Assistant Professor
Emory University School of Medicine
Dr. Kathryn E. Oliver is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Emory University School of Medicine and a member of the Center for Cystic Fibrosis and Airways Disease Research (CF-AIR) – a joint program of Emory and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. She completed a B.S. (Zoology) and M.S. (Microbiology) at Auburn University, followed by Ph.D. (Genetics) from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and Postdoctoral Fellowship (Functional Genomics) from Emory University. At Auburn, Dr. Oliver's M.S. thesis encompassed the study of metabolically driven differences in virulence factor production among non-CF and CF-adapted isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. While conducting her Ph.D. thesis in the UAB CF Research Center, Dr. Oliver was awarded an NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA Predoctoral Fellowship to investigate alterations in F508del-CFTR biogenesis following ribosomal perturbation in both cell culture systems and CF mice.
During postdoctoral training at Emory, Dr. Oliver’s work was funded by a CFF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Burroughs Wellcome Fund Collaborative Research Grant, and NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award. She focused on evaluating whether suppression of specific ribosomal proteins may serve as a novel therapeutic strategy for overcoming CFTR premature termination codons (PTCs). Dr. Oliver conducted basic studies regarding the impact of ribosome velocity on translation kinetics and polypeptide folding (e.g. ribosome run-off assays, Ribo-seq, RNA-seq, tRNA microarrays, and mRNA stability assays), in addition to biochemical protocols measuring protein maturational efficiency, interdomain assembly, plasma membrane trafficking, and transepithelial ion transport. She presented findings from this work at the 2017 NACFC and received the “Junior Investigator Best Abstract in Basic Science Award."
In 2021, Dr. Oliver was promoted as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Emory Department of Pediatrics. Her present research employs interdisciplinary approaches in functional genomics, biochemistry, and cellular physiology to better delineate genetic factors that influence severity of rare CFTR variants. Attention is placed on PTCs and other refractory CFTR defects ineligible for highly effective modulator therapy, specifically evaluating underlying mechanisms responsible for genotype-phenotype correlation, pharmacologic responsiveness, and heterogeneity of patient outcomes. Dr. Oliver has discussed her work through invited presentations at meetings such as NACFCs, EMBO/EMBL Symposia, Gordon Research Conferences, NIH Workshops, and CFF-sponsored Research Conferences. She also serves on the National CFF Guidelines Steering Committee; CFF Guidelines Committee for CFTR-Related Metabolic Syndrome (CRMS) and CF Screen Positive Inconclusive Disorder; and the Georgia Department of Public Health Newborn Screening CF Subcommittee. Dr. Oliver is currently funded by continuation of her NIH R00, as well as a CFF K-Boost Award and CF-AIR Pilot Grant. She is hiring, so please do not hesitate to contact her if interested.
In addition to rigorous research, Dr. Oliver participates in civic and science-based outreach activities – many of which are motivated by her experience as mother to a young child with CF. While at UAB, she served as the CF Research Center’s Team Leader for the Alabama Chapter Great Strides walk, two-time Presenting Scholar for the community seminar series “Discoveries In The Making,” and President of Graduate Biomedical Student Outreach. For efforts such as these, she received the "2016 UAB Community Impact Award," an honor given annually to an outstanding undergraduate, graduate, or professional student (including ~19,000 eligible candidates at the University). Since moving to Emory, she participated in the CFF Georgia Chapter Tomorrow's Leaders Program, “Wish for Wendy” softball tournament, and Atlanta Great Strides. Due to her strong passion for empowering the next generation of women in STEM, she founded the Association for Women in Science (AWIS) Georgia Chapter. Under Dr. Oliver’s leadership, this organization received the "2021 National AWIS Innovative Outreach Award," distinguished among 30+ AWIS chapters across the United States.