Rate My Professor Brian Dewar

Brian Dewar is Department Chair and Associate Professor of Biology in the Biology, Environmental Science & Sustainable Development Department at Taylor University, where he has served in the latter role since 2010 and the former since 2022. He earned a B.S. in Biology from Geneva College in 1998 and a Ph.D. in Toxicology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2007. His doctoral dissertation examined PPARγ-independent mechanisms of Src-kinase activation and EGFR transactivation in response to thiazolidinediones under advisor Dr. Lee M. Graves. Prior to joining Taylor, Dewar held postdoctoral positions at UNC Chapel Hill from 2007 to 2010, including an NIEHS Postdoctoral Traineeship (NIH T32 ES007126) from 2008 to 2010 and roles in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Curriculum in Toxicology. Earlier, he worked as a Laboratory Research Technician II in the Laboratory of Hepatobiology and Toxicology at UNC from 1999 to 2001.

Dewar's research investigates the role of TAS1R family membrane-bound protein receptors (TAS1R1, TAS1R2, TAS1R3), originally identified in gustation for sweet and umami taste detection, in regulating bone cell function among osteoblasts, osteoclasts, and bone mesenchymal stem cells. Preliminary findings indicate their expression in these cells, with mouse studies showing increased bone mass upon Tas1R3 gene loss. He presented on this in a 2019 Taylor University science seminar, "What Are Taste Receptors Doing in Bone?" Dewar has mentored undergraduate research resulting in a 2017 publication on TAS1R receptors. He co-created Taylor's Human Physiology and Preventive Medicine major, coordinates the Natural Science Seminar and Biology Capstone, and teaches courses such as Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II (with labs), Animal Physiology (with lab), Pathophysiology of Immunological and Metabolic Chronic Diseases, and formerly Principles of Genetics (with lab). Dewar served as President of the Indiana Physiological Society in 2020, chairs the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, and participates in committees including Academic Policy, Faculty Development, and Curriculum Management. He is a member of the American Physiological Society, Human Anatomy and Physiology Society, and National Association of Biology Teachers, and facilitates programs like the Faculty Mentored Undergraduate Scholarship and departmental recruitment events.