The Dunn Lab
The Dunn Lab is an academic research laboratory at Purdue University that studies the genetic, epigenetic, and developmental origins of depression and related conditions, using baby teeth biomarkers and longitudinal birth cohorts to identify sensitive periods of early-life stress exposure.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersBoston, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What The Dunn Lab does
The Dunn Lab is an academic research laboratory housed at Purdue University (Indianapolis campus), directed by Dr. Erin C. Dunn. The lab investigates the etiology of depression and related psychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions, with a particular emphasis on how early-life stress exposure shapes mental-health risk across the life course. Its work spans psychiatric and neurodevelopmental genetics, epigenetics, developmental epidemiology, and intergenerational transmission, with a stated focus on women, children, and adolescents.
The lab's signature methodological contribution is the use of deciduous (baby) teeth as biomarkers that record cumulative early-life exposure to stress, paired with genetic and epigenetic assays to identify sensitive developmental periods and biological mechanisms underlying depression risk. It operates multiple cohort-based studies, including the prospective STRONG Study and collaborations on the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) and the Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) cohort. Outputs include peer-reviewed publications, trainee mentorship, and a public engagement platform at teethforscience.com.
The lab is non-commercial and operates under the standard academic funding model: it secures competitive grants from federal agencies (notably NIH/NIMH) and private foundations (including the Jacobs Foundation, Russell Sage Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, One Mind, and the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation), and produces no product revenue. Its 'customers' in the conventional sense are research participants, trainees, and the broader scientific and public-health community.
The Dunn Lab firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Dunn Lab
- Legal name
- The Dunn Lab (Purdue University)
- Website
- https://thedunnlab.com
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Dunn Lab is an academic research laboratory at Purdue University that studies the genetic, epigenetic, and developmental origins of depression and related conditions, using baby teeth biomarkers and longitudinal birth cohorts to identify sensitive periods of early-life stress exposure.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Dunn Lab industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Academic Mental Health Research
- NAICS
- Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Population Genomics & Preventive Precision Health Programs (HLAAANAL)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Genetic & Genomic Testing (germline, somatic, carrier, pharmacogenomics) (HLAAALAD)
Keywords
Where The Dunn Lab is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Boston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
The Dunn Lab business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Research Grant Funding: The lab operates as a university research laboratory funded primarily through competitive grants from federal agencies (NIH/NIMH), private foundations, and institutional sources. Funding supports ongoing studies, data collection, team members, and generating preliminary results to compete for larger grants.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
The Dunn Lab product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Dunn Lab conducts interdisciplinary academic research investigating how genetic variation, epigenetic mechanisms, and early-life environmental stressors shape depression risk and resilience among women, children, and adolescents. Its distinctive approach includes pioneering the use of baby teeth as non-invasive biomarkers for mental illness risk and identifying sensitive developmental periods when interventions can be optimally timed to prevent depression before symptom onset. The lab does not sell commercial products or services; it disseminates findings through peer-reviewed publications, scientific collaborations, and public education.
Product overview
The Dunn Lab is a research laboratory at Purdue University, not a commercial product company. The lab conducts interdisciplinary mental health research through five interconnected research studies: Depression, Epigenetics, Sensitive Periods, Teeth (biomarkers), and the STRONG Study. These studies collectively aim to identify strategies to reduce the burden of mental illness and promote lifelong brain health by investigating genetic variation, epigenetic mechanisms, and early-life environmental stressors. The lab also maintains a public educational resource at teethforscience.com.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Depression Research Study Investigation into how genetic variation and life experiences combine to shape both risk and resilience to depression, examining stress as a key risk factor. Targeted at advancing scientific understanding of depression etiology.
- Epigenetics Research Study Study of how early adversity leaves lasting biological memories through epigenetic changes like DNA methylation, impacting depression risk from childhood to adulthood. Designed for the scientific community studying biological mechanisms of mental health.
- Sensitive Periods Research Study Research identifying sensitive periods—times of heightened brain plasticity—when experiences can have lasting effects on mental health, spanning prenatal development through adulthood. Aimed at informing timing of preventive interventions.
- Teeth as Biomarkers Research Exploration of baby teeth as novel, less invasive biomarkers for mental illness risk, leveraging teeth as widely available biospecimens that preserve chronological growth records reflecting early-life stress exposure.
- STRONG Study A longitudinal study examining whether baby teeth can reveal clues about childhood adversity and future mental health risk through collection and analysis of primary exfoliated teeth from participants.
- teethforscience.com Public Educational Resource Public-facing website providing information about the lab's research using teeth, including why teeth are promising biomarkers for mental health risk. Intended for the general public, study participants, and the broader scientific community.
Quantifiable outcome
- Led pioneering genetic and gene-environment interaction studies, including some of the first GWAS of depression risk in non-European ancestry populations and the first genome-wide environment interaction study of depression.
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use The Dunn Lab
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
The Dunn Lab technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
The Dunn Lab partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
20 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- McLean Hospital & Harvard Medical SchoolcoreCollaborator Kerry J. Ressler is affiliated with McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School. The lab collaborates on genetic and epigenetic studies of depression and trauma.
- Charlotte Cecil - Erasmus MC Sophia Children's HospitalcoreCollaborates on genetics/epigenetics research, focusing on child development and mental health.
- Anke Huels - Emory UniversitycoreCollaborates on environmental epigenetics and biostatistics research.
- Luke Hyde - University of MichigancoreCollaborates on developmental psychology, brain architecture, and mental health research.
- Alexandre Lussier - Massachusetts General HospitalcoreLong-term collaborator on epigenetics, DNA methylation, and sensitive period research. A former post-doctoral research fellow in the lab who continues collaborative work.
- Colter Mitchell - University of MichigancoreCollaborates on population studies linking early life adversity to biological and mental health outcomes.
- Kerry J. Ressler - McLean Hospital & Harvard Medical SchoolcoreCollaborates on genetic and epigenetic mechanisms linking childhood adversity to depression and PTSD.
- Andrew Simpkin - University of GalwaycoreCollaborates on statistical methodology and epigenetic analyses.
- Andrew Smith - University of the West of EnglandminorCollaborates on statistical and computational approaches to epigenetics research.
- Dan Stein - University of Cape TowncoreCollaborates on psychiatric genetics and epidemiology, bringing global health perspectives to the research.
- Matt Suderman - University of BristolcoreCollaborates on DNA methylation and epigenetic aging research.
- Esther Walton - University of BathcoreCollaborates on epigenetics, statistical methods, and developmental origins of health and disease.
- Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg - The Ohio State UniversitycoreDental and craniofacial anthropology expert collaborating on baby teeth biomarker research. Focuses on enamel and dentine development.
- Marcy Kingsbury - Harvard Medical School / Massachusetts General HospitalminorCollaborates on dental and craniofacial aspects of the baby teeth research program.
- Mary Marazita - University of PittsburghminorCollaborates on genetic and dental research relevant to the baby teeth biomarker program.
- Simone Lemmers - Harvard Medical School & Massachusetts General HospitalcoreCollaborates on the STRONG Study and analysis of baby teeth as biomarkers, including histological data collection and tooth section analysis.
- Mona Le Luyer - Harvard Catalyst / Mass General HospitalcoreBiological anthropologist who joined the lab to lead efforts analyzing baby teeth. Previously collaborated via Harvard Catalyst on the STRONG Study.
- Kristen Choi - University of California, Los AngelescoreCollaborates on childhood adversity research, including studies on adversity co-occurrence and its health consequences.
- Josh Roffman - Massachusetts General HospitalcoreCollaborates on prenatal and early life factors affecting brain development and mental health risk.
- Altaf Saadi - Massachusetts General HospitalcoreCollaborates on childhood adversity, social determinants of health, and their intersection with mental health outcomes.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
The Dunn Lab competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- McCance Center for Brain Health at MGH: Prior institutional home of Dr. Dunn and a former funding partner. Focuses on brain health resilience and prevention research, sharing the Dunn Lab's mission of preventing psychiatric illness before onset.
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute: Academic research center conducting large-scale psychiatric genetics and genomics research on disorders including depression. Closest direct peer in scale, methodology, and mission - both labs pursue GWAS and functional genomics to understand mental illness.
- Allen Institute for Brain Science: Nonprofit research organization conducting large-scale brain and mental health research with open-science outputs. Comparable in mission scope, interdisciplinary model, and public-research orientation.
- MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics (Cardiff University): Leading European academic research center for psychiatric genetics, running large-scale GWAS and epigenetic studies on depression, schizophrenia, and related disorders. Methodological peer.
- Center for Genomic Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital: Major academic genomic medicine center where Dr. Dunn held prior affiliations. Conducts genetic and epigenetic research on psychiatric and neurological disorders using similar longitudinal cohort and methylation methodologies.
- Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC): International consortium coordinating psychiatric genetic studies across hundreds of institutions. The Dunn Lab's GWAS work contributes to PGC's depression working group, making it a key collaborative peer.
Broad incumbents
- Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen): Nonprofit genomics research institute with broader disease focus (oncology, neurological, infectious disease). Comparable in nonprofit research model and genomic methodology, but with wider therapeutic-area scope.
- deCODE genetics (Amgen): Established genetics research company (now part of Amgen) conducting population-scale GWAS and genomic studies in Icelandic cohorts. Comparable in human genetic discovery methodology but operates at much larger scale with commercial scope.
- Human Genome Sequencing Center (Baylor College of Medicine): Large academic sequencing center that conducts population-scale genetic studies overlapping with psychiatric genomics. Comparable in scale and large-cohort methodology, broader in disease focus.
Emerging players
- Sage Bionetworks: Nonprofit biomedical research organization focused on computational approaches to multi-omic data, including psychiatric and neurodegenerative research. Overlaps with Dunn Lab's epigenomic and data-analysis methodologies.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Dunn Lab social profiles
Digital presenceThe Dunn Lab financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Dunn Lab leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
The Dunn Lab funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
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The Dunn Lab M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
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Frequently asked questions about The Dunn Lab
What does The Dunn Lab do?
The Dunn Lab conducts interdisciplinary academic research investigating how genetic variation, epigenetic mechanisms, and early-life environmental stressors shape depression risk and resilience among women, children, and adolescents. Its distinctive approach includes pioneering the use of baby teeth as non-invasive biomarkers for mental illness risk and identifying sensitive developmental periods when interventions can be optimally timed to prevent depression before symptom onset. The lab does not sell commercial products or services; it disseminates findings through peer-reviewed publications, scientific collaborations, and public education.
Is The Dunn Lab a public or private company?
The Dunn Lab is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was The Dunn Lab founded?
The Dunn Lab was founded in -1. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The Dunn Lab based?
The Dunn Lab is headquartered in Boston, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Dunn Lab make money?
One revenue line is on record: research Grant Funding.
Who are The Dunn Lab's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are McCance Center for Brain Health at MGH, Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute, Allen Institute for Brain Science, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics (Cardiff University), Center for Genomic Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC). Broad incumbents are Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), deCODE genetics (Amgen) and Human Genome Sequencing Center (Baylor College of Medicine). Sage Bionetworks is listed as an emerging player.
Does The Dunn Lab have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Dunn Lab.
What industry is The Dunn Lab in?
The Dunn Lab's product category is Academic Mental Health Research. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAAANAL, Population Genomics & Preventive Precision Health Programs, with a secondary code of HLAAALAD, Genetic & Genomic Testing (germline, somatic, carrier, pharmacogenomics). Its NAICS code is 541714 and its SIC code is 8731.