Gerber Jessica

My original education and professional development were in the field of industrial engineering; however, all along I had an interest in integrative health and decided to pursue a career as an acupuncturist. After owning a clinic in which I saw 60+ patients per week, I transitioned over to the MGH Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging first as a research acupuncturist and then added project manager responsibilities. As a research acupuncturist, my job is to provide acupuncture therapy services to subjects enrolled in ongoing clinical and basic research studies. I continue to perform acupuncture both inside and outside the MRI scanner. I received my Doctorate of Acupuncture in May of 2020 from Pacific College of Health and Science. As project manager, I support and facilitate the daily clinical trial activities by working with the PIs, RAs, site support, sponsors and study participants; and I continue to consult on NIH Program Project Grants and other clinical trials for the Martinos as needed. Most recently I've joined neurologist Dr. Steven Arnold’s research program ACTRU (Alzheimer's Clinical Translational Research Unit) as Senior Program Manager. I oversee protocol start-up activities for over 15 studies primarily focused on the identification and prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease; eight of these studies are clinical trials with pharmaceutical interventions. I coordinate progress reports and regulatory activities, resource allocation and program staffing for all protocols as required. In addition, I am the Senior Program Manager for the MGH Interdisciplinary Brain Center (IBC) for Clinical and Translational Research. The IBC is both a state of the art Clinical and Translational Research Unit (CTRU) and an academic collaboration between the MGH Departments of Neurology, Psychiatry and Radiology (specifically Martinos Center). I contribute by identifying and organizing the facility and operational needs of the researchers utilizing the space such as space planning and design, predictive modelling and budget justification, utilization forecasting, staffing, equipment procurement and grant coordination. I also help manage the common assessment that all subjects participating in research at the CTRU of the IBC take part in; and we are developing an IBC data commons we hope to share with researchers from all over the globe. I look forward to continued collaborations with researchers of all backgrounds to further support the IBC mission which is to facilitate and synergize research for brain disorders. And, I am specifically interested in championing research projects that focus on the utilization of integrative therapies such as acupuncture to alleviate symptoms related to cognitive decline and caregiver burden, as demonstrated through changes in both physical and neuropsychiatric biomarkers.