Dean Burkin Lab

Mission

Developing transformative therapeutics and diagnostics for life-threatening rare muscle diseases.

Key areas of focus

  • Examining the a7β1 integrin and its effects on disease progression in muscular dystrophies.
  • Identifying integrin-enhancing small molecules that may be useful in the treatment of muscle disease.
  • Establishing non-invasive tests to assist in the diagnosis and prognosis of muscular dystrophy.
  • Developing therapeutics for muscular dystrophies such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and Laminin-a2-related congenital muscular dystrophy (LAMA2-CMD).

Lab team

Dean Burkin, Ph.D., professor of Pharmacology and interim chair of Physiology and Cell Biology, is a world-renowned expert on the role integrins and laminin play in muscle disease. The Burkin Lab was the first to show that the alpha 7 beta 1-integrin can serve as a surrogate for the loss of dystrophin in DMD. Dr. Burkin has led pioneering studies to show that the laminin-111 protein can substitute for the loss of merosin in LAMA2-CMD. This has resulted in the development of protein and small molecule therapeutics which have been patented for the treatment of muscular dystrophy.

  • Dean Burkin, Ph.D.: Principal Investigator
  • Ryan Wuebbles, Ph.D.: Research Assistant Professor
  • Ariany Oliveira-Santos: Postdoctoral Scholar
  • Marisela Dagda, MS: Research Associate

Notable research findings

  • Identified a novel form of cardiac dysfunction in humans and mice caused by mutations in the a7 integrin gene.
  • Discovered alpha 7 beta 1-integrin enhancing small molecules and demonstrated they can prevent disease progression in preclinical models of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
  • Showed that Laminin-111 can serve as an effective protein replacement therapy in preclinical models of LAMA2-CMD.
  • Used Spatial-Omics to identify novel biomarkers to monitor disease progression and drug efficacy in children with LAMA2-CMD.

Equipment, technology and techniques

  • Spatial-Omics
  • Transgenic and knockout mice
  • High-resolution confocal and spatial imaging

Active grants and research projects

  1. Laminin protein therapy for the treatment of Laminin-a2 deficient congenital muscular dystrophy.
    • Award: 1R01NS136281-01
    • Funding organization: National Institute of Health (NIH) - National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
  2. Optimization of an integrin enhancing molecule for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. 
    • Award: 9R42OD030543-02A
    • Funding organization: National Institute of Health (NIH) - Office of the Director (OD)