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Kendall Van Keuren-Jensen

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Kendall Van Keuren-Jensen is an American neurogenomics researcher known for her work in the field of extracellular RNA and its implications in neurological diseases.[1][2][3]

She currently serves as the Vice President of Research and Professor in the Neurogenomics Division at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), where she also holds the position of Director of the Center for Noninvasive Diagnostics.[4]

Education

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Van Keuren-Jensen  received her PhD from Stonybrook University at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, where she studied the role of activity-regulated genes in synaptic transmission and neuronal morphology with Dr. Hollis Cline.[5]

She also has a Master’s degree in pharmacology and toxicology from the University of Kansas, and she double majored in biology and anthropology at Boston University.[4][6]

Career

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At Phoenix’s Tgen, Dr Van Keuren-Jensen’s lab examined dysregulated RNAs in neurodegenerative disease, including the RNA cargo of extracellular vesicles, using several sequencing platforms and a diverse set of bioinformatics tools for analysis.[4][7]

In 2015, Van Keuren-Jensen was a principal investigator on a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant awarded through the Extracellular RNA Communication Program to support research on methods for detecting and treating brain injury caused by intracerebral hemorrhage.[8]

In 2021, Van Keuren-Jensen served as a co-investigator on a National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 grant that supported research into the role of immune cells in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).[9]

In 2022, Van Keuren-Jensen was a co-investigator on a National Institutes of Health (NIH) R21 grant supporting research into the use of stem cell models to differentiate subtypes of Lewy body dementia.[9]

In 2024, she was appointed as a senior scientist and lead for the Neurogenomics and Diagnostics Unit at the National Institute on Aging's Center for Alzheimer's and Related Dementias (CARD).[10] In January 2025, she was named the acting director,[11][12][13][14]

However in March 2025, she was among several staff members[13][14] terminated as she was still tagged as a probationary employee.[15]

Research

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Keuren-Jensen's research includes investigation into chronic traumatic encephalopathy, CTE,[16] where she headed a study to find out if biomarkers indicating CTE can be found in the blood, urine, or saliva of the living.[17][18][19]

Awards

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  • Outstanding Women in Business 2022: Phoenix Business Journal[1]
  • PLOS ONE Publication Recognition (2014): Her paper on potential RNA biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease was highlighted by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) for its impact.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b Poulin, Jim (March 24, 2022). "Outstanding Women in Business 2022: Get to know Kendall Van Keuren-Jensen of TGen". Phoenix Business Journal. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  2. ^ "CARD Stacks the Deck Against Alzheimer's | NIH Intramural Research Program". irp.nih.gov. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  3. ^ a b Palade, Joanna; Alsop, Eric; Courtright-Lim, Amanda; Hsieh, Michael; Whitsett, Timothy G.; Galasko, Douglas; Van Keuren-Jensen, Kendall (2024-01-23). "Small RNA Changes in Plasma Have Potential for Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease before Symptom Onset". Cells. 13 (3): 207. doi:10.3390/cells13030207. ISSN 2073-4409. PMC 10854972. PMID 38334599.
  4. ^ a b c "Kendall Van Keuren-Jensen, PhD | Parkinson's Disease". www.michaeljfox.org. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  5. ^ "Kendall Van Keuren-Jensen | The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix". phoenixmed.arizona.edu. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  6. ^ "2023 Parkinson's Disease Therapeutics Conference" (PDF). PDTC Digital Packet. October 19, 2023.
  7. ^ Dutta, Suman; Nimse, Satish Balasaheb; Van Keuren-Jensen, Kendall; Bitan, Gal (2022-09-08). "Editorial: Exosomes: Message in a vesicle". Frontiers in Pharmacology. 13. doi:10.3389/fphar.2022.1018928. ISSN 1663-9812. PMC 9494591. PMID 36160457.
  8. ^ AZBio (2015-09-10). "NIH awards $2.8 million for study into new ways to detect and treat brain injury resulting from bleeding in the brain | AZBio". Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  9. ^ a b O'Haver, Christina (2023-02-23). "Barrow Neurodegeneration Scientist Earns High-Risk, High-Reward Grants". Barrow Neurological Institute. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  10. ^ "Meet the Team | CARD". card.nih.gov. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  11. ^ "Trump administration fires workers at NIH's Alzheimer's research center, including incoming director". ABC News. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  12. ^ "Even for This Administration, Cuts to Alzheimer's Research Seemed Inconceivable". Esquire. 2025-02-20. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  13. ^ a b Maddow, Rachel (2025-02-21). "Republicans silent after Trump reportedly slashes funds for Alzheimer's center". MSNBC.com. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  14. ^ a b Sargent, Greg. "Oops: Trump-Musk Cuts Just Wrecked an NIH Org Championed by GOPers". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  15. ^ George, Judy (February 25, 2025). "Trump Team Fires Alzheimer's Staff; Herpesvirus and Alzheimer's ; MS Drug Switches". MedPageToday.
  16. ^ Somers, Kent (2017-06-25). "Arizona's TGen looks for CTE in living". The Arizona Republic. pp. C1, [1]. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  17. ^ Somers, Kent. "New study by Arizona's TGen will attempt to detect CTE through biomarkers in living". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  18. ^ "Phoenix's TGen to conduct latest CTE research study". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  19. ^ "Study of Blood Test to Detect and Monitor Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in Former NFL Players Set for Kick-Off in Phoenix". Aethlon Medical, Inc. 2018-03-22. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
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