Dr. Larson is an Instructor in the Department of Basic and Translational Sciences and the Director of the Spatial Transcriptomics Core. He holds a B.S. degree in Physiology and Neurobiology from the University of Connecticut and a PhD in Physiology from University of Colorado. Prior to joining Penn Dental Medicine, he was a research Assistant Professor at University of Colorado School of Medicine. In his training at University of Colorado, he developed a broad skillset ranging from patch clamping in graduate school to live cell imaging, advanced light microscopy techniques, and in situ hybridization in his post-doctoral time. In his transition to faculty, he developed and refined a multitude of skills in the field of bioinformatics including bulk RNA-seq, single cell-RNA seq, and spatial transcriptomic analyses and supported multiple funded research projects as the sole bioinformatician.
Dr. Larson’s role at Penn Dental is primarily focused on bioinformatics, serving to support any PIs requiring data analysis for their projects. He continues to work on bulk, single-cell, and spatial transcriptomic projects but has also begun working on other ‘omics studies including lipidomics. HE is currently the lead bioinformatician on 6 NIH funded research grants with an additional 3 under review focusing on single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptomic, and lipidomic analyses.
Dr. Larson’s combined background both in the wet-lab and in bioinformatics makes him an ideal Core director for the Spatial Transcriptomics Core. He can converse with PIs at the level of biology yet also understand the intricacies in the massive data output of a spatial transcriptomic experiment. He can offer advice on experimental design and execution and provide analysis services so researchers can make sense of the large datasets generated by the 10X Genomics Xenium platform.
Please reach out to Dr. Larson if you require bioinformatic support or are interested in the Spatial Transcriptomics Core Services.
BA, Physiology and Neurobiology, University of Connecticut, 2003-2007
PhD, Physiology, University of Colorado, 2007-2013
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Colorado, 2013-2017