Jenna Gregory
Jenna Mair Gregory | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 11, 1984 Stockport, England |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge University of Edinburgh |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | University of Aberdeen |
| Thesis | Investigating the role of TDP-43 aggregation in the pathogenesis of ALS and FTD-U (2011) |
Jenna Gregory (born January 11, 1984) FRCPath is histopathologist and Clinical Chair at the University of Aberdeen. Her research considers the early detection and prevention of neurodegenerative disease. She serves as Clinical Lead for the NHS Grampian Tissue Bank.
Early life and education
[edit]Gregory was born in Stockport, England.[1] She studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh. She completed an intercalated year in neuroscience at the University of St Andrews.
After graduating with her medical degree, Gregory joined the University of Cambridge as a doctoral researcher, where she worked alongside Chris Dobson. She worked on TAR DNA-binding protein 43 aggregation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).[1] She published one of the first TPD-43 Drosophila melanogaster models for pre-clinical research in ALS,[2] and demonstrated that Clusterin participated in intracellular aggregation events.[3]
She joined the University of Edinburgh Foundation Programme in 2013, and completed a Master's degree in clinical trials and molecular pathology. Her Master's dissertations considered whether there were any appropriate oral protective interventions for ALS.[4]
Gregory performed a meta-analysis of all published literature on neurodegenerative disease, and demonstrated that memantine was the leading candidate for oral intervention to ALS.[5] She started specialist training in pathology at the University of Edinburgh in 2017.[1]
Research and career
[edit]In 2018 she was awarded a Scottish Clinical Research Excellence Development Scheme Lectureship. She joined the University of Aberdeen in 2022, where she was appointed to the Institute of Medical Sciences. She joined NHS Grampian as a Consultant Histopathologist.[1] She was supported by MND Scotland to establish a multi-arm clinical trial in neurodegenerative disease.[1][6] "MND-SMART" looks to accelerate the identification of drugs that will stop or reverse the progression of ALS.[7]
Gregory joined the University of Aberdeen in 2022,[8] where she works on precision-prevention in neurodegenerative disease. She was made Clinical Lead for the NHS Grampian Biorepository/Tissue Bank in 2023. Her research has shown that the TDP 43 aptamer can be used to identify ALS before cells malfunction. She demonstrated that "toxic protein clumps" were visible in brain tissue long before patients demonstrated symptoms.[9] Her work also demonstrated that ALS could be diagnosed from a gut biopsy or stool sample long before the brain was affected.[10] She has explored the use of deep learning to enhance diagnostic accuracy and improve clinical outcomes of ALS.[11]
Select publications
[edit]- Bhuvaneish T Selvaraj; Matthew R Livesey; Chen Zhao; et al. (24 January 2018). "C9ORF72 repeat expansion causes vulnerability of motor neurons to Ca2+-permeable AMPA receptor-mediated excitotoxicity". Nature Communications. 9 (1): 347. Bibcode:2018NatCo...9..347S. doi:10.1038/S41467-017-02729-0. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 5783946. PMID 29367641. Wikidata Q47841147.
- Zoeb Jiwaji; Sachin S Tiwari; Rolando X Avilés-Reyes; et al. (10 January 2022). "Reactive astrocytes acquire neuroprotective as well as deleterious signatures in response to Tau and Aß pathology". Nature Communications. 13 (1): 135. Bibcode:2022NatCo..13..135J. doi:10.1038/S41467-021-27702-W. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 8748982. PMID 35013236. Wikidata Q112710011.
- Arpan R Mehta; Jenna M Gregory; Owen Dando; et al. (February 2021). "Mitochondrial bioenergetic deficits in C9orf72 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis motor neurons cause dysfunctional axonal homeostasis". Acta Neuropathologica. 141 (2): 257–279. doi:10.1007/S00401-020-02252-5. ISSN 0001-6322. PMC 7847443. PMID 33398403. Wikidata Q110712468.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e "Biography - Gregory Lab". gregorylaboratory.com. 2025-05-27. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
- ^ Gregory, Jenna M.; Barros, Teresa P.; Meehan, Sarah; Dobson, Christopher M.; Luheshi, Leila M. (2012-02-22). Kampinga, Harm (ed.). "The Aggregation and Neurotoxicity of TDP-43 and Its ALS-Associated 25 kDa Fragment Are Differentially Affected by Molecular Chaperones in Drosophila". PLOS ONE. 7 (2): e31899. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...731899G. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0031899. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3284513. PMID 22384095.
- ^ Gregory, Jenna M.; Whiten, Daniel R.; Brown, Rebecca A.; Barros, Teresa P.; Kumita, Janet R.; Yerbury, Justin J.; Satapathy, Sandeep; McDade, Karina; Smith, Colin; Luheshi, Leila M.; Dobson, Christopher M.; Wilson, Mark R. (December 2017). "Clusterin protects neurons against intracellular proteotoxicity". Acta Neuropathologica Communications. 5 (1): 81. doi:10.1186/s40478-017-0481-1. ISSN 2051-5960. PMC 5678579. PMID 29115989.
- ^ Disease (ReLiSyR-MND), The Writing Committee for Repurposing Living Systematic Review-Motor Neuron; Wong, Charis; Gregory, Jenna M.; Liao, Jing; Egan, Kieren; Vesterinen, Hanna M.; Khan, Aimal Ahmad; Anwar, Maarij; Beagan, Caitlin (2022-04-22), A Systematic Approach to Identify Neuroprotective Interventions for Motor Neuron Disease, medRxiv, doi:10.1101/2022.04.13.22273823, hdl:2164/18866, retrieved 2025-06-28
- ^ Wong, Charis; Dakin, Rachel S; Williamson, Jill; Newton, Judith; Steven, Michelle; Colville, Shuna; Stavrou, Maria; Gregory, Jenna M; Elliott, Elizabeth; Mehta, Arpan R; Chataway, Jeremy; Swingler, Robert J; Parker, Richard Anthony; Weir, Christopher J; Stallard, Nigel (July 2022). "Motor Neuron Disease Systematic Multi-Arm Adaptive Randomised Trial (MND-SMART): a multi-arm, multi-stage, adaptive, platform, phase III randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of repurposed drugs in motor neuron disease". BMJ Open. 12 (7): e064173. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2022-064173. ISSN 2044-6055. PMC 9263927. PMID 35798516.
- ^ MND Scotland (2024-11-27). How can we improve treatment success in MND? - Jenna Gregory | MND Scotland. Retrieved 2025-06-28 – via YouTube.
- ^ "About MND-SMART | MND-SMART". mnd-smart.org. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ "Professor Jenna Gregory | The University of Aberdeen". www.abdn.ac.uk. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ "Revolutionary new tool detects signs of motor neurone disease before symptoms begin | News | The University of Aberdeen". www.abdn.ac.uk. 28 March 2024. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ "Gut could sound early warning alarm for motor neuron disease | News | The University of Aberdeen". www.abdn.ac.uk. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ Xia, Yuqing; Gregory, Jenna M.; Waldron, Fergal M.; Spence, Holly; Vallejo, Marta (2025-02-27). "Improving ALS detection and cognitive impairment stratification with attention-enhanced deep learning models". Scientific Reports. 15 (1): 7045. Bibcode:2025NatSR..15.7045X. doi:10.1038/s41598-025-90881-9. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 11868594.
 | This article needs additional or more specific categories. (August 2025) |