Principle investigator

Christina  A.  Gurnett, MD, PhD

Christina A. Gurnett, MD, PhD

A Ernest and Jane G Stein Professor of Neurology
Head, Division of Pediatric and Developmental Neurology
Chief of Neurology, St Louis Children’s Hospital

Christina Gurnett, MD, PhD, is the A Ernest and Jane G Stein Professor of Neurology and the head of the Division of Pediatric and Developmental Neurology at Washington University in St Louis, and the Chief of Neurology at St Louis Children’s Hospital.  She is the Co-Director of the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center and the Associate Director of the Institute of Clinical and Translational Science at Washington University. She received MD/PhD degrees at the University of Iowa, followed by Neurology and Neurophysiology fellowship training at Washington University in St Louis.

She has an active neurogenetics research program focused on gene discovery for pediatric musculoskeletal disorders, which has resulted in the identification of new genes for clubfoot, arthrogryposis, and scoliosis. She also co-directs the Precision Medicine Pathway for graduate students and is strongly committed to training a diverse workforce in her clinical division and research laboratory by encouraging the careers of underrepresented minorities, individuals identifying as LGBTQ, and those with disabilities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Gurnett has facilitated the distribution of biospecimens to researchers from patients with SARS-CoV-2, which supported Washington University’s development of the saliva based test for SARS-CoV-2 at GTAC@MGI.  She also co-leads multiple studies to evaluate and deliver weekly SARS-CoV-2 surveillance testing to staff and students in schools for children with disabilities in St Louis County and Baltimore.


Current lab members

Wu-lin Charng

Wu-lin Charng

Post-doctoral fellow

Mojgan Tayebi

Mojgan Tayebi

Post-doctoral Fellow

Kevin McCall

Kevin McCall

Senior Research Technician

Momchil Nikolov

Momchil Nikolov

Research Technician

Brian  Leon-Ricardo

Brian Leon-Ricardo

Graduate Student

Julia Whittle

Julia Whittle

Graduate Student

Zach Upshaw

Zach Upshaw

Undergraduate Student

Addie Avery

Addie Avery

Undergraduate Student


Alumni

Farhang Alaee

Farhang Alaee

Medical Student Researcher

David Alvarado

David Alvarado

Post-Doctoral Fellow

Lilian Antunes

Lilian Antunes

Graduate Student

Xavier Bledsoe

Xavier Bledsoe

Undergraduate Student

Jillian Buchan

Jillian Buchan

Graduate Student

Ryan Choi

Ryan Choi

Lab Technician

David Desruisseau

David Desruisseau

Lab Technician

Kyungsoo Ha

Kyungsoo Ha

Post-Doctoral Fellow

Gabe Haller

Gabe Haller

Post-doctoral Fellow

Mya Harris

Mya Harris

Undergraduate Student