Jennifer Rauch

Jennifer Rauch is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her research lab investigates mechanisms of protein misfolding and aggregation, particularly focusing on the neurodegenerative protein tau. She leads the Rauch Lab, located on the 3rd floor of the Life Sciences Laboratory (LSL) Building. Dr. Rauch’s work combines biochemical, genomic, and virological approaches, including CRISPR-based detection of SARS-CoV-2 and studies on heat shock protein networks.

Education and Training: Jennifer Rauch earned her PhD from the University of Michigan. She completed postdoctoral training at the University of California, Santa Barbara, under the supervision of notable researchers like Kenneth S. Kosik and Carlos Arias.

Research Interests: The lab’s three core areas include tau spread mechanisms, tau physical state transitions (e.g., liquid-liquid phase separation), and the role of cellular identity in disease progression. Techniques employed include in vitro biochemistry, single-cell RNA sequencing, CRISPR functional genomics, and optogenetic tools. Her team studies tau aggregation in various models, including mice and stem cells, with a focus on developing therapeutic strategies to counteract tau pathology.

Diagnostic Work: Dr. Rauch has pioneered scalable, equitable SARS-CoV-2 detection protocols using Cas13-based assays, contributing to public health efforts during the pandemic. These methods have been deployed to monitor viral prevalence in university populations.

Future Directions: The lab aims to elucidate tau’s role in disease progression and to translate findings into treatments targeting protein aggregation and spread. Her work emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration, leveraging bioengineering and molecular biology to address unmet clinical needs in neurodegenerative and infectious diseases.