Shedding light on exceedingly rare biological events.

Driven By Biology.

The Dean Lab aims to develop and apply cutting-edge microscopy instrumentation and analyses to gain insight into otherwise intractable biological problems . As part of a National Cancer Institute Cellular Cancer Biology Imaging Research Center, we seamlessly collaborate with leading scientists, including Drs. Gaudenz Danuser (UTSW), Reto Fiolka (UTSW), Sean Morrison (UTSW), Jim Amatruda (USC), and Peter Sorger (HMS), to build scalable solutions that advance our knowledge of early metastatic colonization events.

As a member of a National Institutes of General Medical Sciences Biomedical Technology Development and Dissemination Center with Drs. Klaus Hahn and Gaudenz Danuser, we make advanced optical probes, light-sheet microscopes, and time-series analysis software available to diverse users internationally. At UTSW, we work with both basic and clinical scientists to improve our understanding of clinically relevant biological processes. Ultimately, we strive to generate a collaborative ecosystem, whereby advances in microscopy inspire new biological questions, which in turn drive the development of new and biologically motivated imaging techniques.

We are located in the Cecil H. and Ida Green Department of Systems Biology, and the Lyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics at UT Southwestern Medical Center,

Contact Us

6000 Harry Hines Blvd.

Dallas, TX, 75390

kevin.dean@utsouthwestern.edu

Research

Autonomous Microscopy

 

We are developing a series of self-driving microscopes that leverage cutting-edge computer vision routines to adaptively image diverse specimens.

Molecular Multiplexing

 

To increase the molecular information content of high-resolution fluorescence microscopy, we are developing custom instrumentation that integrates spectral unmixing and cyclic immunofluorescence.

Content Rich Histopathology

 

The foundation of modern pathology is H&E imaging of thinly sectioned (5 microns) formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded specimens. To build upon this, we are developing a high-throughput microscope capable of imaging cm-scale specimens with 300 nm isotropic resolution.

Funding

  • IMAGING MECHANISMS OF METASTATIC TUMOR FORMATION IN SITU

    An application to establish a cancer cell imaging program that aims to probe the mechanisms of metastatic tumor formation in the context of the host environment. Proposed work establishes novel microscopy with unprecedented resolution while maintaining sufficient experimental throughput to discover the relevant metastasis driving processes at the single cell level.

    Role: Principal investigator.

  • UTSW-UNC CENTER FOR CELL SIGNALING ANALYSIS

    The proposed Biomedical Technology Development and Dissemination Center aims to consolidate and distribute imaging-based technology for the study of cellular signals. The Center will combine computer vision, light-sheet microscopy, and advanced imaging probes to visualize, control, and model molecular activities at the level of microns and seconds. The technology will be tested and refined in diverse biological systems and disseminated to the greater scientific community in partnerships with microscopy core facilities and established distribution platforms (Addgene, GitHub, ImageJ/Fiji, Applied Scientific Instrumentation).

    Role: Principal investigator.

  • NEURONAL SIGNALING MECHANISMS OF STRESS-INDUCED ANHEDONIA IN THE LATERAL HABENULA

    The objective of this grant is to determine how stress affects activity in the lateral habenula – a brain region that encodes rewards, is sensitive to stress, and is implicated in depression – and how altered lateral habenula activity leads to diminished reward responsivity in mice.

    Role: Collaborator

  • PRUNE BELLY SYNDROME: MECHANISMS OF FILAMIN A MUTATIONS

    The goal of this research is to evaluate the role of Filamin A in Prune Belly Syndrome, which is a rare, morbid to lethal congenital disease that results in poor abdominal musculature, urinary tract dilation, and undescended testes in males.

    Role: Co-Investigator.

  • PHYSICAL MECHANISMS OF CELL REARRANGEMENTS DURING GERMBAND EXTENSION IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER

    This research aims to identify how developing tissues and organs use forces to achieve morphogenesis by measuring tissue material properties directly calibrated micro-cantilevers in combination with light sheet microscopy. From a comprehensive map of material properties and cellular dynamics, we will be able to computationally infer the pattern of forces driving morphogenesis.

    Role: Collaborator

  • LINKING FUNCTION, STRUCTURE, AND MOLECULAR IDENTITY OF LATERAL HABENULA NEURONS

    This grant aims to evaluate the lateral habenula, a region in the brain that is particularly important to motivated behavior. Specifically, we will evaluate information encoding, projections to the midbrain, location, and gene expression, to identify functional classes of neurons in the lateral habenula.

    Role: Collaborator

  • CANCER CENTER SUPPORT GRANT – UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER

    The Simmons Cancer Center is organized as a matrix center that integrates cancer research, clinical cancer care, and cancer control outreach across the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and its affiliated hospital systems, UTSW Health System, Parkland Health and Hospital System, Children’s Medical Center of Dallas, and UTSW Moncrief Cancer Institute in Fort Worth.

    Role: Other.

Get in Touch

Interested in collaborating, or joining the team?