Brian P. Johnson
- Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Department of Biomedical Engineering
- Bioengineering
- 775 Woodlot Drive Room 3315
- East Lansing MI 48824
- bjohnson@msu.edu
RESEARCH INTERESTS
My interdisciplinary research laboratory specializes in the design, manufacturing, automation and testing of human derived models of development and disease to study intercellular signaling. We employ digital manufacturing (CNC machining and 3D printing) to construct biomimetic microenvironments that recapitulate intercellular signaling in development and disease. Current research directions include 1) identifying the potential for chemical mixtures to disrupt epithelial: mesenchymal signaling in orofacial development leading to cleft lip/palate 2) developing high-throughput multicellular models of breast and prostate cancers to identify mechanisms of treatment resistance and uncover therapeutic targets in the cancer microenvironment 3) using multicellular models of the hypothalamic: pituitary: thyroid axis to inform computational modeling of thyroid homeostasis and perturbation by chemical insults. Our translational research goals are to develop strategies and enabling technologies that increase precision in the treatment of disease and to identify chemical exposures that lead to birth defects in vulnerable populations. Undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral candidates in the biological sciences and engineering are encouraged to connect with us and discover how they might tackle important challenges to human health in the Johnson Lab.
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
Michigan Technological University, B.S., 2004, Biology
University of Wisconsin, Ph.D., 2013, Molecular and Environmental Toxicology
University of Wisconsin, Postdoctoral, 2014-2019, Biomedical Engineering
AFFILIATED WEBSITES
https://johnsonlab.iq.msu.edu/
https://phmtox.msu.edu/people/faculty/brian-p-johnson-ph-d/