Brigid Jensen, 32, a Bishop Shanahan High School graduate, has dedicated her life to science to honor the important people she has lost to neurodegenerative diseases, writes Shara Dae Howard for KYW Newsradio.

Jensen’s grandfather died when she was two years old from early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Then, in her 20s, ALS – or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis – took her boss and mentor at Waterloo Gardens in Chester County.

Noticing a pattern in the two deaths, she started studying neuro-degeneration.

“I settled into wanting to study ALS because of my previous exposure to people with that disease and there being very little knowledge about what was going on,” said Jensen, a Ph.D. postdoctoral research fellow at Thomas Jefferson University’s Weinberg ALS Center.

Female mentorship played an important part in her success, helping her discover her voice in science. To give back, she helped start Jefferson Neuroscience Mentoring, Development, and Activities Council, a group that promotes professional development and enables outreach for graduate students.

“Being a post-doc allows me to interact with students and help those students grow into their own scientists,” she said.

Read more about Brigid Jensen at KYW Newsradio here.

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