Schrauwen joins College of Medicine – Phoenix Department of Translational Neurosciences as associate professor

Isabelle Schrauwen, PhD, brings her research on the genetic bases of neurological disorders to the Department of Translational Neurosciences at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. She will serve as a tenured associate professor.

Schrauwen adds her well recognized focus on neurological disorders – including rare hereditary neurodevelopmental and pediatric disorders – to a remarkable group of innovative neuroscientists across the University of Arizona Health Sciences.

Schrauwen’s team tracks down the molecular causes of children’s disorders. Using advanced molecular technologies and cutting-edge computational methods, such as artificial intelligence, they survey human genome sequence data for hidden variants that serve as clues. Combining these analyses with other high throughput ‘omics’ approaches holds the promise of revealing hidden causes of hereditary diseases of the nervous system.

This research, conducted at the crossroads of neuroscience and genetics, is at the forefront of scientific discovery and carries the potential to develop therapeutic and preventative strategies in current and future patients.

The appointment marks a return to Phoenix for Schrauwen and her family, including her young daughter Silke. She previously received postdoctoral training at the Translational Genomics Research Institute.

“I am so excited to welcome Dr. Schrauwen back to Arizona as we continue our longstanding collaboration with her," said Matt Huentelman, PhD, professor and director of the Neurogenomics Division at TGen.

"Dr. Schrauwen’s arrival contributes meaningfully to our community’s particularly notable and growing strength in molecular medicine and the advances in health care that we provide to Arizona citizens,” commented Michael Fallon, MD, vice dean of Clinical Affairs and chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at the College of Medicine – Phoenix.

“We are excited to work with Dr. Schrauwen in our shared goal of improving the lives of our most special young patients," said Stewart Goldman, MD, chair of the Department of Child Health at the College of Medicine – Phoenix and senior vice president of Research at Phoenix Children’s.

Schrauwen’s research is supported by the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and the National Institutes on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.

Prior to joining the College, she served in the Department of Neurology and the Center for Statistical Genetics at Columbia University Medical Center.