Hopkins University where she was awarded an NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship to study the biophysical basis of paralog-specific Notch signaling.

Research: At UConn, the Ramsey Lab will focus on integrating rigorous molecular biophysical approaches with cell-based functional assays to define the biochemical and biophysical mechanisms of key interactions by the RIG-I-like receptor (RLR) family of innate immune RNA sensors. This work will form the basis to further understanding the fundamental biology of pathogen-sensing and signaling by RLRs

Select publications:
Ramsey, K.M., et al. “DNA and IkBa Both Induce Long-Range Conformational Changes in NFkB” J. Mol. Biol. 2017. 429(7):999-1008. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022283617300943

Ramsey, K.M. & Barrick, D. “Unravelling Paralog-Specific Notch Signaling through Ternary Complex Stability and Transcriptional Activation Measurements Using Chimeric Receptors”. bioRxiv. 2023.
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.09.15.557970v1