Rate My Professor Megan Keniry

Megan Keniry is a Professor in the Department of Biology within the School of Integrative Biological and Chemical Sciences at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, where she also serves as Assistant Vice President for Research Enhancement in the Division of Research. She earned her Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Oregon, conducting research on signal transduction pathways in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae under Dr. George Sprague at the Institute of Molecular Biology. Keniry completed her postdoctoral training in Dr. Ramon Parsons' laboratory at Columbia University's Institute for Cancer Genetics, investigating novel mechanisms of cancer signal transduction. Throughout her career at UTRGV, she has progressed from Assistant Professor to her current roles, actively mentoring students and directing programs such as the USDA Hispanic-Serving Institutions STEM program for high school, undergraduate, and graduate researchers.

Keniry's research focuses on signal transduction and gene expression mechanisms in prevalent cancers, including basal-like breast cancer and glioblastoma multiforme, with emphasis on the PI3K pathway, FOXO transcription factors, WNT signaling, and mitochondrial dynamics. Notable publications include "Emerging Therapies for Glioblastoma" (Cancers, 2024), "Differentiation activates mitochondrial OPA1 processing in cardiomyocytes" (Mitochondrion, 2024), "FOXO1 promotes the expression of canonical WNT target genes independently of β-catenin" (FEBS Open Bio, 2023), "The PI3K pathway impacts stem gene expression in a set of human cancers" (Oncotarget, 2020, cited 27 times), "CRISPR Cas9 Genome Editing in Human Cell Lines with Double Knock-in Reporter Gene" (Bio-Protocol, 2020), and earlier contributions such as "The role of PTEN signaling perturbations in cancer and in targeted therapy" (Oncogene, 2008). She holds a patent entitled "FOXO1-Targeted Therapy For The Treatment Of Cancer" filed in 2021. Keniry received the 2020 UTRGV Faculty Excellence Award for Student Mentoring and accepted the 2025 Oak Ridge Associated Universities Associate Member of the Year award on behalf of UTRGV as its ORAU councilor. Her commitment to student development is evident in advising numerous graduate theses and facilitating research opportunities through national partnerships.