Faculty
Brant Burkhardt
Associate Professor, MBS Graduate Director
CONTACT
Office: BSF 206
Phone: 813/974-5968
Lab: BSF 238, 240
Email
EDUCATION
- B.S., College of New Jersey, Biology, 1993
- M.S., Clemson University, Microbiology, 1996
- Ph.D., University of Florida, Biomedical Sciences, 2001
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Adjunct Professor, Burlington County College, 2010
Senior Research Associate, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2006-2011
Post-Doc, University of Pennsylvania, 2003-2006
RESEARCH
Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease consisting of hyperglycemia caused by the failure of glucose regulation from either lack of insulin production (type 1 diabetes, T1D) or insulin sensitivity (type 2 diabetes, T2D). Specifically, T1D is an autoimmune disease culminating in the loss of pancreatic β-cells and insulin production. An estimated 1.25 million Americans have been diagnosed with T1D with about 18.5K youths being newly diagnosed every year. Recent studies have indicated that the incidence and prevalence of T1D are increasing globally.
Despite this unprecedented increase in T1D, interventional therapeutic options are almost nonexistent. There is currently only one very recently approved therapeutic, teplizumab, shown to inhibit T1D progression. However, the only available treatment following clinical diagnosis is lifelong exogenous insulin. Therefore, novel effective and affordable therapies are needed to preserve existing pancreatic β-cells from autoimmunity and the hyperinflammatory milieu to inhibit or ultimately prevent T1D. Our laboratory is focused on the discovery of novel therapeutics to inhibit or delay the progression of T1D. Evidence from our laboratory and others have indicated that bioactive ingredients within the affordable natural product of Cornus officinalis (CO) may inhibit T1D onset via stimulation of antioxidant pathways promoting pancreatic β-cell survival and decreased insulitis.
Cornus officinalis is a deciduous shrub or tree that is widely known for its fruit that contains a wide variety of medicinal value that has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for over 2,000 years for a multitude of conditions. Our laboratory has published numerous papers revealing the therapeutic potential of C. officinalis in the early treatment of T1D by identifying the beneficial and protective effects via in-vitro, in-vivo and proteomic approaches.
Recent laboratory papers
We have direct collaborations with both industry (Dr. John Chen, Evergreen Herbs) and medical professionals (Dr. Clare Zhang, Practice of Oriental Medicine) in the field of ethnopharmacology to optimize our approach and enhance our research.
Our laboratory is focused on identifying novel ethnopharmacological approaches along with their mechanism of action for the early interventional treatment of T1D.
usf collaborations
In addition to the major research focus on T1D of our laboratory, we also have active NIH funded collaborative research projects providing with Dr. Stan Stevens from Molecular Biosciences and Dr. Amy Alman from the College of Public Health. Dr. Stan Stevens utilizes proteomics to elucidate complex biological mechanisms underlying progression of human disease such as alcohol induced hepatic steatosis. Dr. Amy Alman investigates the biological relationships between inflammation, periodontal disease, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
GRADUATE STUDENTS
Justin Fletcher
underGRADUATE STUDENTS
Anna Wade, Sama Nayakanti
graduate student alumni
| Name | Degree | Year | Current Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grace Dougan | MD- Fellowship | 2013 | Pediatric Endocrine Associates |
| Shari Moak | MS-Bio | 2013 | |
| Whitney Ratliff | Ph.D. | 2015 | NIH NCCIH Program Officer |
| Melanie Kuehl | Ph.D. | 2015 | Scientist- Lonza |
| Mark Athanason | Ph.D. | 2016 | Senior Scientist Merck |
| Katie MarElia-Bennett | Ph.D. | 2018 | HLA Director-MUSC |
| Arielle Tawfik | Ph.D. | 2020 | IVD Regulatory Affairs Scientist at Almac Group |