Barry Byrne

Dr. Barry Byrne is the Associate Chair of Pediatrics and Director of the Powell Gene Therapy Center. He obtained his B.S. degree from Denison University, his M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. He completed his Pediatrics residency, cardiology fellowship training and post-doctoral training in Biological Chemistry at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He joined the University of Florida in 1997 and is now the Earl and Christy Powell University Chair in Genetics.

Dr. Barry Byrne is a clinician scientist who is studying a variety of rare diseases with specific attention to developing therapies for inherited muscle disease. As a pediatric cardiologist, his focus is on conditions that lead to skeletal muscle weakness and problems in heart and respiratory function. His group has made significant contributions to the understanding and treatment of Pompe disease, which a type of muscular dystrophy due to abnormal glycogen in the muscle. The research team has been developing new therapies using the missing cellular protein or the corrective gene to restore muscle function in Pompe and other inherited myopathies.