Meet the Lab

Dean Burkin, Ph.D.

Professor of Pharmacology, Director, CMPP graduate Program

Dr. Dean J. Burkin is a Professor of Pharmacology and leads a research program focused on the role integrins and the extracellular matrix play in rare muscle disease. Dr. Burkin was the first to show the alpha7beta1 integrin can serve as a surrogate for the loss of dystrophin in DMD. Dr. Burkin has led pioneering studies to show laminin-111 protein can substitute for the loss of merosin in LAMA2-CMD. Dr. Burkin has identified protein and alpha7 integrin enhancing small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of muscular dystrophy.

Dr. Burkin received his B.Sc. (1st class Hons) in Developmental Biology and Genetics from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand and completed a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Genetics at the University of Colorado, USA. Dr. Burkin completed postdoctoral training in Genetics and Cell and Molecular Biology at Cambridge University, England and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA.

Ryan Wuebbles 

Research Associate Professor 

Marisela Dagda 

Research Associate 

Tatiana Fontelonga

Postdoctoral  

Pamela Barraza-Flores 

Graduate Student 

Christina Bates 

Graduate Student

Ariany Oliveria 

Graduate Student 

Hailey Hermann 

Masters Student 

Lizeth Acosta

Undergraduate Research Student