Alan P. Kenny, MD, PhD
- Attending Neonatologist, Division of Neonatology
- Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
- alan.kenny@cchmc.org
- Board Certified
About
Biography
My research areas include developmental biology, esophageal arresia, tracheoesophageal fistula and airway malacia. This work involves molecular developmental pathophysiology of abnormal tracheoesophageal development.
I’m also interested in innovative molecular treatments for abnormal or injured lung alveolization. My team and I look for the molecular machinery that regulates the first stages of respiratory and digestive organ development. In particular, we study the foregut progenitor cells in the ventral endoderm, which are the early building blocks of the liver, lungs and pancreas.
The questions my team and I are attempting to answer are:
- How are the typical foregut organ progenitor cells specified?
- How are signaling pathways coordinated together so that different organs can be produced from the common foregut progenitor?
- What endoderm genetic systems get activated due to the induction from the mesoderm that controls precise foregut organ development?
I began my research interests after working with pregnant patients in neonatology fetal care. I was first inspired to be a healthcare provider and physician when I saw that this career could alter patient outcomes by enhancing early clinical trajectories.
The awards that I have been recognized for include:
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) K08 Award
- Procter Scholar
- Society for Pediatric Research (SPR) Fellow Basic Science Award
My research has been published in notable journals, such as Developmental Cell, Cell Reports and Developmental Dynamics.
MD: University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, 2002.
PhD: Biology.
Residency: Golisano Children’s Hospital at Strong, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 2002-2005.
Fellowship: Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, 2005-2008.
Certifications: In Pediatrics, 2007 American Board of Pediatrics; American Board of Pediatrics, Board Eligible in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, 2008.
Interests
Neonatal care; neonatal lung disease; neonatal malformations and anomalies
Services and Specialties
Interests
Lung progenitor development; stem cell differentiation; fetal malformations
Insurance Information
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Publications
Disrupted endosomal trafficking of the Vangl-Celsr polarity complex underlies congenital anomalies in Xenopus trachea-esophageal morphogenesis. Developmental Cell. 2025; 60(18):2487-2502.e4.
Formation and characterization of BMP2/GDF5 and BMP4/GDF5 heterodimers. BMC Biology. 2023; 21(1):16.
Demonstration of Safety in Wild Type Mice of npFOXF1, a Novel Nanoparticle-Based Gene Therapy for Alveolar Capillary Dysplasia with Misaligned Pulmonary Veins. Biologics: Targets & Therapy. 2023; 17:43-55.
Identification and validation of candidate risk genes in endocytic vesicular trafficking associated with esophageal atresia and tracheoesophageal fistulas. HGG Advances. 2022; 3(3):100107.
Endosome-Mediated Epithelial Remodeling Downstream of Hedgehog-Gli Is Required for Tracheoesophageal Separation. Developmental Cell. 2019; 51(6):665-674.e6.
A Retinoic Acid-Hedgehog Cascade Coordinates Mesoderm-Inducing Signals and Endoderm Competence during Lung Specification. Cell reports. 2016; 16(1):66-78.
Identification of genes expressed in the migrating primitive myeloid lineage of Xenopus laevis. Developmental Dynamics. 2016; 245(1):47-55.
Structure of protein related to Dan and Cerberus: insights into the mechanism of bone morphogenetic protein antagonism. Structure. 2013; 21(8):1417-1429.
Cincinnati Regional Incidence, Morbidity, and Mortality of Neonatal Foregut Defects and High Coincidence with Cardiovascular Malformations. Journal of neonatal biology. 2013; 02(01).
Prolonged FGF signaling is necessary for lung and liver induction in Xenopus. BMC Developmental Biology. 2012; 12:27.
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