Dr. Kellie O’Rourke

Assistant Professor of Biology | Biology
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Kellie O'Rourke

About

Dr. O’Rourke is a proud first-generation college graduate from Carroll College, where she conducted undergraduate research on the vector for West Nile virus under the mentorship of Dr. Jennifer Glowienka. She is excited to return to her alma mater to teach Anatomy and Physiology and to introduce one of her favorite courses, Reproductive Science and Medicine, to the Carroll curriculum.

Dr. O’Rourke earned her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Washington State University in 2016, where she studied retinoic acid signaling and the first wave of spermatogenesis in the laboratory of Dr. Michael Griswold. She then completed an IRACDA Teaching Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Minnesota, conducting research under Dr. David Zarkower on the role of Liver Receptor Homolog 1 (Lrh1) in the mouse testis. During her postdoc, she also received extensive college-level teaching training, working under the mentorship of Dr. Tamara Mans and Dr. Carrie Opheim Ketel while teaching at North Hennepin Community College and Normandale Community College.

For five years, Dr. O’Rourke taught and conducted research at St. Catherine University in Saint Paul, MN, where she also became actively involved in the Genomics Education Partnership (GEP), a national consortium of over 200 institutions dedicated to engaging undergraduates in genomics research. Through this collaboration, she mentors students in gene annotation, evolutionary biology, and bioinformatics projects, helping them contribute to real-world research and peer-reviewed publications.  She is the first GEP faculty member in the state of Montana.

Dr. O’Rourke’s research explores how hormones and environmental chemicals influence male reproductive health and the production of sperm. Her work focuses on the following topics:

  1. How the testis develops and maintains sperm production:
    Dr. O’Rourke has helped uncover the role of a gene called Lrh1, a master regulator in the testes. LRH1 controls how supporting cells (Sertoli cells) develop and function and plays a role in reprogramming cells to change their “sex identity” under certain conditions. She has also studied retinoic acid (a form of Vitamin A), showing how its levels shape the timing and number of spermatogonial stem cells in early life.
  2. Impact of environmental chemicals on fertility:
    Her lab now focuses on phthalates, chemicals commonly found in plastics and personal care products, which are known to disrupt hormone signaling. Her and her collaborator Dr. Estela Jauregui at Midwestern University are investigating how these chemicals may damage sperm production through interference with LRH1 signaling.
  3. Empowering students through genomics research:
    In addition to laboratory studies, Dr. O’Rourke is a leader in the Genomics Education Partnership (GEP).  The GEP is a national collaboration that trains undergraduate students to use bioinformatics tools to study the evolution of genes across fruit fly species. Students contribute original research, including gene annotations of important developmental pathways, which are published and shared with the scientific community.

Overall, her research bridges molecular biology, histology, genetics, and environmental health, with the goal of better understanding male fertility, informing public health, and inspiring the next generation of scientists through hands-on research experiences.

Peer Reviewed Research Publications

  1. Lawson ME, Saeed H, Tran C, Chhina S, Vincent JA, Schwartz B, Agrimson KS, Ellison CE, Rele CP, Reed LK. Gene model for the ortholog of lin-28 in Drosophila simulans. MicroPubl Biol. 2025 Jun 4;2025:10.17912/micropub.biology.000963. doi: 10.17912/micropub.biology.000963. PMID: 40535526; PMCID: PMC12174996.
  2. Bicanovsky GN, Senkow KJ, McColl C, Mierisch J, Agrimson KS, Long LJ, Leatherman J, Rele CP, Reed LK. Gene model for the ortholog of Sik3 in Drosophila mojavensis. MicroPubl Biol. 2025 Apr 1;2025:10.17912/micropub.biology.001032. doi: 10.17912/micropub.biology.001032. PMID: 40235672; PMCID: PMC11997711.
  3. Lopatto D, Silver Key SC, Van Stry M, Siders J, Leung W, Sandlin KM, Rele CP; Genomics Education Partnership; Reed LK. Supporting the democratization of science during a pandemic: genomics Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) as an effective remote learning strategy. J Microbiol Biol Educ. 2023 Sep 22;24(3):e00039-23. doi: 10.1128/jmbe.00039-23. PMID: 38230306; PMCID: PMC10790580.
  4. Agrimson KS, Minkina A, Sadowski D, Wheeler A, Murphy MW, Gearhart MD, Bardwell VJ, Zarkower D. Lrh1 can help reprogram sexual cell fate and is required for Sertoli cell development and spermatogenesis in the mouse testis. PLoS Genet. 2022 Feb 22;18(2):e1010088. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010088. PMID: 35192609; PMCID: PMC8896720.
  5. Lindeman RE, Murphy MW, Agrimson KS, Gewiss RL, Bardwell VJ, Gearhart MD, Zarkower D. The conserved sex regulator DMRT1 recruits SOX9 in sexual cell fate reprogramming. Nucleic Acids Res. 2021 Jun 21;49(11):6144-6164. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkab448. PMID: 34096593; PMCID: PMC8216462.
  6. Agrimson KS, Hogarth CA. Germ Cell Sex Differentiation. In: Skinner MK, editor. Encyclopedia of Reproduction. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Waltham (MA): Elsevier; 2018. p. 428–434. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-801238-3.64508-7.
  7. Agrimson KS, Oatley MJ, Mitchell D, Oatley JM, Griswold MD, Hogarth CA. Retinoic acid deficiency leads to an increase in spermatogonial stem number in the neonatal mouse testis, but excess retinoic acid results in no change. Dev Biol. 2017 Dec 15;432(2):229-236. doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2017.10.002. Epub 2017 Oct 14. PMID: 29037932; PMCID: PMC5736010.
  8. Agrimson KS, Onken J, Mitchell D, Topping TB, Chiarini-Garcia H, Hogarth CA, Griswold MD. Characterizing the Spermatogonial Response to Retinoic Acid During the Onset of Spermatogenesis and Following Synchronization in the Neonatal Mouse Testis. Biol Reprod. 2016 Oct;95(4):81. doi: 10.1095/biolreprod.116.141770. Epub 2016 Aug 3. PMID: 27488029; PMCID: PMC5176362.
  9. Agrimson KS, Hogarth CA. Germ Cell Commitment to Oogenic Versus Spermatogenic Pathway: The Role of Retinoic Acid. Results Probl Cell Differ. 2016;58:135-66. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-31973-5_6. PMID: 27300178.