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Kearstin L Edmonds, MS, MBA

(K-ear-stin)

Connect

8592182879
ked232@uky.edu
741 S. Limestone Street, BBSRB

Positions

  • Scientist IV

College Unit(s)

Biography and Education

Biography

I am a scientist with over 15 years of experience in academic research environments, with a background spanning bench science, laboratory operations, grant support, and personnel supervision. My work has included mentoring and supervising research staff, coordinating multi-project research efforts, and managing day-to-day laboratory operations and resources. In addition to my research role, I serve in an administrative support capacity within the College of Medicine, focusing on research space coordination, workforce initiatives, and cross-unit communication. This combination of hands-on research and administrative experience provides me with a practical understanding of the operational and structural realities of academic research.

Education

MS, MBA

Research

I work in the laboratory of Dr. Rebecca Dutch at the University of Kentucky, where our research focuses on the molecular biology of respiratory viruses. The lab studies virus–host interactions and mechanisms of viral replication and pathogenesis, with the goal of understanding how these viruses assemble, spread, and evade host defenses.

Selected Publications

  1. Edmonds K, Dutch R. Respiratory Syncytial Virus Fusion Activity Syncytia Assay. Methods Mol Biol. 2025;2948:73-83. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-4666-3_5. PMID: 40879902.
  2. Leach M, Edmonds K, Ingram E, Dutch R, Wickramasinghe R, Chwatko M, Bhattacharyya D. Membrane Filtration of Nanoscale Biomaterials: Model System and Membrane Performance Evaluation for AAV2 Viral Vector Clarification and Recovery. Nanomaterials. 2025; 15(4):310. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15040310
  3. Neal HE, Barrett CT, Edmonds K, Moncman CL, Dutch RE. 2024. Examination of respiratory syncytial virus fusion protein proteolytic processing and roles of the P27 domain. J Virol 98:e01639-24. https://doi.org/10.1128/jvi.01639-24
  4. Thompson, R.E., Edmonds, K., Dutch, R.E.: Specific Residues in the C-Terminal Domain of the Human Metapneumovirus Phosphoprotein Are Indispensable for Formation of Viral Replication Centers and Regulation of the Function of the Viral Polymerase Complex. J Virol. 97, (2023). https://doi.org/10.1128/jvi.00030-23
  5. Paul, P., Edmonds, K.L., Baldridge, K.C., Bhattacharyya, D., Dziubla, T., Dutch, R.E., Hilt, J.Z.: Enhanced Inactivation of Pseudoparticles Containing SARS-CoV-2 S Protein Using Magnetic Nanoparticles and an Alternating Magnetic Field. ACS Appl Bio Mater. 5, 5140–5147 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsabm.2c00522
  6. Boggs, K.B., Edmonds, K., Cifuentes-Munoz, N., Najjar, F. El, Ossandón, C., Roe, M., Wu, C., Moncman, C.L., Creamer, T.P., Amarasinghe, G.K., Leung, D.W., Dutch, R.E.: Human Metapneumovirus Phosphoprotein Independently Drives Phase Separation and Recruits Nucleoprotein to Liquid-Like Bodies. mBio. 13, (2022). https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.01099-22
  7. Baldridge, K.C., Edmonds, K., Dziubla, T., Hilt, J.Z., Dutch, R.E., Bhattacharyya, D.: Demonstration of Hollow Fiber Membrane-Based Enclosed Space Air Remediation for Capture of an Aerosolized Synthetic SARS-CoV-2 Mimic and Pseudovirus Particles. ACS ES and T Engineering. 2, 251–262 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestengg.1c00369
  8. Barrett, C.T., Neal, H.E., Edmonds, K., Zamora, J.L.R., Popa, A., Smith, E.C., Webb, S.R., Dutch, R.E., Moncman, C.L.: Analysis of Hendra virus Fusion Protein N-Terminal Transmembrane Residues. Viruses. 13, (2021). https://doi.org/10.3390/v13122353
  9. Barrett, C.T., Neal, H.E., Edmonds, K., Moncman, C.L., Thompson, R., Branttie, J.M., Boggs, K.B., Wu, C.Y., Leung, D.W., Dutch, R.E.: Effect of clinical isolate or cleavage site mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein on protein stability, cleavage, and cell–cell fusion. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 297, (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100902