Dr. Barrington G. Burnett is a Professor and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Genetics at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU). He earned his Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Pennsylvania and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Neurogenetics at NINDS/NIH before joining the USU faculty in 2013.

Dr. Burnett's research focuses on the molecular mechanisms of neuromuscular disease, with a primary emphasis on spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). His group was the first to characterize SMN protein turnover, identify the E3 ubiquitin ligase Mindbomb-1 as a critical regulator of SMN degradation, and develop a first-in-class small molecule inhibitor that rescues the SMA phenotype in preclinical models. Beyond this core therapeutic work, his group has contributed to understanding the multi-system nature of SMA, including demonstrating that SMN deficiency impairs myoblast fusion, disrupts intracellular calcium signaling in cardiomyocytes, and drives neuroinflammatory changes in glial cells.

His broader research portfolio addresses the role of the ubiquitin-proteasome system in the central nervous system more widely, including characterizing how proteasome remodeling following traumatic brain injury shapes the neuroinflammatory response, and identifying novel genetic variants associated with hereditary neurological conditions including Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, hereditary spastic paraplegia, and a recently described neurodevelopmental syndrome.

Dr. Burnett teaches in the medical student curriculum, directs the graduate course on the Molecular Basis of Neuroscience, and leads a session on motor neuron disease for Neurology residents.