Earlier this year, The Jackson Laboratory announced the recipients of the 2025 JAX Scholar Award—Xiurong Cai, M.D., a postdoctoral associate in the Trowbridge lab, and Gretchen Clark, Ph.D., a postdoctoral associate in the Rosenthal and Korstanje labs. The two postdocs were honored for their contributions to the genetics behind stem cells, aging and circadian rhythms.
Watch the videos below to hear about their JAX journey.
Transcript
Xiurong Cai: Studying how stem cells change as we age
Cai studies how hematopoietic stem cells — the self-renewing cells found in our bone marrow — grow and change as we age, and what this means for our health. As a postdoc in the Trowbridge lab, Cai is looking at how specific genetic changes in these stem cells can increase the risk of developing blood cancers.
Her goal is to find new ways to keep our blood healthy and prevent diseases like heart disease, dementia, and blood cancers.
We are hoping to find biomarkers that can distinguish individuals who are more vulnerable to certain types of chronic diseases, or even develop some targeted immunotherapies to slow down these chronic diseases."
- Xiurong Cai
Transcript
Gretchen Clark: Studying cellular senescence, aging, and circadian rhythms
Clark studies how cellular senescence — a process where cells stop dividing — impacts aging and disease. As a postdoc at JAX, she uses genetically diverse mouse models to uncover how genes influence senescence and how drugs might target harmful senescent cells. She’s also exploring how aging and circadian rhythms interact, with the goal of translating her findings into simple, preventative strategies that improve health. Clark works in both the Rosenthal and Korstanje labs.
Is a senescent cell the same at any given time in the day? We are not the same at any given time in the day!"
- Gretchen Clark
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Postdoctoral Research Training
Working towards the development of precise genomic solutions to improve human health.
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