About

Dr. Allison K Kruger, MD MPH is a Palliative Care specialist and a recent graduate from the Stony Brook University Hospital Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship. She joined the Palliative Medicine Section as faculty in August 2024. Dr. Kruger is board certified in Pediatrics, having completed her Pediatrics residency at Maimonides Medical Center and a fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Cohen Children's Medical Center. She also received her MPH from the Stony Brook Medicine Program in Public Health. Her unique expertise and training enable her to provide care to very complex patients. Dr. Kruger is passionate about transitions between pediatric and adult medicine and plans to build a specialized Palliative Care service for Adolescents and Young Adults, aiming to bridge the gap for this medically complex and vulnerable patient population. She is a born and raised New Yorker who loves New York sports and lives locally with her husband and three young children.

Research topics

• Chemistry
• Biology
• Medicine
• Endocrinology
• Biochemistry
• Cell biology
• Internal medicine
• Immunology

Selected publications

• HIF1α is a direct regulator of steroidogenesis in the adrenal gland

  Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences · 2021 · 23 citations

  • Endocrinology
  • Biology
  • Internal medicine

  Endogenous steroid hormones, especially glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids, derive from the adrenal cortex, and drastic or sustained changes in their circulatory levels affect multiple organ systems. Although hypoxia signaling in steroidogenesis has been suggested, knowledge on the true impact of the HIFs (Hypoxia-Inducible Factors) in the adrenocortical cells of vertebrates is scant. By creating a unique set of transgenic mouse lines, we reveal a prominent role for HIF1α in the synthesis of virtually all steroids in vivo. Specifically, mice deficient in HIF1α in adrenocortical cells displayed enhanced levels of enzymes responsible for steroidogenesis and a cognate increase in circulatory steroid levels. These changes resulted in cytokine alterations and changes in the profile of circulatory mature hematopoietic cells. Conversely, HIF1α overexpression resulted in the opposite phenotype of insufficient steroid production due to impaired transcription of necessary enzymes. Based on these results, we propose HIF1α to be a vital regulator of steroidogenesis as its modulation in adrenocortical cells dramatically impacts hormone synthesis with systemic consequences. In addition, these mice can have potential clinical significances as they may serve as essential tools to understand the pathophysiology of hormone modulations in a number of diseases associated with metabolic syndrome, auto-immunity or even cancer.

  DOI

• HIF2α regulates the synthesis and release of epinephrine in the adrenal medulla

  Journal of Molecular Medicine · 2021 · 11 citations

  • Endocrinology
  • Internal medicine
  • Biology

  The adrenal gland and its hormones regulate numerous fundamental biological processes; however, the impact of hypoxia signaling on adrenal function remains poorly understood. Here, we reveal that deficiency of HIF (hypoxia inducible factors) prolyl hydroxylase domain protein-2 (PHD2) in the adrenal medulla of mice results in HIF2α-mediated reduction in phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PNMT) expression, and consequent reduction in epinephrine synthesis. Simultaneous loss of PHD2 in renal erythropoietin (EPO)-producing cells (REPCs) stimulated HIF2α-driven EPO overproduction, excessive RBC formation (erythrocytosis), and systemic hypoglycemia, which is necessary and sufficient to enhance exocytosis of epinephrine from the adrenal medulla. Based on these results, we propose that the PHD2-HIF2α axis in the adrenal medulla regulates the synthesis of epinephrine, whereas in REPCs, it indirectly induces the release of this hormone. Our findings are also highly relevant to the testing of small molecule PHD inhibitors in phase III clinical trials for patients with renal anemia. KEY MESSAGES: HIF2α and not HIF1α modulates PNMT during epinephrine synthesis in chromaffin cells. The PHD2-HIF2α-EPO axis induces erythrocytosis and hypoglycemia. Reduced systemic glucose facilitates exocytosis of epinephrine from adrenal gland.

  DOI

• HIF2α is a direct regulator of neutrophil motility

  Blood · 2021 · 20 citations

  • Cell biology
  • Biology
  • Immunology

  Orchestrated recruitment of neutrophils to inflamed tissue is essential during the initiation of inflammation. Inflamed areas are usually hypoxic, and adaptation to reduced oxygen pressure is typically mediated by hypoxia pathway proteins. However, it remains unclear how these factors influence the migration of neutrophils to and at the site of inflammation during their transmigration through the blood-endothelial cell barrier, as well as their motility in the interstitial space. Here, we reveal that activation of hypoxia-inducible factor 2 (HIF2α) as a result of a deficiency in HIF prolyl hydroxylase domain protein 2 (PHD2) boosts neutrophil migration specifically through highly confined microenvironments. In vivo, the increased migratory capacity of PHD2-deficient neutrophils resulted in massive tissue accumulation in models of acute local inflammation. Using systematic RNA sequencing analyses and mechanistic approaches, we identified RhoA, a cytoskeleton organizer, as the central downstream factor that mediates HIF2α-dependent neutrophil motility. Thus, we propose that the novel PHD2-HIF2α-RhoA axis is vital to the initial stages of inflammation because it promotes neutrophil movement through highly confined tissue landscapes.

  DOI

Frequent coauthors

• Nicole Bechmann

  University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus

  13 shared

• Ben Wielockx

  11 shared

• Mathieu Deygas

  Université Paris Sciences et Lettres

  8 shared

• Grégoire Le Lay

  Laboratoire Matière et Systèmes Complexes

  8 shared

• Pablo Vargas

  Institut Curie

  8 shared

• Pablo J. Sáez

  University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf

  8 shared

• Mathilde Bernard

  Institut Pierre-Gilles de Gennes pour la Microfluidique

  8 shared

• Alessandra Palladini

  German Center for Diabetes Research

  7 shared

Labs

• Kruger LabPI

Education

• M.D.

  Stony Brook University Hospital

• Other

  Stony Brook Medicine Program in Public Health

• Other, Pediatrics

  Cohen Children's Medical Center

  2025

• Other

  Maimonides Medical Center

  2020

Similar researchers at Stony Brook University

• Scott McLennanh-145
• Anatoly I. Frenkelh-101
• Vitaly Citovskyh-98
• Michael R. Douglash-91
• Minghua Zhangh-89