Jennifer Marie Hurley

Dr. Jennifer Hurley received her B.S. from Juniata College in 2004 in Molecular Biology and her Ph.D. at Rutgers/UMDNJ for studying the function of Toxin-Antitoxin modules. She completed her Postdoctoral fellowship at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth investigating the circadian clock. Dr. Hurley joined the Department of Biological Sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2015 as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Hurley's research focus is on the fundamental mechanisms underlying circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms are an important component in understanding how organisms function within the photoperiodic world that we live in; defects in the circadian clock or disruptions in circadian rhythms are linked to a wide range of sleep, metabolic and psychological disorders in humans. Her lab investigates the relationship between the core clock mechanism and the output that the clock controls using a combination of molecular genetics and biochemical techniques as well as a biostatistical/computational approach using whole genome scale data. Dr. Hurley’s work has been recognized by the Genetics Society of America, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and the Ruth Kirschstein National Research Service Award.