Kurt R. Brunden, PhD
Research Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Director of Drug Discovery
Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research
Contact InformationCenter for Neurodegenerative Disease Research
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Maloney Building, 3rd Floor
3600 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Tel: 215-615-5262
Email: kbrunden@upenn.edu
Specialty Division
Neuropathology and Neurodegeneration
Research Expertise
Dr. Brunden oversees drug discovery and translational research programs in the areas of Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal lobar degeneration and Parkinson’s disease. His laboratory encompasses all aspects of the drug discovery process, with mechanistic and target validation research, in vitro assay development and optimization, high-throughput compound screening (HTS), and in vivo compound assessment, including pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic analyses, safety pharmacology and efficacy testing in neurodegenerative disease models.
Education
BS (Biology/Health Chemistry), Western Michigan University, 1980
PhD (Biochemistry), Purdue University, 1985
Specialty Certification
Postgraduate Training
Postdoctoral Fellow, Mayo Clinic and Foundation, 1985-87
Instructor and Research Associate, Mayo Clinic and Foundation, 1988
Awards and Honors
Graduated Magna Cum Laude, Western Michigan University, 1980
Merck Award, Department of Chemistry, Western Michigan University, 1980
NIH Competitive Predoctoral Training Award, Purdue University, 1981-84
Outstanding Research Award, Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, 1987
Travel Award, American Society for Neurochemistry, 1988
Memberships and Professional Organizations
Society for Neuroscience, 1991-present
American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1992-2008
American Chemical Society, 2005-08
NIH NINDS NSD-C Study Section, 2009-16
-------- Chartered Member, 2009-12
-------- Chair, 2010-12
-------- Ad Hoc Member, 2012-16
Alzheimer's Disease Drug Discovery Foundation, 2010-present
-------- Scientific Review Board, 2010-21
-------- Grant Reviewer, 2013-present
NIH-NCATS Therapeutics Discovery Special Emphasis Panel, Grant Reviewer, 2012
NIH NINDS NSD-A Study Section, Ad Hoc Member, 2014
NIH NINDS Epilepsy CWOW Study Section, Ad Hoc Member, 2015
NIH NIA U01 Drug Development Study Section, 2015-22
NIH NINDS NSD-B Study Section, 2017-18
Cohen Veterans Bioscience, Advisory Board, Modeling Alliance for Systems Pharmacology in Tauopathies; 2017-19
NIH NINDS CWOW and ADRD Special Emphasis Panel, 2018
Alzheimer's Association, Reviewer for Annual Conference, 2019-present
NIH NIA Alzheimer Centers for Discovery of New Drugs Special Emphasis Panel, 2019
NIH NINDS NST-1 Study Section, Reviewer, 2020
Web Links
Selected Publications
A small molecule microtubule-stabilizing agent safely reduces Aβ plaque and tau pathology in transgenic mouse models of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Yao Y, Muench M, Alle T, Zhang B, Lucero B, Perez-Tremble R, McGrosso D, Newman M, Gonzalez DJ, Lee V-MY, Ballatore C and Brunden KR, Alzheimer’s & Dementia 20(): 4540-4558, 2024
Design, synthesis and evaluation of an anti-trypanosomal [1,2,4] triazolo [1,5-a] pyrimidine probe for photoaffinity labeling studies.
Lucero B, Francisco KR, Varricchio C, Liu LJ, Yao Y, Brancale A, Brunden KR, Caffrey CR and Ballatore C, ChemMedChem 19(): e202300656, 2024
Targeting Endogenous Tau in Seeded Tauopathy Models Inhibits Tau Spread.
Jang E, Hoxha K, Mozier D, Insana A, Farber E, Changolkar L, Zhang B, Chio TI, Crowe A, Cehn R, Mercken M, Lee E, Luk K, Brunden KR, Lee VM-Y and Xu H, J. Neuroscience 44(): e0877242024, 2024
MUSUT2 regulates tau spreading via adensoinergic signaling mediated ASAP1 pathway in neurons.
Xu H, Qiu Q, Hu P, Hoxha K, Jang E, O’Reilly M, Kim C, He Z, Marotta N, Changolklar L, Zhang B, Wu H, Schellenberg GD, Kraemer B, Luk KC, Lee EB, Brunden KR, Trojanowski JQ and Lee VM-Y, Acta Neuropathol 147(): 55, 2024
Identification of small molecules and related targets that modulate tau pathology in a seeded primary neuron model
Gibbons GS, Gould H, Lee V-MY, Crowe A and Brunden KR, J. Biol. Chem. 299(): 104876, 2023
Structure-activity relationships, tolerability and efficacy of microtubule-active 1,2,4-triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines as potential candidates to treat human African Trypanosomiasis
Monti L, Liu LJ, Varricchio C, Lucero B, Alle T, Yang W, Bem-Shalom I, Gilson M, Brunden KR, Brancale A, Caffrey CR and Ballatore C, ChemMedChem In press(): , 2023
A microtubule stabilizer ameliorates protein pathogenesis and neurodegeneration in mouse models of repetitive traumatic brain injury.
Zhao X, Zeng W, Xu H, Sun Z, Hu Y, Peng B, McBride JD, Duan J, Deng J, Zhang B, Kim S-J, Zoll B, Saito T, Sasaguri H, Saido TC, Ballatore C, Yao H, Wang Z, Trojanowski JQ, Brunden KR, Lee VM-Y, He Z, Science Translational Medicine 15(): eabo6889, 2023
Microtubule-Stabilizing 1,2,4-Triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines as Candidate Therapeutics for Neurodegenerative Disease: Matched Molecular Pair Analyses and Computational Studies Reveal New Structure-Activity Insights
Alle T, Varricchio C, Yao Y, Lucero B, Nzou G, Stefania D, Muench M, Hkoa V, Oukoloff K, Cornex A-S, Francisco K, Caffrey C, Lee V, Smith A III, Brancale A, Brunden KR and Ballatore C, J Med Chem 64(): 1073-1102, 2023
Preclinical characterization and IND-enabling safety studies for PNT001, an antibody that recognizes cis-pT231 tau
Foster K, Manca M, McClure K, Koivula P, Trojanowski JQ, Havas D, Chancellor S, Goldstein L, Brunden KR, Kraus A and Ahlijanian MK, Alzheimer's & Dementia online ahead of print(): , 2023
Abundant co-pathologies of polyglucosan bodies, frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TDP-43 inclusions, and aging-related tau astrogliopathy in a family with GBE1 mutation
Uemura MT, Suh E, Robinson JL, Brunden KR, Grossman M, Irwin DJ, Lee VM-Y, Trojanowski JQ, Lee EB and Van Deerlin VM, Neuropath Applied Neurobiol 49(1): e12865, 2022
