Kevin Dean

Kevin Dean is an Assistant Professor in the Lyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics and a member of the Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Systems Biology at UT Southwestern Medical Center. His research integrates advanced optical instrumentation, computer vision, and biological inquiry to address complex, rare cellular events, particularly in cancer metastasis and neurobiology.

Research Interests: The Dean Lab focuses on three core technological and biological thrusts: (1) Autonomous Microscopy, where self-driving microscopes use adaptive computer vision for dynamic imaging; (2) Molecular Multiplexing, enhancing fluorescence microscopy with spectral unmixing and cyclic immunofluorescence to extract rich molecular data; and (3) Content-Rich Histopathology, developing high-throughput, super-resolution imaging for large tissue specimens to improve diagnostic precision.

The lab's publication trends reflect a strong emphasis on imaging technology development applied to cancer biology, neurobiology, and developmental systems. The work bridges engineering, computational analysis, and experimental biology, often in collaboration with leading institutions.

• Scientific Awards: No specific awards listed in the provided text.

Advising and Grants: Dr. Dean serves as Principal Investigator on multiple major research grants, including an NCI-funded project to image mechanisms of metastatic tumor formation and leadership in a NIH/NIGMS Biomedical Technology Development and Dissemination Center with Drs. Klaus Hahn and Gaudenz Danuser. He is also a Co-Investigator on a study of Filamin A mutations in Prune Belly Syndrome and a collaborator on neuroscience-focused grants related to stress-induced anhedonia and lateral habenula function. His role as 'Other' in the Cancer Center Support Grant underscores his integration into UTSW’s broader cancer research ecosystem.

Labs and Teams: The Dean Lab is embedded in a collaborative ecosystem at UTSW, working closely with the Cellular Cancer Biology Imaging Research Center and the Center for Cell Signaling Analysis. The team actively partners with experts such as Gaudenz Danuser, Reto Fiolka, Sean Morrison, Jim Amatruda (USC), and Peter Sorger (HMS), and disseminates tools via Addgene, GitHub, ImageJ/Fiji, and Applied Scientific Instrumentation.