Dan’s laboratory has a long-standing interest in regenerative and stem cell biology with a focus on the heart and skeletal muscle. In their studies of the heart and skeletal muscle, the Garry laboratory utilizes an array of technologies including gene disruption strategies, transgenesis, single cell genome analysis, gene editing (TALEN and CRISPR technologies), inducible ES/EB model systems, hiPSC technologies, FACS and other cellular, biochemical and molecular biological techniques. In addition, their use of lower organisms such as zebrafish and newt, which are highly regenerative model systems have successfully uncovered critical regenerative factors. Human iPSCs are another important model for cardiovascular disease investigation for the lab. Using these technologies, the Garry lab was among the first to discover the molecular markers of stem cell populations that regulate critical networks during heart and skeletal muscle development and regeneration. For example, their studies have uncovered novel Ets and Forkhead transcription factors, microRNAs and signaling pathways that direct fate determination of stem cell populations. The manipulation of these pathways using chemical genetics and molecular technologies has provided a platform focused on rebuilding and repairing the injured heart and skeletal muscle.
Dan Garry (garry@umn.edu) is the Director of the Lillehei Heart Institute and the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Center at the University of Minnesota. Having obtained his M.D./Ph.D. degrees at the University of Minnesota, he completed postdoctoral research training at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. He served as the Director for the Center for Cardiac Regeneration and Stem Cell Biology at UT Southwestern, and he was the holder of the Gail Griffiths Hill Endowed Chair in Cardiology. In 2007, Dan was recruited to lead the cardiovascular enterprise at the University of Minnesota and was the recipient of the St. Jude Endowed Chair in Cardiovascular Sciences. He is a physician scientist and practices clinically in the field of advanced heart failure, mechanical circulatory support, and cardiac transplantation.
Dan has served as a mentor to more than 40 graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and clinical fellows, and has successfully directed their sponsored research projects and career development. His laboratory has been continuously funded by the NIH for more than fifteen years and he has directed large programmatic grants focused on stem cell biology and regenerative medicine (AHA DeHaan Myogenesis Network, NHLBI Progenitor Cell Biology Consortium, etc.). He has more than 100 scientific publications and representative publications.