Robert Akins, PhD
The conversations Rob Akins finds most fascinating are the ones no one can hear-the communications between muscle and nerve cells in the human body.
Robert E. Akins Jr. PhD, FAHA, is Head of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Research at Nemours. His research is focused on the biology of cardiac and skeletal muscles. Dr. Akins, who earned both his undergraduate and doctoral degrees at the University of Pennsylvania, came to Nemours as a post-doctoral fellow more than a decade ago.
“Nemours was attractive to me because researchers here had developed advanced systems for studying muscle. I became very interested in learning how non-muscle cells influence the organization and function of muscle and what happens when communication between muscle and non-muscle cells breaks down,” he says. “Disruption of the relationships between cells is often a hallmark of disease, and while basic research into these relationships is very important, I was much more interested in applying basic approaches to bring us closer to seeing results for patients.”
One of the most common conditions seen by Nemours physicians is cerebral palsy, which results from faulty development or damage to motor areas in the brain and is often associated with prematurity. Comments Dr. Akins, “We still don’t completely understand the cascade of events that leads from imperfections in the brain, whatever the cause, to the kinds of severe motor difficulties that characterize cerebral palsy.” With clinicians from Anesthesiology and Orthopedics, Dr. Akins is studying muscle/nerve interactions in the context of the motor dysfunction that affects children with cerebral palsy.
Dr. Akins can point to research that has benefited pediatric cerebral palsy patients at Nemours. “We have learned that, because of the disorganized communication between nerve and muscle cells in children with cerebral palsy, a nerve-blocking drug commonly used when anesthetizing a patient for surgery may not be safe.”
Nemours physicians also frequently see congenital heart disease. Dr. Akins’ group is also trying to understand how non-muscle cells influence the organization and function of heart muscle. “The heart has a very limited capacity to repair itself," he says, "and we need to learn more about how heart cells can be induced to regenerate functional tissue—whether that be within a child's own tissue or in the lab, where it may be possible to build designer tissues for surgical implantation.”
When asked about stem cell research as it applies to his area, Dr. Akins says, “Stem cells are capable of differentiating into many types of cells. The challenge is to help the derived cells interact with other kinds of cells within the right architecture. We are probably 5-10 years away from growing tissue in the laboratory that can be tested for its effectiveness in repairing cardiac injuries and congenital cardiac defects.”
Dr. Akins’ hope is that his department’s research will lead to better treatments for, and perhaps even prevention of, some of the profound muscle problems associated with cerebral palsy and congenital heart disease.
For more information about biomedical research at Nemours, call 888-494-5251.
