Nenad Bursac
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Bursac's research interests include: Stem cell, tissue engineering, and gene based therapies for heart and muscle regeneration; Cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmias; Organ-on-chip and tissue engineering technologies for disease modeling and therapeutic screening; Small and large animal models of heart and muscle injury, disease, and regeneration.
The focus of my research is on application of pluripotent stem cells, tissue engineering, and gene therapy technologies for: 1) basic studies of striated muscle biology and disease in vitro and 2) regenerative therapies in small and large animal models in vivo. For in vitro studies, micropatterning of extracellular matrix proteins or protein hydrogels and 3D cell culture are used to engineer rodent and human striated muscle tissues that replicate the structure-function relationships present in healthy and diseased muscles. We use these models to separate and systematically study the roles of structural and genetic factors that contribute cardiac and skeletal muscle function and disease at multiple organizational levels, from single cells to tissues. Combining cardiac and skeletal muscle cells with primary or iPSC-derived non-muscle cells (endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, immune system cells, neurons) allows us to generate more realistic models of healthy and diseased human tissues and utilize them to mechanistically study molecular and cellular processes of tissue injury, vascularization, innervation, electromechanical integration, fibrosis, and functional repair. Currently, in vitro models of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Pompe disease, dyspherlinopathies, and various cardiomyopathies are studied in the lab. For in vivo studies, we employ rodent models of volumetric skeletal muscle loss, cardiotoxin and BaCl2 injury as well as myocardial infarction and transverse aortic constriction to study how cell, tissue engineering, and gene (viral) therapies can lead to safe and efficient tissue repair and regeneration. In large animal (porcine) models of myocardial injury and arrhythmias, we are exploring how human iPSC derived heart tissue patches and application of engineered ion channels can improve cardiac function and prevent heart failure or sudden cardiac death.
Appointments and Affiliations
- Professor of Biomedical Engineering
- Associate Professor in Medicine
- Professor in Cell Biology
- Member of the Duke Cancer Institute
- Co-Director of the Duke Regeneration Center
Contact Information
- Office Location: CIEMAS 1141, Durham, NC 27708
- Office Phone: (919) 660-5510
- Email Address: nenad.bursac@duke.edu
- Websites:
Education
- Ph.D. Boston University, 2000
- B.S.E. University of Belgrade (Serbia), 1994
Research Interests
Embryonic and adult stem cell therapies for heart and muscle disease; cardiac and skeletal muscle tissue engineering; cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmias; genetic modifications of stem and somatic cells; micropatterning of proteins and hydrogels.Courses Taught
- BIOLOGY 493: Research Independent Study
- BME 301L: Bioelectricity (AC or GE)
- BME 394: Projects in Biomedical Engineering (GE)
- BME 493: Projects in Biomedical Engineering (GE)
- BME 494: Projects in Biomedical Engineering (GE)
- BME 507: Cardiovascular System Engineering, Disease and Therapy (GE, BB, EL)
- BME 578: Quantitative Cell and Tissue Engineering (GE, BB, MC)
- BME 791: Graduate Independent Study
- BME 792: Continuation of Graduate Independent Study
- CELLBIO 493: Research Independent Study
- EGR 393: Research Projects in Engineering
- NEUROSCI 301L: Bioelectricity (AC or GE)
In the News
- Gene Therapy for Heart Attacks in Mice Just Got More Precise (Dec 13, 2022)
- Mending a Broken Heart (Feb 11, 2022)
- Tweaked Genes Borrowed From Bacteria Excite Heart Cells in Live Mice (Feb 3, 2022 | Pratt School of Engineering)
- Exercising Muscle Combats Chronic Inflammation On Its Own (Jan 25, 2021 | Pratt School of Engineering)
- No Ordinary Gel: New Tools to Help the Body Repair Brain and Muscle Tissue (Nov 5, 2019 | Pratt School of Engineering)
- Immune Cells Help Older Muscles Heal Like New (Oct 1, 2018 | Pratt School of Engineering)
- Building a Better Brain (Aug 6, 2018 | Duke Medicine Alumni Magazine)
- Inner Workings: The race to patch the human heart (Jun 27, 2018)
- Engineers Grow Functioning Human Muscle from Skin Cells (Jan 9, 2018 | Pratt School of Engineering)
- Beating Heart Patch is Large Enough to Repair the Human Heart (Nov 28, 2017 | Pratt School of Engineering)
- Beating Heart Patch is Large Enough to Repair the Human Heart (Nov 28, 2017 | Pratt School of Engineering)
- Bacterial Genes Boost Current in Human Cells (Oct 18, 2016 | Pratt School of Engineering)
- Bacterial Genes Boost Current in Human Cells (Oct 18, 2016)
- Tissue-Patching a Broken Heart (Oct 6, 2016)
- Tissue-Patching a Broken Heart (Oct 6, 2016 | Pratt School of Engineering)
- Nerd Watch video: Duke researchers work to grow custom muscles (Mar 24, 2015 | NBC News)
- First Contracting Human Muscle Grown in Lab (Jan 13, 2015)
- First Contracting Human Muscle Grown in Laboratory (Jan 13, 2015 | Pratt School of Engineering)
- Self-healing muscles (May 23, 2014 | UNC-TV’s "North Carolina Now")
- Scientists progress in quest to grow muscle tissue (Apr 8, 2014 | The Wall Street Journal)
- Scientists create the first lab-grown muscle that's 'as strong as the real thing’ (Apr 2, 2014 | The Independent)
- Self-Healing Engineered Muscle Grown in the Laboratory (Apr 1, 2014)
- Scientists grow muscles in the lab that can heal themselves (Apr 1, 2014 | NBC News)
- Self-healing muscle grown in the lab (Apr 1, 2014 | BBC News)
- Self-Healing Engineered Muscle Grown in the Laboratory (Mar 31, 2014 | Pratt School of Engineering)
Representative Publications
- Nguyen, HX; Wu, T; Needs, D; Zhang, H; Perelli, RM; DeLuca, S; Yang, R; Pan, M; Landstrom, AP; Henriquez, C; Bursac, N, Author Correction: Engineered bacterial voltage-gated sodium channel platform for cardiac gene therapy., Nature Communications, vol 14 no. 1 (2023) [10.1038/s41467-023-43260-9] [abs].
- Needs, D; Wu, T; Nguyen, HX; Henriquez, CS; Bursac, N, Prokaryotic voltage-gated sodium channels are more effective than endogenous Nav1.5 channels in rescuing cardiac action potential conduction: an in silico study., American Journal of Physiology Heart and Circulatory Physiology, vol 325 no. 5 (2023), pp. H1178-H1192 [10.1152/ajpheart.00287.2023] [abs].
- Chakraborty, A; Peterson, NG; King, JS; Gross, RT; Pla, MM; Thennavan, A; Zhou, KC; DeLuca, S; Bursac, N; Bowles, DE; Wolf, MJ; Fox, DT, Conserved chamber-specific polyploidy maintains heart function in Drosophila., Development, vol 150 no. 16 (2023) [10.1242/dev.201896] [abs].
- Zhang, Q; Zhan, R-Z; Patsy, M; Li, B; Chen, Y; Lipes, BD; Bursac, N; Truskey, GA, Differential Response of Engineered Human Cardiac Tissues to Delta and Omicron COVID-19 Virus., Journal of the American Heart Association, vol 12 no. 12 (2023) [10.1161/JAHA.123.029390] [abs].
- Yan, R; Cigliola, V; Oonk, KA; Petrover, Z; DeLuca, S; Wolfson, DW; Vekstein, A; Mendiola, MA; Devlin, G; Bishawi, M; Gemberling, MP; Sinha, T; Sargent, MA; York, AJ; Shakked, A; DeBenedittis, P; Wendell, DC; Ou, J; Kang, J; Goldman, JA; Baht, GS; Karra, R; Williams, AR; Bowles, DE; Asokan, A; Tzahor, E; Gersbach, CA; Molkentin, JD; Bursac, N; Black, BL; Poss, KD, An enhancer-based gene-therapy strategy for spatiotemporal control of cargoes during tissue repair., Cell Stem Cell, vol 30 no. 1 (2023), pp. 96-111.e6 [10.1016/j.stem.2022.11.012] [abs].