Title: Assistant Professor
Company: Wayne State University
Location: Detroit, Michigan, United States
Jennell C. White, PhD, assistant professor at Wayne State University, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Scientists for dedication, achievements, and leadership in academia.
With nearly two and a half decades of experience to her credit, Dr. White has carved out a distinguished career in sickle cell disease (SCD), focusing on validation of red blood cell (RBC) health biomarkers and identification of novel therapeutic targets to reduce vaso-occlusive episodes (VOEs) in SCD. She is currently excelling as an assistant professor in the School of Medicine at Wayne State University (WSU), a position she has held since 2018. In this role, she runs her own academic research program that investigates rapid, erythroid signaling pathways regulating the function of adhesion proteins in RBC precursors.
Prior to this position, Dr. White co-developed flow-based adhesion assays to monitor patient response to SCD-modifying therapies, identify severe SCD phenotypes, and predict VOEs as a post-doc in the Department of Pediatrics at WSU from 2011 to 2014 and received an Innovation Fellowship from WSU’s Technology Commercialization Office in 2014 to further develop her RBC health proprietary assays at Functional Fluidics (FF), a WSU spinout, where she currently serves as the director of regulatory affairs and scientific research. Dr. White gained valuable clinical laboratory experience as a lab technician and medical technologist at St. John Hospital and Medical Center from 2000 to 2011 that became useful at FF as they embarked on establishing themselves as a CLIA-certified lab. FF recently expanded operations to Nigeria where millions of patients suffer from SCD to further develop their RBC health biomarkers and facilitate patient access for Pharma partners developing SCD treatments.
Laying a solid foundation for her future success, Dr. White pursued an education at Xavier University of Louisiana, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in chemistry in 2003. She continued her academic efforts by obtaining a master’s degree in basic medical sciences in 2005 and PhD in physiology in 2011 at WSU. Following these accomplishments, she embarked on a distinguished career in RBC health and translations research.
In addition to her primary vocation, Dr. White remains affiliated with various organizations related to her areas of expertise. She is a member of the American Society of Hematology, European Hematology Assosciation, and a Pride Fellow, reflecting her commitment to professional development and her active involvement in the scientific community. In light of her impressive undertakings, she has accrued several accolades throughout her career. She was honored with the Champions of Diversity Award from Wayne State University in 2020, recognizing her significant contributions to promoting diversity and inclusion within the academic and scientific communities.
Dr. White is a distinguished researcher who recently received a prestigious five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health in 2023 for a groundbreaking SCD research project. In addition to her pioneering research, she has maintained a decade of funding to train the next-generation of underrepresented minorities in health-science careers. In 2014 she founded the Biomedical Career Advancement Pipeline (BCAP) program, a six-week summer research initiative that provides inner-city high school students the opportunity to work alongside senior faculty at the university. Under her leadership, the BCAP program aims to develop students’ research skills and create a more diverse and equitable talent pipeline in the scientific community.
Dr. White attributes her success to her strong will, faith in spirituality, and the unwavering support of her family and mentors. Looking ahead, she is currently pursuing tenure at WSU. At Functional Fluidics, her goal is to validate biomarkers for sickle cell patients, as no established biomarkers currently exist. Additionally, she aims to transition the Biomedical Career Advancement Pipeline Program into a more sustainable funding model to ensure years of access for underrepresented minorities in STEM.
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