Brian Johnson

Fields of Interest: Our laboratory leverages digital manufacturing and automation to construct and test models of development and disease.

###EDUCATION
* 2004 - B.S. Biology, Michigan Technological University
* 2013 - Ph.D. Molecular and Environmental Toxicology, University of Wisconsin
* 2014-2019 - Postdoctoral fellow, Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin
* 2020-present - Assistant Professor, Departments of Pharmacology and Toxicology and Biomedical Engineering, Michigan State University

###BIOGRAPHY & CURRENT RESEARCH
We are an interdisciplinary research lab specializing in the design, manufacturing, automation and testing of human derived models of development and disease to study intercellular signaling.   Our goal is to develop strategies and technologies that lead to the treatment of disease and the prevention of birth defects in vulnerable populations.  Current research directions include 1) identifying the potential for chemical mixtures to disrupt epithelial: mesenchymal signaling in orofacial development leading to cleft lip/palate 2) developing a high-throughput multicellular models of breast and prostate cancers to identify mechanisms of treatment resistance and uncover therapeutic targets in the cancer microenvironment 3) using multicellular models of the hypothalamic: pituitary: thyroid axis to inform computational modeling of thyroid homeostasis and perturbation by chemical insults.  Undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral candidates in the biological sciences and engineering are encouraged to reach out and discover how they might tackle important challenges to human health in the Johnson Lab.

###AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS
* US Patent Number 10,518,266 (issued 12/2019)  Microtiter plate and uses thereof (microDUO HTS multi-culture technology)
* Innovation AveNEW Award Society of Lab Automation-Europe, Onexio Biosystems (June, 2019)
* SBIR Advance Commercial Development Program supplement for SBIR awardees (2019, $75,000)
* EPA, NIEHS and NCATS Transform Tox Testing Challenge, Stage 2 award (November 2017, Onexio Biosystems Role PI, $100,000 prize, Stage 3 eligible) https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/update/2017/11/toxchallenge/index.html
* Teratology Society Meeting – James C. Bradford Best Postdoctoral Poster Award (2017)
* Society of Toxicology Meeting- Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology Specialty Section–Poster Award (2017)
* AOP Wiki Award - PETA International Science Consortium (2017)
* EPA & NIH Transform Tox Testing Challenge Semi-finalist Stage 1 award (May 2016, Role: PI $10,000 prize, eligible to compete in Stage 2) 
* Outstanding Poster – Gordon Research Conference – Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Toxicity (2015)
* AbbVie Best Student Publication Award, Midwest SOT Annual Meeting (2015)
* SOT- Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology Specialty Section–Poster Travel Award (2014)
* Howard Hughes Medical Institute Teaching Fellowship (2012)
* Graduated summa cum laude - Michigan Technological University (2004)

###PUBLICATIONS
Complete List of Published Work in My Bibliography:
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/1X5PGg7wPSXA_/bibliography/public/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/1X5PGg7wPSXA_/bibliography/public/)