Rate My Professor Dean Burkin

Dean Burkin, Ph.D., is Professor of Pharmacology and Interim Chair of the Department of Physiology and Cell Biology at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, England, completed postdoctoral training on muscle diseases at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and served as Assistant Professor of Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh from 2003 to 2005 before joining the University of Nevada, Reno in 2005. Burkin also directs the Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology Graduate Program and founded StrykaGen, commercializing patented therapeutics for muscular dystrophies licensed from the university.

A world-renowned expert on integrins and laminin in muscle disease, Burkin's research examines the α7β1 integrin and its role in disease progression in muscular dystrophies, including identification of integrin-enhancing small molecules, development of non-invasive diagnostic tests, and therapeutics for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and laminin-α2-related congenital muscular dystrophy (LAMA2-CMD). His lab was the first to demonstrate that the α7β1 integrin can surrogate dystrophin loss in DMD and that laminin-111 protein therapy substitutes for merosin deficiency in LAMA2-CMD, resulting in patented treatments in preclinical trials. Notable findings include a novel form of cardiac dysfunction from α7 integrin mutations, small molecules preventing DMD progression in models, and Spatial-Omics biomarkers for monitoring LAMA2-CMD. He has received NIH R01 grants for laminin protein therapy (1R01NS136281-01) and integrin optimization (9R42OD030543-02A), as well as Muscular Dystrophy Association funding. Key publications encompass 'Enhanced expression of the α7β1 integrin reduces muscular dystrophy and restores viability in dystrophic mice' (2001), 'α7β1-Integrin regulates mechanotransduction and prevents skeletal muscle injury' (2006), 'Laminin-111 protein therapy prevents muscle disease in the mdx mouse model for Duchenne muscular dystrophy' (2009), and 'Laminin-111 protein therapy reduces muscle pathology and improves viability of a mouse model of merosin-deficient congenital muscular dystrophy' (2012). In 2017, Burkin was awarded the University Foundation Established Innovator Award for his translational impact.