Dr. Dean is a professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, and leads his lab at the Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, which has a major focus on developing a vaccine platform utilizing the probiotic organism Lactobacillus acidophilus. Specific applications include vaccines against human rotavirus, feline and human coronaviruses and West Nile virus.

The Dean Lab studies the host mucosal immune response and response to oral vaccines using a systems vaccinology approach. The relationship between the host microbiome and mucosal immunity is also active area of research. Investigating the immunpathogenesis of viral infections is an overarching emphasis.

Dean studied at CSU, earning a B.S. in 1985, D.V.M in 1988 and Ph.D. in 1991.