The Accelerating Medicines Partnership® in Common Metabolic Diseases brings together researchers from multiple institutions to work towards the goal of better understanding and treatment of common metabolic diseases. Get to know the members of the consortium in our CMDKP Spotlight articles.
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Julie Jurgens, (ORCID 0000-0003-4822-9384) a member of the AMP® CMD Portal Team, is the Scientific Communication and Curation Manager for the Knowledge Portals at The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.
Julie’s scientific background
Julie received her B.S. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she studied mechanisms for song learning in zebra finches under Dr. David Clayton. She then worked as a research assistant with Dr. Pedro Jose at Children’s National Medical Center and the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where she studied essential hypertension. Next, she obtained her Ph.D. in Human Genetics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine with Dr. David Valle, where she identified novel genetic etiologies for unexplained rare Mendelian disorders. Julie completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital with Dr. Elizabeth Engle, in which she studied genetic causes of rare neurogenic disorders of eye and facial movements. Recently, she came on board with Ms. Noël Burtt and the Knowledge Portals team, where she is the Scientific Communication and Curation Manager.
Current research interests
Julie is passionate about improving data sharing and accessibility. As a former bench scientist, she understands the hard work and resources required to generate and interpret data. If related datasets end up only in supplementary tables of disparate publications, their potential will remain vastly underutilized. At the Knowledge Portals, we're working to centralize and improve accessibility to these datasets, which will maximize their utility and expedite research progress.
Reflections on AMP-CMD and the CMDKP
Julie contributes to the curation of the datasets and content represented on the AMP-CMD Knowledge Portals. The individual studies represented in the portals often have unique goals, methodologies, and data structures. The team curates the metadata accompanying Knowledge Portal content so that users can interpret them more readily. This also enables the development of approaches to combine content from related datasets and make novel biological connections.
When asked what excites her about the AMP-CMD initiative, Julie remarked on its potential to facilitate the development and implementation of new analytic approaches. With preexisting data at their fingertips, researchers can devote their efforts to leveraging this information in novel ways. She foresees the development of multifaceted creative initiatives, which collectively can tackle common disease head-on. The Knowledge Portals serve an essential role in uniting diverse datasets to expand upon basic scientific knowledge and advance therapeutic approaches.
Life outside the lab
Outside of work, Julie values her family and friends and is a proud aunt to two adorable nephews. She's an avid animal lover and enjoys reading, outdoor activities, and karaoke.
