This profile is part of a series to highlight the researchers who will be honored at a ceremony for UNMC’s 2020 Scientist Laureate, Distinguished Scientist and New Investigator Award recipients.
- Name: Kyle Hewitt, PhD
- Title: Assistant professor, UNMC Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy
- Joined UNMC: 2018
- Hometown: Bristol, Vermont
New Investigator Award
New Investigator Awards go to outstanding UNMC scientists who in the past two years have secured their first funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense or other national sources. New investigators also had to demonstrate scholarly activity such as publishing their research and/or presenting their findings at national conventions.
Research focus:
- Hematopoiesis
- Anemia
- Leukemia
The goal of my research is: to establish the gene regulatory networks involved in blood development, homeostasis and stress response mechanisms. We defined a family of regulatory enhancers that are switched on during periods of stress and may be important mediators of blood production in the context of anemia and leukemia. Moreover, we are interested in assigning function to a family of sterile alpha motif domain proteins expressed in blood progenitors.
My research will make a difference: in our conceptual and functional understanding of the critical components involved in hematopoietic stress responses. Revealing mechanisms underlying gene activation and genes/proteins that drive the acceleration of red blood cell production in anemia will lead to new therapeutics and diagnostic markers in blood diseases.
The best advice I’ve ever been given: from several scientific mentors is to persevere in spite of difficulty and delay. I try to focus on tangible endpoints to complex scientific projects, which serve as anchors in thinking and planning.
Three things you may not know about me:
- I grew up on a dirt road in a rural Vermont town.
- My first job was a ski instructor
- I enjoy woodworking.
Congratulations Kyle!
Congratulations Kyle!
Congratulations! Keep up the good work.
Congratulations Dr. Hewitt!