Kai Kessenbrock
Biography
Kai Kessenbrock, Ph.D., is Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Chemistry at the University of California, Irvine. Kessenbrock serves as Principal Investigator at the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center, the Center for Complex Biological Systems, and the Institute for Immunology. Kessenbrock received a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology and Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany, followed by postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco, where research focused on microenvironmental regulation of mammary stem cell function.
Kessenbrock's research examines the role of the tumor microenvironment in breast cancer initiation and progression, with particular emphasis on BRCA1-driven tumorigenesis and the emergence of immunosuppressive myeloid cells. The laboratory employs single-cell genomics and spatial transcriptomics approaches to map cellular diversity in normal and diseased breast tissue. Kessenbrock served as Bionetwork Coordinator for the Human Cell Atlas Project and led the Human Breast Cell Atlas Seed Network, contributing to efforts that produced a spatially resolved single-cell genomic atlas of the adult human breast published in Nature in 2023.
Kessenbrock received the Pathway to Independence Award from the NIH/National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society Research Scholar Grant, and the Emerging Leader Award from the Mark Foundation for Cancer Research. Kessenbrock is a Humboldtian of the Alexander von Humboldt Society and received the Feodor Lynen Postdoctoral Fellowship. Earlier career recognitions include the Avrion Mitchison Prize for Rheumatology and the Hans Hench Prize for Clinical Immunology.
Return to topEducation
- Diploma in Molecular Biology, University of Heidelberg, 2003
- Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology; Ludwig Maximilian University, 2009
Distinctions
- Feodor Lynen Postdoctoral Fellow, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, 2009
- Finalist for the NIH Earl Stadtman Investigators Tenure-Track Program, 2014
- Hans Hench Prize for Clinical Immunology, 2010
- John H. Blaffer Lecture Series Invited Speaker, The University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2020
- Emerging Leader Award, Mark Foundation for Cancer Research, 2025
- Avrion Mitchison Prize for Rheumatology, 2009
- Susan G. Komen Postdoctoral Scholar, 2009
- Outstanding paper Award, Rosa-Laura and Hartmut Wekerle foundation, 2008
Areas of Expertise
- Breast Cancer Biology
- Single-Cell Transcriptomics
- Mammary Stem Cell Regulation
- Tumor Microenvironment Interactions
- Spatial Genomics
- BRCA1-Driven Tumorigenesis
- Immunosuppressive Myeloid Cells
Recent Publications
- Nee K, Ma D, Nguyen QH, Pein M, Gong Y, Jin S, Hernandez G, Pervolarakis N, Alshetawi H, Rauf M, Dave KR, Boyapati K, Calderon C, Markaryan A, Edwards R, Lin E, Parajuli R, Nie Q, LaBarge M, Kessenbrock K, “Preneoplastic stromal cells drive BRCA1-mediated breast tumorigenesis” (opens in new tab), Nature Genetics, vol. 55, no. 4, pp. 595-606, 2023.
- Gong Y, Srinivasan SS, Zhang R, Kessenbrock K, Zhang J, “scEpiLock: A Weakly Supervised Learning Framework for cis-Regulatory Element Localization and Variant Impact Quantification for Single-Cell Epigenetic Data” (opens in new tab), Biomolecules, vol. 12, no. 7, pp. 874, 2022.
- Lombardo JA, Aliaghaei M, Nguyen QH, Kessenbrock K, Haun JB, “Microfluidic platform accelerates tissue processing into single cells for molecular analysis and primary culture models” (opens in new tab), Nature Communications, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 2858, 2021.
- Egea V, Kessenbrock K, Lawson D, Bartelt A, Weber C, Ries C, “Let-7f miRNA regulates SDF-1α-and hypoxia-promoted migration of mesenchymal stem cells and attenuates mammary tumor growth upon exosomal release” (opens in new tab), Cell Death and Disease, vol. 12, no. 6, pp. 516, 2021.
- Lefebvre AEYT, Ma D, Kessenbrock K, Lawson DA, Digman MA, “Automated segmentation and tracking of mitochondria in live-cell time-lapse images” (opens in new tab), Nature Methods, vol. 18, no. 9, pp. 1091-1102, 2021.
Most Cited Publications
- Kessenbrock K., Plaks V., Werb Z., “Matrix Metalloproteinases: Regulators of the Tumor Microenvironment” (opens in new tab), Cell, vol. 141, pp. 52-67, 2010.
- Kessenbrock K., Krumbholz M., Schoenermarck U., Back W., Gross W.L., Werb Z., Groene H.J., Brinkmann V., Jenne D.E., “Netting neutrophils in autoimmune small-vessel vasculitis” (opens in new tab), Nature Medicine, vol. 15, pp. 623-625, 2009.
- Caudrillier A., Kessenbrock K., Gilliss B.M., Ngyen J.X., Marques M.B., Monestier M., Toy P., Werb Z., Looney M.R., “Platelets induce neutrophil extracellular traps in transfusion-related acute lung injury” (opens in new tab), Journal of Clinical Investigation, vol. 122, pp. 2661-71, 2012.
- Lawson DA, Kessenbrock K, Davis RT, Pervolarakis N, Werb Z, “Tumour Heterogeneity and metastasis in single-cell resolution” (opens in new tab), Nature Cell Biology, vol. 20, pp. 1349-1360, 2018.
- Alshetaiwi H, Pervolarakis N, McIntyre L, Ma D, Nguyen QH, Rath JA, Nee K, Hernandez G, Evans K, Torosian L, Silva A, Walsh C, Kessenbrock K, “Defining the emergence of myeloid-derived suppressor cells in breast cancer using single-cell transcriptomics” (opens in new tab), Science Immunology, vol. 5, no. 44, 2020.
- Kessenbrock K., Fröhlich L., Sixt M., Lämmermann T., Bateman A., Belaaouaj A., Ring J., Ollert M., Fässler R., Jenne D.E., “Proteinase 3 and neutrophil elastase enhance inflammation by inactivating anti-inflammatory progranulin” (opens in new tab), Journal of Clinical Investigation, vol. 118, pp. 2438-2447, 2008.
- Nguyen QH, Pervolarakis N, Blake K, Ma D, Davis RT, James J, Phung AT, Willey E, Kumar R, Jabart E, Driver I, Rock J, Goga A, Khan SA, Lawson DA, Werb Z, Kessenbrock K, “Profiling human breast epithelial cells using single cell RNA sequencing identifies cell diversity” (opens in new tab), Nature Communications, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 2028, 2018.
- Kessenbrock K., Wang C.Y., Werb Z., “Matrix metalloproteinases in stem cell regulation and cancer” (opens in new tab), Matrix Biology, vol. 44, pp. 184-190, 2015.
- Kessenbrock K., Dijkgraaf G.J., Lawson D.A., Littlepage L.E., Shahi P., Pieper U., Werb Z., “A role for matrix metalloproteinases in the regulation of mammary stem cells via the Wnt signaling pathway” (opens in new tab), Cell Stem Cell, vol. 13, pp. 300-13, 2013.
- Kessenbrock K., Dau T., Jenne D.E., “Tailor-made inflammation: how neutrophil serine proteases modulate the inflammatory response” (opens in new tab), Journal of Molecular Medicine, vol. 89, pp. 23-28, 2010.
Contact Information
Email: kai.kessenbrock@uci.edu
Phone: (949) 824-2718
Address: Sprague Hall 114, Irvine, CA 92697-1700
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Last updated on 3/12/2026.