Meet the Chair
After receiving his Ph.D. and training as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Biological Chemistry at Washington University in St. Louis, Eric Olson, Ph.D., got his first faculty position in 1984 at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. While in Houston, Dr. Olson began studying how cells differentiate into their specialized, mature forms, and decided to use muscle cells as the basis of his research. In 1991, after four years in the position, Dr. Olson became Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at MD Anderson.
Dr. Olson moved to UT Southwestern in 1995 to establish a new Department of Molecular Biology.
The Olson Lab
The Olson Lab studies muscle cells as a model for understanding how embryonic cells adopt specific fates and how programs of cell differentiation and morphogenesis are controlled during development. The three major muscle cell types – cardiac, skeletal, and smooth – express distinct sets of genes controlled by different combinations of transcription factors and extracellular signals. The Olson Lab focuses on discovering the genetic pathways that control development of these muscle cell types, as well as their remodeling in response to cardiovascular and neuromuscular diseases. The processes involved in muscle development are evolutionarily ancient and conserved across diverse organisms, enabling the Olson Lab to take a cross-species approach.
The long-term goal of the Olson Lab is to delineate complete genetic pathways for the formation and function of each muscle cell type – and to use this information to devise pharmacologic and genetic therapies for inherited and acquired muscle diseases in humans. Most recently, members of the Olson Lab pioneered a gene editing strategy to correct mutations responsible for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a fatal degenerative disease of muscles impacting movement and heart function.
The Olson Lab includes an international team of students and postdoctoral fellows. Highly skilled research associates play a vital role, providing continuity to the Lab and the technical infrastructure that facilitates discovery. With an emphasis on creativity, collaboration, and camaraderie, the Lab team has fun together and celebrates the group’s success.
The Olson Lab provides a supportive and challenging environment for students. Its postdoctoral fellows are encouraged to develop independent projects that can one day serve as the foundation of their own laboratories. Many former students and postdocs from the Olson Lab are emerging as the next generation of leaders in cardiovascular medicine.
Dr. Olson has co-founded several biopharmaceutical companies to develop new therapies for heart and muscle diseases.
In his spare time, Dr. Olson plays guitar and sings with a classic rock/blues/funk band called, appropriately enough, The Transactivators – inspired by Texas icon Willie Nelson, who created the Professorship that Olson holds.