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Jennifer E. Phillips-Cremins, PhD, an esteemed authority in the comprehension of 3D genome architecture and its implications for brain growth and neurological disorders, has been appointed a BJC Investigator at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Phillips-Cremins will affiliate with the Department of Genetics as the James McDonnell Professor, holding dual roles in the Department of Neuroscience.
Cremins is recognized for her groundbreaking methods in investigating how the genome is organized and how this organization affects gene activation levels. She and her team employ these methodologies to reveal the molecular processes involved in the formation of brain neurocircuits and how these processes may falter in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative conditions.
Cremins transitions to WashU Medicine from the University of Pennsylvania, where she held the role of associate professor and dean’s faculty fellow in the Genetics and Bioengineering departments. Her new appointment at WashU Medicine is slated to commence on Nov. 1.
“I am thrilled to announce that Dr. Jennifer Phillips-Cremins will be joining our WashU Medicine research community,” stated David H. Perlmutter, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs, the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor, and the George and Carol Bauer Dean of WashU Medicine. “Dr. Phillips-Cremins has crafted innovative techniques utilizing spatial and genomic technologies to understand how chromatin influences the 3D arrangement of the genome, and the implications of these processes on neural specification and circuit activation in the brain, including how these mechanisms can malfunction in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases. By integrating a spatial perspective into our understanding of chromatin’s regulatory functions, Dr. Phillips-Cremins and her team have established foundational insights into the genome’s structure-function dynamics in the mammalian brain and neurological conditions.”
The BJC Investigators Program brings transformative scientists to WashU Medicine, poised to significantly reshape research initiatives, introduce innovative solutions to pressing biological inquiries, and provide new insights into disease comprehension and treatment development.
The BJC Investigators Program emphasizes foundational science and draws inspiration from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s strategy of investing in scientists of exceptional creative ability. Initiated in 2016, the program aspires to integrate 10 highly esteemed researchers into WashU Medicine and the bioscience community in St. Louis. Phillips-Cremins marks the eighth individual awarded the title of BJC Investigator.
BJC Investigators are selected by a search committee composed of prominent scientists at WashU Medicine. Their task is to identify candidates who have made indelible impacts on their disciplines, whose breakthroughs will lead to significant shifts in scientific paradigms, and whose laboratories will serve as centers for further research that can bolster and expand the influence of the institution’s preclinical departments.
If laid end to end, the DNA within a single human cell stretches roughly six feet. Packing it into a miniature cell nucleus necessitates extraordinarily intricate folding, wrapping, and compressing — not merely for storage but also to regulate the cell’s identity and capabilities throughout its lifespan. At the inception of Cremins’ lab, the mechanisms of genome folding in the mammalian brain, beyond the resolution of a megabase (1 million bases), remained largely unknown, particularly whether higher-order chromatin structures could deterministically influence genome function. The groundbreaking investigations by Cremins and her team have clarified the structure-function dynamics of the mammalian genome, comprising the functional significance of chromatin loops in the upregulation of genes responsible for axon guidance, dendritic spine structure, and synaptic plasticity during neural maturation in vivo, as well as activity-dependent gene expression during neural activation in vitro, alongside the localization of replication origins.
The Cremins team also identified severe genomic misfolding and pathological inter-chromosomal interactions correlated with the silencing of essential synapse genes prone to genetic instability in fragile X syndrome. Thus, by incorporating a spatial, third dimension into our comprehension of chromatin’s regulatory frameworks, the Cremins team has pioneered significant foundational discoveries concerning the structure-function interrelations of the genome during state transitions of mammalian cells in both healthy and diseased brains.
As a BJC Investigator, a primary focus of the laboratory’s investigations will be to illuminate a fundamental enigma in neuroscience: how memory is retained over decades despite the rapid turnover of proteins and other essential molecules in the brain. Her lab will delve into how the relationship between chromatin structure and function affects RNA molecules that contribute to alterations in synapses — the connections between neurons — in memory-related disorders. Such research could illuminate critical areas of brain inquiry, including the encoding, consolidation, and retrieval of memory in healthy brains, the loss of memory in conditions like Alzheimer’s, and the enduring nature of fear memories in post-traumatic stress disorder.
“We are excited to welcome Dr. Phillips-Cremins to our department and are eager to collaborate with her to enhance the groundbreaking research currently being pursued at WashU Medicine in the domains of genetics and neuroscience,” remarked Ting Wang, PhD, the Sanford C. and Karen P. Loewentheil Distinguished Professor of Medicine and leader of the Department of Genetics. “Beyond her remarkable research achievements, Dr. Phillips-Cremins is a committed mentor with a substantial history of fostering the development of numerous outstanding researchers who have trained in her lab, nearly all of whom are now pursuing independent careers in science and medicine.”
Phillips-Cremins earned her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and mathematics at Clarkson University and her doctorate in biomedical engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. She furthered her education by directing a unique joint interdisciplinary postdoctoral program concurrently in the labs of Job Dekker, PhD, at the University of Massachusetts, and Victor Corces, PhD, at Emory University, before joining the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania in 2014.
Phillips-Cremins has been honored with numerous accolades, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s New Innovator Award, an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship, two Kavli Frontiers of Science Fellowships, the International Society for Stem Cell Research Dr. Susan Lim Award for Outstanding Young Investigator, the National Science Foundation CAREER award, a New York Stem Cell Foundation Robertson Investigator Award, and the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award.
About Washington University School of Medicine
WashU Medicine is a foremost authority in academic medicine, encompassing biomedical research, patient care, and educational initiatives with 2,900 faculty members. Its National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding portfolio ranks second among U.S. medical schools, increasing by 83% since 2016. In conjunction with institutional funding, WashU Medicine dedicates over $1 billion annually to research innovation and training across basic and clinical science. Its faculty practice consistently ranks within the top five nationally, with over 1,900 faculty physicians serving at 130 locations, who also form the medical teams of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals under BJC HealthCare. WashU Medicine possesses a rich history in MD/PhD training, having recently allocated $100 million to scholarships and curriculum renewal for its medical students, and offers premier training programs in every medical specialty along with physical therapy, occupational therapy, as well as audiology and communication sciences.
Originally published on the WashU Medicine website
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