Jillian Belgrad

MD/PhD Student
RNA Therapeutics Institute, UMass Chan Medical School
Jillian.Belgrad(at)umassmed.edu

Jillian graduated from Colgate University in 2017 with a BA in cellular neuroscience, focusing on glial cell biology. She then spent two years as a post-baccalaureate fellow at the NIH’s National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, researching glial cell neurobiology. In 2019, she joined the UMass Chan MD/PhD program and the Khvorova Lab, where she explores therapeutic siRNAs for neurodegenerative diseases, with a focus on modulating the mismatch repair pathway as a potential treatment for Huntington’s disease. After graduation, Jillian aims to pursue academic medicine as a child neurologist specializing in nucleic acid-based therapies for rare and degenerative neurological conditions. Outside the lab, she enjoys spending time with her husband, friends, and family, running, and watching reality dating shows.