Tim Kistner

Tim Kistner is originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and completed his B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology at Johns Hopkins University in 2017. Tim received his M.S. (2019) and PhD (2023) in the department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University under the direction of Dr. Daniel Lieberman. During his PhD, Tim studied the metabolic functions of myokine IL-6 to test the hypothesis that IL-6 acts to allocate energy, particularly free fatty acids, towards skeletal muscle during and after physical activity. To do this, he conducted both human and rodent exercise studies where IL-6 signaling was blocked and observed the metabolic outcomes. Tim defended his doctorate in August 2023 and joined the Katsanis-Simpson lab as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in October 2023. He is excited to work with Dr. Simpson exploring how myokines and catecholamines enhance cancer immunosurveillance through NK cell mobilization and redistribution.