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
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
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
Distinct characteristics of limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 enchephalopathy in Lewy body disease.
Uemura MT, Robinson JL, Cousins KAQ, Tropea TF, Kargilis DC, McBride JD, Suh E, Xie SX, Xu Y, Porta S, Uemura N, Van Deerlin VM, Wolk DA, Irwin DJ, Brunden KR, Lee VM-Y, Lee EB and Trojanowski JQ, Acta Neuropathologica 143(): 15-31, 2021
Congeners derived from microtubule-active phenylpyrimidines produce a potent and long-lasting paralysis in Schistosoma mansoni in vitro
Monti L, Cornec A-S, Oukoloff K, Kovalevich J, Prijs K, Alle A, Brunden KR, Smith AB III, El-Sakkary N, Liu LJ, Syed A, Skinner DE, Ballatore C and Caffarey CR, ACS Infectious Dis. 7(): 1089, 2021
Effects of microglial depletion and TREM2 deficiency on Aβ plaque burden and neuritic plaque tau pathology in 5XFAD mice
Delizannis AT, Nonneman A, Tsering W, De Bondt A, Van den Wyngaert I, Zhang B, Meymand E, Olufemi MF, Koivula P, Maimaiti S, Trojanowski JQ, Lee VM and Brunden KR, Acta Neuropathol. Comm. 9(): 150, 2021
In vitro amplification of pathogenic tau conserved disease-specific bioactive characteristics
Xu H, O’Reilly M, Gibbons GS, Changolkar L, McBride JD, Riddle DM, Zhang B, Stieber A, Nirschl J, Kim S-J, Hoxha, K-H, Brunden KR, Schellenberg GD, Trojanowski JQ and Lee YM-Y, Acta Neuropathol. 141(): 193, 2021
Evaluation of structure-activity relationship of microtubule (MT)-targeting 1,2,4-Triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines identifies new candidates for neurodegenerative tauopathies
Oukoloff K, Nzou G, Varricchio C, Lucero B, Alle T, Kovalevich J, Monti L, Cornec A-S, Yao Y, James MJ, Trojanowski JQ, Lee VM-Y, Smith AB III, Brancale A, Brunden KR* and Ballatore C, J. Med. Chem. 64(): 1073, 2021
