Yo-El Ju, MD MSCI
Principal Investigator
- Email: juy@nospam.wustl.edu
Dr. Ju is a physician-scientist studying the relationship of sleep and neurodegenerative diseases, and the Barbara Burton and Reuben Morriss III Professor of Neurology at Washington University. Dr. Ju earned her undergraduate degree in neurobiology at Harvard College, followed by a MD at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. She completed her residency training in neurology, fellowship training in sleep medicine, and a master’s degree in clinical investigation, all at Washington University in St Louis. She joined the faculty at Washington University School of Medicine in 2011. She co-directs the Washington University Center on Biological Rhythms and Sleep (COBRAS). She is the recipient of multiple awards for her research, including the Wayne Hening Sleep Medicine Investigator Award from the American Academy of Neurology, and the Young Investigator award from the World Association of Sleep Medicine. In addition to her research work, she sees patients at the Washington University Sleep Medicine Center and at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
Jennifer McLeland, MA MSW BA
Clinical Research Specialist
- Email: mclelandj@wustl.edu
Jennifer has been working with Dr. Ju for over a decade. She has filled various roles in sleep medicine and sleep research at Washington University School of Medicine since 2003. She has experience coordinating all aspects of investigator-initiated research, multicenter trials, and consortium research. Jennifer coordinated several landmark studies examining the relationship between sleep disruption, amyloid dynamics, and subsequent risk of Alzheimer’s Disease. Her current work focuses on the relationship between sleep disorders and neurodegenerative diseases.
Maggie Zangrilli, CCRC RPSGT
Clinical Research Coordinator
- Email: zangrillim@wustl.edu
Maggie worked as a sleep technologist for seven years prior to moving to sleep research where she has been for the last five years. She finds sleep disorders and how they relate to a person’s overall health and well-being very interesting. She enjoys helping others, especially with their sleep, to better their quality of life.
Jill Boyd, BS
Clinical Research Coordinator
- Email: boyd.j@wustl.edu
Jill is a Clinical Research Coordinator with 6 years of experience as a Sleep Technologist and 7 years of experience in research in the Neurology department at Washington University in St. Louis. She is a graduate of Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, where she earned a BS in Biology with a specialization in Medical Science and minored in Business and Chemistry. She also completed a certificate in Clinical Research Management at Washington University in St. Louis.
Peter Tran, MS
Biomedical Informatics Assistant
- Email: tran.peter@wustl.edu
Peter is currently pursuing his MS in bioinformatics and computational biology. His research interest is in applying computer science to problems in biomedical science. In particular, he finds the brain to be one of the most interesting parts of the human body.
Kristina Hedtkamp, RPSGT BS
Polysomnographic Technologist
- Email: hedtkampk@wustl.edu
Kristina is a Senior Sleep Technologist with 8 years of experience in the Neurology Department at Washington University in St. Louis. She is a graduate of Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, where she earned a BS in Business with an emphasis in International Studies. She also completed the Accredited Sleep Technologist Program (ASTEP) to began her sleep career at Washington University. She enjoys the Sleep Medicine field because she believes sleep is so important to every individual.
Katie Madden, BA
Clinical Research Study Assistant
- Email: k.madden@wustl.edu
Katie is a recent graduate of Washington University, where she majored in biology and global health. She is interested in building off her past neuroimmunology research in mouse models to study the intersection of sleep and neurodegenerative disorders in humans.
Ellen Fischbach
Program Manager
- Email: ellen@wustl.edu
Ellen is a certified clinical research professional providing expertise for over 20 years in regulatory compliance, project management, and budgetary oversight for both NIH and industry-sponsored studies. A lover of animals, she has three dogs and one cat. In her spare time she enjoys camping, and also sings with the St. Louis Women’s Chorus.
Leah Taylor
Research Program Coordinator
- Email: ltaylor24@wustl.edu
Leah has worked in the healthcare industry for over 15 years, most recently as a pediatric Sleep Navigator before moving to sleep research. A strong believer in personal and professional growth, she is currently pursuing her degree in business administration. Leah finds the impact sleep has on our overall health and well-being fascinating.
Charlotte Prior
Undergraduate Research Assistant
- Email: charlotteprior@wustl.edu
Charlotte is a Washington University junior studying Computational Biology and Computer Science. She is currently working on a spindle detection validation and the analysis of EEG data. She thinks sleep is the most influential part of human health and wants to help others get the best sleep that they can.
Annabelle Yang
Research assistant
- Email: a.r.yang@wustl.edu
Annabelle is a current WashU medical student interested in pursuing neurology. She is interested in understanding the multifactorial development of neurodegeneration, especially the interplay between sleep and metabolism. She also loves sleeping and, when awake, parenting two cats.
Alumni
Nithya Chennupati
Undergraduate Research Assistant
- Email: nchennupati@wustl.edu
Nithya graduated from Washington University in 2021 with a major in neuroscience.
Prateek Gundannavar Vijay, PhD
Former PhD student
Prateek earned his PhD in Engineering in 2019 and is currently a Data Scientist at Calico Life Sciences, South San Francisco.
Sharon Ooms, PhD
Former visiting PhD student
Sharon Ooms earned her PhD in neuroscience 2017. She continues her work in biomedical sciences as a clinical research medical advisor at Novartis the Netherlands.
Support
Our research was made possible by support from
Current: The National Institutes of Health grants U19-AG071754, R01-AG059507, RF1-AG061776, R01-DK115400, R01-AG057901; R01AG068579-02S1; and the Centene Corporation contract (P19-00559) for the Washington University-Centene ARCH Personalized Medicine Initiative.
Past: The National Institutes of Health grants R34-AG056639, K23-NS089922, UL1RR024992 Sub-Award KL2 RR024994; the American Sleep Medicine Foundation; and an investigator-initiated research grant from Philips-Respironics.
Open Positions
For all listed positions, go to https://jobs.wustl.edu/ and search for the job posting ID.