Jenny Rauch is an assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, a member of the Models to Medicine Center, and a translational co-hire in IALS.
IALS: Hi Jenny, thank you for speaking with us today. We have a few questions for you so everyone on campus can get to know you better. How long have you been at UMass Amherst?
JR: I started my lab at UMass in January of 2021 - so I guess 4.5 years now!
IALS: Where did you grow up?
JR: I grew up in a small town called Negaunee, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
IALS: Does the love of science run in your family?
JR: My dad is a veterinarian, my mom is a physician and my brother is an engineer - so between us all we do pretty well on the STEM questions at Trivia night!
IALS: How long have you been teaching?
JR: I have been teaching at UMass since the spring of 2022, but prior to that I had done some teaching during my postdoc at UCSB and when I was in graduate school.
IALS: What is more stressful, grant proposals, research, or teaching?
JR: Probably grant proposals, but that's only because I am quite the procrastinator. I need that last minute deadline in order to finally sit down and finish.
IALS: Assuming your research is widely successful, how will it impact society?
JR: The work in the lab is focused on understanding mechanisms that drive neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's Disease. We hope that by better understanding the underlying biology that contributes to these devastating diseases we can identify potential new drug targets that could be exploited for therapeutic purposes.
IALS: Who do you admire and why?
JR: My dad is someone I admire. He is a happy-go-lucky kind of guy who has a great sense of optimism. It's definitely something that I aspire to be more like.
IALS: What are your interests when you are not a scientist?
JR: When I'm not at lab, I enjoy hanging out with my family - husband, dog, and kids. We just welcomed our third child, Colton on June 16th, so we've been busy adjusting to the chaos.
IALS: Thank you so much Jenny, and congratulations!
Learn more about Prof. Rauch's research.