Hi, I’m Dr. Jenn Greenhall, a medical scientist who has had to figure out her own health issues and those of friends and family using genome sequencing, microbiome analysis, and dissecting the medical and scientific literature.
My education and research career started at Texas A&M University where I earned a BS in Bioengineering while conducting research using lasers and EEGs. After graduation, I worked in a Neuropsychology lab at Harvard University, where I studied cognitive dysfunction in stroke patients. I then completed an MD and a PhD in Neurosciences at UC San Diego School of Medicine’s Medical Scientist Training Program. My PhD research at The Salk Institute involved elucidating the genetic and molecular pathways that mediate neurological aging. In my studies and research, I fell in love with genetics, with the idea that aging could become a treatable “disease,” and with the possibilities of cell- and gene-based therapies. Health and family obligations have deferred my starting residency to become a licensed physician, but I’ve used my knowledge to help my friends, my family, and myself.
I titled the blog, “The Medical Exception,” because that’s what I’ve repeatedly felt like in doctors’ visits for most of my life, and I’m sure there are many people out there who can relate to this frustration and disappointment. My body never seems to respond the way doctors expect. Many simply throw their hands up in the air when they can’t fit symptoms into a neat, easy diagnostic box and often ignore the findings, but in their defense, they weren’t trained to delve deep into the causes of disease and have an extremely limited amount of time with each patient. Medicine does not teach problem-solving well or spend much time on how to keep people healthy. The totality of my nutrition and supplement education in medical school consisted of a one-hour lecture that was out of date.
In addition to my medical, genetics, and engineering training, I’ve educated myself over the years on the gut, oral & vaginal microbiomes, nutritional supplements, and healthy eating, and I continue learning as the data evolve. I am never satisfied until I understand the cause of a problem, and I analyze any medical issue using two main approaches:
1. A Precision Medicine Approach, which looks at an individual’s genome/SNPs and microbiome, which are both incredibly important for deciding which therapies, behaviors, and approaches might work; combined with
2. A Functional Medicine Approach, which focuses on identifying the root cause of a disease using multiple tests, minimizing toxic or unhealthy exposures, and promoting a foundation of health with a balanced, natural diet and plenty of exercise and sleep.
My motivation for creating this blog was the discovery that I had a mutation that made my recovery from a concussion incredibly difficult, resulting in a severe, prolonged post-concussion syndrome that left me with permanent deficits. With two children of my own, I want to make parents aware of this mutation, especially for children playing contact sports prone to head injuries, since steps can be taken to attempt to minimize its impact. I feel a sense of duty to disseminate this knowledge to help the population affected by this mutation since its frequency is just scarce enough not to be included in most genome-wide association studies.
Because I’ve put the time and effort into creating TheMedicalException.com, I will also share what I’ve learned, experienced, and deduced over the years and what makes scientific, theoretical sense about many other topics I feel are important, unexplained and/or unaddressed. This blog will focus on genetics, the microbiome, traumatic brain injuries, dementia, women’s health, and healthy aging. If you are a medical exception like me, you have to take charge of your health. Investigating your genetics, microbiome, nutritional status, and allergies may help you solve your medical mysteries, take action to overcome disease, and extend your healthspan and lifespan.