Jessica E. Rexach, M.D., Ph.D.

Rexach applies insights gained from her clinical practice, which focuses on neurogenetics and neurobehavior, to her laboratory research, where she works to discover new drug targets for dementia through functional genomics. She uses advanced multi-omic data techniques to study disease-associated cell states and molecular drivers underlying specific neurodegenerative disease syndromes, with a focus on multicellular mechanisms.  

One of Rexach’s key strategies is using human disease tissue to identify cellular molecular correlates to disease, including variations in how the disease presents across patients with different outcomes. She also integrates human genetic data to find casual drivers of disease, and leverages animal and stem cell-based disease models to understand how factors identified in human disease tissue alter cell pathology and function. 

Rexach is especially interested in immune-associated targets, disease gene-enriched cell states and novel druggable molecular targets. She also seeks to better understand how glial and immune factors, including candidate drug targets, affect neuronal circuit properties to contribute to cognitive deficits in dementia.