Andrew Dudley, PhD

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Andrew Dudley, PhD

Associate Professor Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Anatomy University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Contact

Phone
402-559-2820
Email
andrew.dudley@unmc.edu

Dr. Dudley's research seeks to uncover the mechanisms that regulate the development and homeostasis of musculoskeletal tissues using methods from embryology, molecular biology, cell biology, mouse genetics, computational biology, and engineering, with the goal of generating novel therapies to treat diseases and disorders, and to promote tissue regeneration.

Education

  • Post-doc, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
  • PhD, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

Research

Dr. Dudley is interested in determining how growth and structural integrity are co-regulated in developing musculoskeletal tissues such as cartilage, as well as how these processes break down in growth disorders and clinically important connective tissue diseases such as osteoarthritis and Marfan syndrome.  

Current questions under investigation include: 

  • Growth regulatory mechanisms in the skeleton and how these are controlled precisely during the two decades prior to adulthood to ensure symmetrical growth of paired bones. 
  • Processes and mechanisms that generate the multi-domain, mechanoresponsive extracellular matrix of cartilage and how matrix is remodeled to permit growth and maintain structural integrity while experiencing mechanical forces. 
  • Relationship between genotype, phenotype, protein structure, and matrix mechanotransduction in connective tissue diseases.

Selected Publications

  1. Haller, S.J., Roitberg, A.E., Dudley, A.T. (2020) Steered molecular dynamic simulations reveal Marfan syndrome mutations disrupt fibrillin-1 cbEGF domain mechanosensitive calcium binding. Scientific Reports 10: 1-16. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-73969-2. 
  2. Greer, S.E., Haller, S.J., Lee, D., Dudley, A.T. (2024) N-cadherin and β1 integrin coordinately regulate growth plate cartilage architecture. Mol Biol Cell. 35(4):ar49. doi: 10.1091/mbc.E23-03-0101.  
  3. Lee, D., Greer, S.E., and Dudley, A.T. (2025) Development of the mechanoresponsive pericellular matrix of chondrons. Science Advances, in press.