Leadership

Neurogenomics and Informatics Director
Dr. Cruchaga is the Barbara Burton & Reuben Morriss III Professor of Psychiatry with joint appointments at Genetics, and Neurology at Washington University School of Medicine, and Director of the Neurogenomics and Informatics Center

Dr. Cruchaga is a human genomicist with expertise in multiomics, informatics, and neurodegeneration.  He completed his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2005 at the University of Navarra in Spain. During his first postdoc with Dr. Pastor he conducted statistical human genetics studies focused on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD). He then moved to Dr. Goate's Lab to complete his training in quantitative human genomics. Dr. Cruchaga established his laboratory at Washington University in 2011 to study the genetic architecture of neurodegenerative diseases. His interests are focused on using human genomic and other -omic data (proteomics, metabolomics, and lipidomics) to identify and understand the biological processes that lead to AD, PD, frontotemporal dementia, and other neurodegenerative processes. He is the funding director of the NeuroGenomics and Informatics Center at Washington University.

Cruchaga lab

Dr. Cruchaga CV.

Jen Gentsch is a member of the NGI Leadership Team. She is a Registered Nurse that obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Maryville University in 2014 and recently received her Master’s degree from Goldfarb School of Nursing. She has been with the Cruchaga Lab for 5 years and before that, she was an Operating Room nurse. She has been a genetics coordinator for several studies involving neurodegeneration and other general diseases including the Knight ADRC, LOAD/NIA-AD FBS, Parkinsonism, Dystonia, and the most recent Human Connectome Project – The Aging Adult Brain Connectome (AABC). In her free time, she likes to play games with friends and family, aerobic dance, listen to music, be outdoors, and learn and try new things.

Christi is the Program Manager for the NGI Center and part of the leadership team.  She obtained her Bachelor of Science in International Business in 1997 from American University.  In 2005, she completed her Master’s of Science in Exercise Science at PennWest California, and then went on to complete her Master of Business Administration at Fontbonne University in 2013.  She has a varied background in administrative management, small business ownership, and social media marketing.  Christi is also a certified fitness instructor and personal trainer since 1994, and specializes in working with the active aging and geriatric population.