The Burgess lab seeks to understand the molecular mechanisms of synapse formation andmaintenance at two sites in the nervous system: the peripheral neuromuscular junction andthe retina. In all of these studies, we are addressing basic molecular mechanisms, but thesebasic mechanisms have relevance to human neuromuscular and neurodevelopmentaldisorders. Our continued research on the genetics underlying these disorders, and ourcontinuing effort to identify new genes involved in these processes, will increase ourunderstanding of the molecules required to form and maintain synaptic connectivity in thenervous system.
Dr. Burgess received his B.S. in Biochemistry from Michigan State University (1990) and his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Stanford University (1996). After a postdoctoral fellowship at Washington University, St. Louis, Dr. Burgess took a faculty position at The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor in 2001 and is now a full Professor. Research in the Burgess lab seeks to understand the molecular mechanisms of synapse formation and maintenance at two sites in the nervous system: the peripheral neuromuscular junction and the retina. In all of these studies, we are addressing basic molecular mechanisms, but these basic mechanisms have relevance to human neuromuscular and neurodevelopmental disorders. The lab is now heavily invested in developing and studying precision models of inherited peripheral neuropathies (Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease). We are increasingly using the mouse models we have generated to test therapeutic strategies in preclinical studies, especially related to gene therapy approaches, with the goal of translating these findings to patients. Dr. Burgess has also assumed a number of leadership roles both institutionally and nationally. Of particular relevance, he is on the scientific advisory boards of the Charcot-Marie-Tooth Association, the Hereditary Neuropathy Foundation and the Talia Duff Foundation, and he was the Chair of the NIH study section for Cellular and Molecular Biology of Neurodegeneration until 2020. Internally, he is the director for the cooperating Ph.D. program in Neuroscience with Tufts University.