Jessica Gill, a national leader in the biological mechanisms of traumatic brain injuries (TBI), investigates differential responses in military personnel, athletes, and other patients that have experienced TBIs and the mechanisms underlying these divergent responses. Her work is helping inform interventions to support recovery from TBIs to improve recovery time and mitigate risks for long-term effects including neurological and psychological symptoms.

Gill looks for ways to use biomarkers, such as proteins or extracellular vesicles also known as exosomes, to identify which patients with TBIs are at high risk for poor recovery and long-term effects including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and post-concussive syndrome, and how to develop treatments to mitigate risks and support recovery. Gill has done groundbreaking work using adhesive sweat patches to collect biomarkers, which allows biomarkers to be collected by the patients themselves in home and work settings, providing researchers with unprecedented information about individuals who have suffered traumatic brain injuries.

Gill joined Johns Hopkins University as a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor in 2021 from the National Institutes of Health.