Kimberly M. Alonge

Assistant Professor, Medicinal Chemistry & DOM Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology, and Nutrition; Program Director for Matrix Biology at the UW Medicine Diabetes Institute

Alonge Lab, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry Faculty, Plein Center for Aging Faculty, School Faculty

Telephone: 206-685-3543

Email: kalonge@uw.edu

Expertise:
Central Nervous System, Diabetes, Extracellular Matrices, Geriatrics, Glycobiology, Laser Capture Microdissection, Mass Spectrometry, Neurodegeneration, Neurodevelopmental Disease, Neuroscience, Nutrition, Obesity and Bariatric Surgery, Pregnancy and Fetal Pharmacology, Translational Research

Taking Students: Yes

Education

  • B.S. (Biology), Salisbury University
  • Ph.D. (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology), West Virginia University School of Medicine
  • Postdoc (UW Medicine Diabetes Institute, School of Medicine, Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition), University of Washington

Research Interests

  • Perineuronal net reorganization
  • Chondroitin and heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycan sulfation patterning
  • Glycan sequencing technology
  • Obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, neuropsychiatric disorders

Recent Publications

A key role for parabrachial nucleus CGRP neurons in FGF1-Induced anorexia. Scarlett JM, Hwang E, Richardson NE, Bryan CL, Redford I, Quah E, Odderson ETR, Choi PP, Hwang MK, Phan BA, Kadlec K, Alonge KM, Morton GJ, Williams KW, Schwartz MW. Mol Metab. 2025 Apr 4:102138. doi: 10.1016/j.molmet.2025.102138. Online ahead of print.

Neurocircuit regeneration by extracellular matrix reprogramming.Su S, Levasseur IN, Alonge KM.Neural Regen Res. 2025 Aug 1;20(8):2300-2301. doi: 10.4103/NRR.NRR-D-24-00506. Epub 2024 Sep 6.

Chondroitin sulfate glycan sulfation patterns influence histochemical labeling of perineuronal nets: a comparative study of interregional distribution in human and mouse brain. Belliveau C, Théberge S, Netto S, Rahimian R, Fakhfouri G, Hosdey C, Davoli MA, Hendrickson A, Hao K, Giros B, Turecki G, Alonge KM, Mechawar N.Glycobiology. 2024 Jun 22;34(8):cwae049. doi: 10.1093/glycob/cwae049.

Characterizing the human intestinal chondroitin sulfate glycosaminoglycan sulfation signature in inflammatory bowel disease.Francis KL, Zheng HB, Suskind DL, Murphree TA, Phan BA, Quah E, Hendrickson AS, Zhou X, Nuding M, Hudson AS, Guttman M, Morton GJ, Schwartz MW, Alonge KM, Scarlett JM.Sci Rep. 2024 May 23;14(1):11839. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-60959-x.

Assessing translational applicability of perineuronal net dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease across species. Hendrickson AS, Francis KL, Kumar A, Le JP, Scarlett JM, Keene CD, Tovar DA, Alonge KM. Front Neurosci. 2024 Apr 30;18:1396101. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1396101. eCollection 2024. PMID: 38745932

Versican Associates with Tumor Immune Phenotype and Limits T-cell Trafficking via Chondroitin Sulfate. Hirani P, McDermott J, Rajeeve V, Cutillas PR, Jones JL, Pennington DJ, Wight TN, Santamaria S, Alonge KM, Pearce OMT.Cancer Res Commun. 2024 Apr 3;4(4):970-985. doi: 10.1158/2767-9764.CRC-23-0548. PMID:38517140

Perineuronal net deglycosylation associates with tauopathy-induced gliosis and neurodegeneration. Logsdon AF, Foresi B, Hu SJ, Quah E, Meuret CJ, Le JP, Hendrickson AS, Redford IK, Kumar A, Phan BA, Doan TP, Noonan C, Hendricks NE, Wheeler JM, Kraemer BC, Alonge KM. J Neurochem. 2024 Feb 5. doi: 10.1111/jnc.16067. Online ahead of print. PMID: 38317026

Inter-alpha-trypsin inhibitor (IαI) and hyaluronan modifications enhance the innate immune response to influenza virus in the lung. Tang F, Reeves SR, Brune JE, Chang MY, Chan CK, Waldron P, Drummond SP, Milner CM, Alonge KM, Garantziotis S, Day AJ, Altemeier WA, Frevert CW. Matrix Biol. 2024 Feb;126:25-42. doi: 10.1016/j.matbio.2024.01.004. Epub 2024 Jan 15. PMID: 38232913

Diabetes exacerbates inflammatory bowel disease in mice with diet-induced obesity. Francis KL, Alonge KM, Pacheco MC, Hu SJ, Krutzsch CA, Morton GJ, Schwartz MW, Scarlett JM. World J Gastroenterol. 2023 Sep 7;29(33):4991-5004. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v29.i33.4991.

Distinct Roles for Brain and Pancreas in Basal and Postprandial Glucose Homeostasis. Alonge KM, Porte D, Schwartz MW. Diabetes. 2023 May 1;72(5):547-556. doi: 10.2337/db22-0969.

The “Loss” of Perineuronal Nets in Alzheimer’s Disease: Missing or Hiding in Plain Sight? Scarlett JM, Hu SJ, Alonge KM. Front Integr Neurosci. 2022 May 25;16:896400. doi: 10.3389/fnint.2022.896400. eCollection 2022.

Changes in Brain Matrix Glycan Sulfation Associate With Reactive Gliosis and Motor Coordination in Mice With Head Trauma. Alonge KM, Herbert MJ, Yagi M, Cook DG, Banks WA, Logsdon AF. Front Behav Neurosci. 2021 Oct 28;15:745288. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.745288. eCollection 2021.

Decoding perineuronal net glycan sulfation patterns in the Alzheimer’s disease brain. Logsdon AF, Francis KL, Richardson NE, Hu SJ, Faber CL, Phan BA, Nguyen V, Setthavongsack N, Banks WA, Woltjer RL, Keene CD, Latimer CS, Schwartz MW, Scarlett JM, Alonge KM. Alzheimers Dement. 2022 May;18(5):942-954. doi: 10.1002/alz.12451.