Dr Jessie Jacobsen

Dr Jessie Jacobsen graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science from the University of Auckland before commencing her PhD, researching Huntington’s disease. During this time, she learnt about the richness of research, from the thrill of discovering something for the first time to the importance of including the community in one’s research.

Following her PhD, she received a Neurological Foundation of New Zealand Postdoctoral Fellowship to study at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. While researching there, she became interested in the genetics underlying neurodevelopmental disorders, and in 2012 (with help from the Neurological Foundation), she returned to New Zealand to investigate the genetic basis of autism spectrum disorder and other neurodevelopmental disorders in the New Zealand population. She was supported in this endeavour by a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship.

She credits her research to the meaningful collaborations she’s had with colleagues, partnerships with supportive clinicians and the generosity of the New Zealand community.