Fran Sverdrup PhD

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Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology


Saint Louis University

Dr. Fran Sverdrup is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine. He has extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry where his previous discovery research focused on new target identification and validation in the therapeutic areas of inflammation, immunology and virology. At Saint Louis University, his research is focused on drug discovery and the epigenetic control of gene expression in FSHD. His lab has employed chemical genetics and candidate gene knockdowns to identify druggable pathways that regulate DUX4 expression. For promising therapeutic approaches, a mouse xenograft model of human FSHD is utilized to establish pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic relationships of drug candidates. The xenograft model conserves the primate-specific DUX4 locus and allows evaluation of drugs that work at an epigenetic level.

See also: https://biochem.slu.edu/people/sverdrup/

Grants Awarded
Collaborative Effort to Evaluate a Novel Treatment Paradigm for FSHD Using EB-ON Technology
May 1, 2024
Research - Basic
Create a safer and more stable treatment for FSHD by using gene activation rather than gene silencing strategies.
Uncovering the genetic drivers and suppressors of DUX4 in FSHD
Sep 15, 2023
Research - Basic
We will use a CRISPR-Cas9 APEX-based labeling system combined with proteomic analysis to identify proteins associated with DUX4 activation.
Determining in vitro and in vivo efficacy of novel DUX4 inhibitors
Nov 1, 2021
Research - Translational
Develop our DUX4 inhibitors and demonstrate that they inhibit DUX4 in muscle cells and in mice without inhibiting normal muscle function.