Kathryn (Casey) Pflug
Dr. Raquel Sitcheran
Entrance year: 2016
Hometown: Melbourne, Florida
“My research focuses on understanding the dynamics of a well-defined immune pathway, NF-κB, in cell development and in cancer. Specifically, my project seeks to understand how the regulator of this pathway, NF-κB-inducing kinase (NIK), reduces adipose growth and protects animals from diet induced obesity. I am also investigating how inhibition of NIK can act as a chemotherapeutic against glioblastoma.”
Research Specialties
Medical Genetics- Human and Animal
Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Genetics
Why did you choose the Genetics PhD program at A&M?
After my experience in my undergraduate lab, I knew I wanted to pursue a degree in Genetics and the PhD program here at A&M proved to be a perfect fit due to being a specialized program in genetics, having a broad curriculum to cover diverse interests in genetics, and offering a scope of research from a variety of labs across the university.
What is at least one big lesson you have learned in the Genetics graduate program that you think is widely applicable to your future pursuits?
A general lesson that I have experienced throughout my PhD, is to have goals and make plans to achieve them, whether it pertains to your research project or overall career goals, but to also be flexible and adaptable as your research or experiences can constantly take you on a series of different routes.
Fun Facts:
What is your favorite thing about life in College Station?
Truly the lifelong friends that I have made during my time here.
Do you have any hidden talents? If so, what are they.
As a huge movie buff, I’m always recalling random movie details that may pertain to any situation.
Do you have any pets? If so, please tell us about them.
I have two dachshunds, Finley and Riley. They are also some of the best things to come out of my time here at A&M. I love them to bits, and they make any day better as they are always happy to see me and such cuddle bugs. They have big personalities with Finley being the older, bossy brother and Riley forever a puppy at heart.
Explore Casey’s most recent research publications:
First author publication:
Pflug KM, Sitcheran R. Targeting NF-κB-Inducing Kinase (NIK) in Immunity, Inflammation, and Cancer. Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Nov 11;21(22):8470. doi: 10.3390/ijms21228470. PMID: 33187137; PMCID: PMC7696043. https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/22/8470/htm
Co-author Publications:
Jiang Z, Pflug K, Usama SM, Kuai D, Yan X, Sitcheran R, Burgess K. Cyanine-Gemcitabine Conjugates as Targeted Theranostic Agents for Glioblastoma Tumor Cells. J Med Chem. 2019 Oct 24;62(20):9236-9245. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.9b01147. Epub 2019 Oct 11. PMID: 31469566; PMCID: PMC7050787. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.9b01147
Usama SM, Jiang Z, Pflug K, Sitcheran R, Burgess K. Conjugation of Dasatinib with MHI-148 Has a Significant Advantageous Effect in Viability Assays for Glioblastoma Cells. ChemMedChem. 2019 Sep 4;14(17):1575-1579. doi: 10.1002/cmdc.201900356. Epub 2019 Aug 7. PMID: 31322832. https://chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/cmdc.201900356
Kamradt M, Jung J, Pflug KM, Lee DW, Fanniel V, Sitcheran R. NIK Promotes Metabolic Adaptation of Glioblastoma Cells to Bioenergetic Stress. Cell Death and Disease. 2020 (in press).