{"id":2490,"date":"2026-06-10T11:48:45","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T16:48:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/biology\/?page_id=2490"},"modified":"2026-06-10T11:48:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T16:48:45","slug":"dr-kristen-walton-research-profile","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/biology\/dr-kristen-walton-research-profile\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Kristen Walton | Research Profile"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/div>
\"Kristen<\/span><\/div>

Dr. Kristen Walton<\/span><\/h2><\/div>

Title:<\/strong><\/span> Professor<\/span><\/span>
\nEmail:<\/strong> kwalton1@missouriwestern.edu<\/a><\/span>
\nPhone:<\/strong> (816)271-5613<\/a><\/span>
\nAccepting Students:<\/strong> <\/span>Yes<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>

Quick Bio<\/span><\/h2><\/div>

Dr. Kristen Walton has been at MoWest since 2006. Her research interests include normal intestinal physiology, inflammatory bowel disease, interactions between normal microbiota or dietary components and the host organism, and biology education research. She teaches classes on topics that include animal physiology, immunology, pathophysiology, and others.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

Education\/Academic Qualifications<\/span><\/h2><\/div>

B.S. Biology, with minors in Chemistry and French, Missouri State University
\nPh.D., Physiology, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>

Effects of Probiotics and Prebiotics on Intestinal Inflammation in Animal and Cell Culture Models<\/h2><\/div>

Probiotics are microbes that, when consumed in sufficient quantities, promote health. Prebiotics are dietary molecules that support the growth of beneficial microbes in the intestine. The overall aims of this project are to study the effects of various probiotic bacteria or prebiotics on intestinal inflammation, using cultured mammalian cells and\/or induced colitis in mice as the experimental models. For cell culture-based projects, students will learn mammalian cell culture techniques, and other techniques that may include nucleic acid isolation, PCR, and immunofluorescent staining and microscopy. For mouse-based projects, students will learn laboratory animal handling and assessment of clinical signs of colitis, and other techniques that may include nucleic acid isolation, PCR, histology, immunohistochemistry, and western blotting.<\/p>\n<\/div>

Requirements<\/h3><\/div>

Reliability is the most important requirement! Preference given to students who have completed BIO205 and who have an interest in physiology and\/or immunology.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>

Past Research \/ Publications<\/span><\/h3><\/div>

Students from my research group have presented posters on their research at on-campus symposia as well as state, regional and national conferences<\/span><\/p>\n

Peer-reviewed publications:<\/span><\/h3>\n