Dr. Klinge’s research focuses on the molecular mechanisms accounting for acquired endocrine resistance in breast cancer and the role of sex in mitigating the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in response to environmental pollutants and high fat diet. Current research in endocrine resistant breast cancer involves identifying the role of miRNAs and lncRNAs, defining the role of the RNA methylation reader Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein A2/B1 (HNRNPA2B1) as a reader of the m6A mark in pri-miRNAs, and defining lipidomics in anacardic acid-mediated signaling. Third year Ph.D. student Belinda Petri is a doctoral candidate on this project. With Dr. Matt Cave we are exploring the impact of sex on epitrianscriptomics in mouse liver in a high fat diet + polychlorinated biphenol (PCB)-induced NAFDL in a new NIH R21 grant. Techniques in the lab include cell-based studies on transcriptional regulation of miRNA and lncRNA expression and function, RNA seq, m6A-seq, Seahorse extracellular bioanalyzer assays of mitochondrial and cellular bioenergetics, protein-protein interaction, membrane-initiated/nongenomic signaling by estrogens and endocrine disruptors, and quantitative data analyses. Dr. Klinge teaches graduate courses in the Graduate Program in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics and in the first year M.D. curriculum. She is the PI of two NIH R21 grants with additional UofL funding for a project on the anti-cancer activity of anacardic acid in collaboration with Dr. David Schultz in Biology. She is the “Summer Endocrine Research Training Program” that annually provides research training for 6 second year M.D. students that is supported by NIH T35 DK072923. She is Editor for the journal Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology. During her 24 years at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, she has mentored 2 M.S. students, 7 Ph.D. students, and 19 post-docs in her lab. Her lab has hosted over 50 undergraduate and 22 medical students doing summer research.