معرفی
Dr. Frances Elizabeth Jensen is Professor of Neurology and Chair of the Department of Neurology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. She is also Co-Director of the Penn Translational Neuroscience Center and holds affiliations with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience. Her leadership roles include serving on the CPUP Board of Directors, Steering Committees for the Lifespan Institute and Orphan Disease Center, and multiple institutional policy and research oversight committees.
Her educational background includes an A.B. in Neuropsychology from Smith College (1978) and an M.D. from Cornell University Medical College (1983). Her postgraduate training was completed at Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Children's Hospital, where she served in internal medicine, neurology residency, and neuroscience research.
Dr. Jensen’s research focuses on the mechanisms of epilepsy and stroke, particularly how seizures interact with neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders. Her lab investigates synaptic changes, excitatory-inhibitory balance, mTOR signaling, and age-specific therapeutic targets. She has pioneered research on neonatal seizures and their long-term cognitive impacts, contributing to clinical trials targeting NKCC1. Her work bridges preclinical models and human tissue studies, aiming to develop novel therapies for epilepsy, autism, and dementia.
Her recent publications reveal a strong trend in understanding the intersection of epilepsy with cognitive dysfunction and neurodegeneration, especially through mTOR pathway dysregulation, amyloid/tau pathology, and synaptic plasticity disruption. She also explores the role of GABAergic signaling and glutamate receptors in disease mechanisms.
- NIH Director’s Pioneer Award (2007)
- NIH-NINDS Javits Award (2020)
- Elected Member, National Academy of Medicine (2015)
- President, American Epilepsy Society (2012)
- President-Elect, American Neurological Association
- FACP, FANA, FAAN, FAES
- APPC Distinguished Research Fellow
Dr. Jensen has been continuously funded by the NIH since 1987 and has trained numerous clinical and basic research fellows who now hold faculty positions across the U.S. and internationally. She leads the Jensen Lab, which utilizes a multidisciplinary approach including electrophysiology, optogenetics, MRI, proteomics, and behavioral studies. Her lab is instrumental in translating findings into clinical applications, particularly through participation in clinical trials. She is also a passionate advocate for public education on adolescent brain development and authored the widely translated book The Teenage Brain.
The Jensen Lab operates at the intersection of basic science and clinical translation, focusing on synaptic dysfunction in epilepsy, autism, and dementia. It employs in vivo and in vitro models, human tissue analysis, and advanced imaging and molecular techniques. The team collaborates extensively across Penn and CHOP, contributing to major research centers and training the next generation of translational neuroscientists.
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