Nenad Bursac

Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Bursac's research interests include: Stem cell, tissue engineering, and gene based therapies for heart and muscle regeneration; Cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmias; Organ-on-chip and tissue engineering technologies for disease modeling and therapeutic screening; Small and large animal models of heart and muscle injury, disease, and regeneration.

 

The focus of my research is on application of pluripotent stem cells, tissue engineering, and gene therapy technologies for: 1) basic studies of striated muscle biology and disease in vitro and 2) regenerative therapies in small and large animal models in vivo. For in vitro studies, micropatterning of extracellular matrix proteins or protein hydrogels and 3D cell culture are used to engineer rodent and human striated muscle tissues that replicate the structure-function relationships present in healthy and diseased muscles. We use these models to separate and systematically study the roles of structural and genetic factors that contribute cardiac and skeletal muscle function and disease at multiple organizational levels, from single cells to tissues. Combining cardiac and skeletal muscle cells with primary or iPSC-derived non-muscle cells (endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, immune system cells, neurons) allows us to generate more realistic models of healthy and diseased human tissues and utilize them to mechanistically study molecular and cellular processes of tissue injury, vascularization, innervation, electromechanical integration, fibrosis, and functional repair. Currently, in vitro models of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Pompe disease, dyspherlinopathies, and various cardiomyopathies are studied in the lab. For in vivo studies, we employ rodent models of volumetric skeletal muscle loss, cardiotoxin and BaCl2 injury as well as myocardial infarction and transverse aortic constriction to study how cell, tissue engineering, and gene (viral) therapies can lead to safe and efficient tissue repair and regeneration. In large animal (porcine) models of myocardial injury and arrhythmias, we are exploring how human iPSC derived heart tissue patches and application of engineered ion channels can improve cardiac function and prevent heart failure or sudden cardiac death.

 

 

Appointments and Affiliations

  • Professor of Biomedical Engineering
  • Associate Professor in Medicine
  • Professor in Cell Biology
  • Member of the Duke Cancer Institute
  • Co-Director of the Duke Regeneration Center

Contact Information

Education

  • B.S.E. University of Belgrade (Serbia), 1994
  • Ph.D. Boston University, 2000

Research Interests

Embryonic and adult stem cell therapies for heart and muscle disease; cardiac and skeletal muscle tissue engineering; cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmias; genetic modifications of stem and somatic cells; micropatterning of proteins and hydrogels.

Courses Taught

  • NEUROSCI 301L: Bioelectricity (AC or GE)
  • EGR 393: Research Projects in Engineering
  • CELLBIO 493: Research Independent Study
  • BME 792: Continuation of Graduate Independent Study
  • BME 791: Graduate Independent Study
  • BME 578: Quantitative Cell and Tissue Engineering (GE, BB, MC)
  • BME 507: Cardiovascular System Engineering, Disease and Therapy (GE, BB, EL)
  • BME 494: Projects in Biomedical Engineering (GE)
  • BME 493: Projects in Biomedical Engineering (GE)
  • BME 394: Projects in Biomedical Engineering (GE)
  • BME 301L: Bioelectricity (AC or GE)

In the News

Representative Publications

  • Ransey, Elizabeth, Gwenaëlle E. Thomas, Elias M. Wisdom, Agustin Almoril-Porras, Ryan Bowman, Elise Adamson, Kathryn K. Walder-Christensen, et al. “Long-term editing of brain circuits using an engineered electrical synapse.” Nature 655, no. 8123 (July 2026): 703–15. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10501-y.
  • Zhang, Xin, Christopher G. Vann, David B. Bartlett, Alastair Khodabukus, George A. Truskey, Nenad Bursac, Joseph A. Houmard, et al. “RYR1+ skeletal muscle-derived extracellular vesicles are exercise responsive and associated with insulin action.” J Transl Med 24, no. 1 (May 26, 2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-026-08215-w.
  • Wu, Tianyu, Hung X. Nguyen, Yiu Yan Siu, Yongwu Li, and Nenad Bursac. “Experimental Platform for Screening and Validation of BacNav Gene Therapy Candidates.” Circulation. Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology 19, no. 5 (May 2026): e014425. https://doi.org/10.1161/circep.125.014425.
  • Bidzimou, Minu-Tshyeto K., Padmapriya Muralidharan, Zhushan Zhang, Danyal Raza, Daniel Needs, Bo Sun, Robin M. Perelli, et al. “D801N in ATP1A3-encoded Na/K-ATPase alpha 3 causes cardiac arrhythmogenesis through sodium-calcium exchanger-mediated calcium overload.” JCI Insight 11, no. 7 (April 8, 2026). https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.197721.
  • Bhanot, Kunal, Core Outcome Set Review Group, Neal Thurley, Robin O. Cleveland, Jolet Mimpen, Sarah J. B. Snelling, Rory Rickard, and Robert Staruch. “Three-dimensional models of skeletal muscle under tension: a systematic review and core outcome set.” NPJ Regenerative Medicine 11, no. 1 (April 2026): 29. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41536-026-00464-z.