Robert E. Akins, Ph.D., F.A.H.A.

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Head, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Research, A.I. duPont Hospital for Children

Contact

Akins

TERM Lab / 283 ARB
Department of Biomedical Research
A.I. duPont Hospital for Children
Nemours Childrens' Clinic
1600 Rockland Road
WIlmington, DE 19803

Phone: (302) 651-6811
Fax: (302) 651-6897
E-mail: rakins@nemours.org

Education

B.A., Ph.D.: University of Pennsylvania
Postdoctoral: Thomas Jefferson University
Postdoctoral: A.I. duPont Hospital for Children

Research Interests

• Human cardiac tissue engineering
• Cell and developmental biology of the mammalian heart
• Advanced electrophoretic techniques for analysis of the proteome
• Interactions between nerve and muscle in children with cerebral palsy

Current Projects

• Cardiac tissue engineering - Mechanisms controlling the assembly of cardiac tissues in vitro.
• Cardiac cell biology - Heme metabolism in the modulation of myocardial phenotype and cardioprotection.
• Nerve/muscle interactions - Maintenance of neuromuscular junctions in children with cerebral palsy.

Research Group

• Michael Bruner - Graduate Student (University of Delaware). Studying cell interactions, signaling cascades, and endothelial cell migration in bioreactor-cultured cardiac cells.
• Terry McLaughlin - Research Assistant. Studying the effects of heme oxygenase activity on the organization and function of cultured cardiac cells.
• Janet Mendonca - Graduate Student (University of Delaware). Studying the regulation of nerve-muscle interactions in children with cerebral palsy.
• Karyn Oberman - Graduate Student (University of Delaware). Studying the non-apposition of neuromuscular junction components in children with cerebral palsy.

Selected Publications

Theroux, M., Oberman, K.G., Lahaye, J., DuHadaway, D, and Akins, R.E. (2005) Dysmorphic neuromuscular junction associated with cerebral palsy. Muscle & Nerve. Epub ahead of press 15 July 2005.

Akins, R.E., McLaughlin T., Boyce, R., Gilmour, L., and Gratton, K. (2004) Exogenous Metalloporphyrins Alter the Organization and Function of Cultured Neonatal Rat Heart Cells. J. Cell. Physiol. 201: 26-34.

Sefton, M.V. and Akins, R.E. (2003) Tissue Engineering a Heart: Critical Issues. In Functional Tissue Engineering: F. Guilak, D.L. Butler, S.A. Goldstein, and D.J. Mooney, eds. Springer-Verlag Press, New York, NY, pp139-145.

Akins, R.E. (2002) Can Tissue Engineering Mend Broken Hearts? Circulation Research. 90:120-122.

Theroux, M.C., Akins, R.E., Barone, C., Boyce, B., Miller, F., and Dabney, K.W. (2002) Neuromuscular junctions in cerebral palsy: Presence of extrajunctional acetylcholine receptors. Anesthesiology. 96: 330-335.

Akins, R.E. and Tuan, R.S. (2002) Identification of Nucleic Acid Binding Proteins Using Non-Denaturing Sodium-Decyl-Sulfate Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDecS-PAGE). in The Protein Protocols Handbook J.M. Walker, ed., 2nd edition, Humana Press, Totowa, NJ, pp81-86.

Akins, R.E. and Tuan, R.S. (2002) Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide discontinuous gel electrophoresis: Mr-based separation of proteins with retained native activity. in The Protein Protocols Handbook J.M. Walker, ed., 2nd edition, Humana Press, Totowa, NJ, pp. 87-102.

Akins, R.E. Cardiac Tissue. (2002) In Methods of Tissue Engineering A. Atala and R. Lanza, ed. Academic Press, San Diego, CA. Chapter 81, pp 915-919.

Akins, R.E. and Sefton, M.V. (2001) Tissue Engineering a Heart. New Surgery. 1(1):26-32.

Akins, R.E. (2000) Prospects for the use of cell implantation, gene therapy, and tissue engineering in the treatment of myocardial disease and congenital heart defects. In Tissue Engineering and Regeneration Medicine. K. Sames, ed. EcoMed Press, Landsberg, Germany. Chapter XI-4, pp 1-16.

Akins, R.E., Boyce, R.A., Madonna, M.L., Schroedl, N.A., Gonda, S.R., and Hartzell, C.R. (1999) Cardiac organogenesis in vitro: Re-establishment of three-dimensional tissue architecture by dissociated neonatal rat ventricular cells. Tissue Engineering. 5(2):103-118.