Rate My Professor Kathleen J. Green

Kathleen J. Green, PhD, is the Joseph L. Mayberry, Sr., Professor of Pathology and Toxicology and Professor of Pathology and Dermatology in the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. She holds the position of Associate Director for Basic Sciences at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center. Green received her B.A. in Biology with Distinction from Pomona College in 1977 and her Ph.D. in Cell and Developmental Biology from Washington University in St. Louis in 1982. She completed postdoctoral training in the Department of Cell Biology at Northwestern University Medical School from 1982 to 1987. Her academic career at Northwestern began in 1987 as Research Assistant Professor in Cell Biology and Anatomy, followed by Assistant Professor in Pathology from 1987 to 1993, Associate Professor in Pathology and Dermatology from 1993 to 1997, and Professor since 1997. Additional roles include Associate Chair for Research and Graduate Education in Pathology, Program Leader for Tumor Invasion, Metastasis, and Angiogenesis, and Director/Co-Director of the Skin Disease Research Center Keratinocyte Core.

Green's research specializes in cell-cell adhesion, focusing on desmosomes and their roles in providing mechanical strength to tissues, signaling for development, differentiation, and disease pathogenesis in skin, heart, and cancer. Her lab employs transcriptomic, proteomic, imaging, biophysical, and animal models to study adhesion-related disorders like inherited skin diseases, autoimmune conditions, and melanoma. Highly cited publications include 'Deconstructing the skin: cytoarchitectural determinants of epidermal morphogenesis' (Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, 2011), 'Desmosomes: new perspectives on a classic' (Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2007), and recent works such as 'Epidermal stratification requires retromer-mediated desmoglein-1 recycling' (Developmental Cell, 2022). She has garnered over 24,000 citations. Major awards encompass the NIH MERIT Award, Alexander von Humboldt Research Award (2015), Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1999), Martin and Gertrude Walder Award for Research Excellence (2012), William Montagna Lectureship (2002), and Honorary Member of the Society for Investigative Dermatology (2019). Green has served as President of the Society for Investigative Dermatology (2010-2011), Secretary of the American Society for Cell Biology (2011-2017), and Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Cell Science, mentoring numerous trainees to leadership positions.