
Ky'Era Actkins is a graduate student in Biomedical Sciences at Meharray Medical College in Nashville, TN. Ky'Era earned a Bachelor's of Science at the University of Alabama majoring in Biology. Ky'Era is a graduate student in the laboratory of Dr. Lea Davis at Vanderbilt University Medical Center as part of the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance, and she is interested in using computational genomics to study health disparities with a focus on reproductive health. Her research currently focuses on polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), where she as part of the electronic Medical Records & Genomics (eMERGE) Network have developed computable phenotyping approaches to identify cases of PCOS for downstream genomic studies. Ky'Era is also interested in diversity in research, and she is currently a member of the American Society of Human Genetics Diversity & Inclusion Task Force.
Recent Publications
- Actkins, KV, Beasley, HK, Faucon, AB, Davis, LK, Sakwe, AM. Calcium-Sensing Receptor Polymorphisms at rs1801725 Are Associated with Increased Risk of Secondary Malignancies. J Pers Med 2021; 11 (7): . PubMed PMID:34357109 PubMed Central PMC8304025.
- Actkins, KV, Srinivasan, S, Spees, LP, Turbitt, E, Allen, CG, Roberts, MC. Uptake of Genetic Testing Among Patients with Cancer At Risk for Lynch Syndrome in the National Health Interview Survey. Cancer Prev Res (Phila) 2021; 14 (10): 927-932. PubMed PMID:34341014 PubMed Central PMC8492535.
- Dennis, JK, Sealock, JM, Straub, P, Lee, YH, Hucks, D, Actkins, K, Faucon, A, Feng, YA, Ge, T, Goleva, SB et al.. Clinical laboratory test-wide association scan of polygenic scores identifies biomarkers of complex disease. Genome Med 2021; 13 (1): 6. PubMed PMID:33441150 PubMed Central PMC7807864.
- Actkins, KV, Singh, K, Hucks, D, Velez Edwards, DR, Aldrich, M, Cha, J, Wellons, M, Davis, LK. Characterizing the Clinical and Genetic Spectrum of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in Electronic Health Records. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2021; 106 (1): 153-167. PubMed PMID:32961557 PubMed Central PMC7765638.
- Zhang, Y, Ho, K, Keaton, JM, Hartzel, DN, Day, F, Justice, AE, Josyula, NS, Pendergrass, SA, Actkins, K, Davis, LK et al.. A genome-wide association study of polycystic ovary syndrome identified from electronic health records. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2020; 223 (4): 559.e1-559.e21. PubMed PMID:32289280 .
- Joo, YY, Actkins, K, Pacheco, JA, Basile, AO, Carroll, R, Crosslin, DR, Day, F, Denny, JC, Velez Edwards, DR, Hakonarson, H et al.. A Polygenic and Phenotypic Risk Prediction for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Evaluated by Phenome-Wide Association Studies. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2020; 105 (6): . PubMed PMID:31917831 PubMed Central PMC7453038.
Ky'Era Actkins on Twitter
@CaitlinAllenPhD @PPHFutureLeader Great question! Based on our results, I would be interested to see how other variables like healthcare access, employment, and geographic location play a role in our association.
@erin_turbitt @PPHFutureLeader I am interested in understanding the relationship between the ADI and other variables like BMI and smoking within our dataset. I would also love to continue exploring how the ADI impacts other health outcomes related to PCOS as well.
Happy to participate in my first Twitter conference with @PPHFutureLeader. Check out my poster on #PCOS and socioeconomic status. #PPHposter
Wow! I'm completely speechless. Thank you to the @PPHFutureLeader organizers for this award! twitter.com/PPHFutureLeade…
Congratulations @K_Actkins! pic.twitter.com/Uzf8L5q53K
— Future Leaders in Precision Public Health (@PPHFutureLeader) October 14, 2021
Thank you!!! twitter.com/inthosegenespo…
#BIGxWeek Huge congrats to a newly minted Geneti-SIS @K_Actkins, who defended her PhD thesis, "Leveraging Electronic Health Records to Disentangle the Clinical and Genomic Burden of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome on Diverse Populations" from @VUMCgenetics last week@BlackInGenetics
— Dr. Jay Electronica (@inthosegenespod) October 4, 2021
@jscdavis No worries! It was also recorded 😊
@MyaLRoberson Thank you!!! 😁
Thank you! I’m so lucky to have you as my close friend, collaborator, and a constant inspiration throughout this journey. Beyond happy that we’ve been able to do this together. twitter.com/HKbeasley/stat…
I am so incredibly proud of my classmate and science bestie @K_Actkins for SUCCESSFULLY defending her Ph.D. today. It was phenomenal!
— Heather K. Beasley, PhD (@HKbeasley) October 1, 2021
She has accomplished much in her early career and I can’t wait to see the amazing difference she will continue to make in reproductive health! pic.twitter.com/sHxkheEopb
I passed my defense!!! 😊🙌🏾 Thank you to everyone who came to my presentation and gave their support. It meant the world to me. Officially #PhDone
@kaylainthelab Thank you!
Thank you for sharing! I can’t believe it’s finally that time. #DefenseIncoming twitter.com/VUMCgenetics/s…
Looking forward to @K_Actkins Defense on Friday at 9am Central! @MeharryMedical & Preceptor Lea Davis of @VUMC_Medicine
— Vanderbilt Genetics Institute (@VUMCgenetics) September 27, 2021
DM for Zoom link pic.twitter.com/Vpt6m3IuHG
Oh, this is interesting! I can't help but wonder what @Velez_Edwards @JackiePiekos and @JackieHellwege think about these #fibroid results twitter.com/Eric_Fauman/st…
Hard to keep up with the @SbotGwa, but I saw a result yesterday which seems to be relatively novel so it looks like it's time for a weekend edition of "Who's that causal gene?" https://t.co/oNuhV2vX6I pic.twitter.com/zD57KJdrdQ
— Eric Fauman (@Eric_Fauman) September 19, 2021