Jensik honored as SIU Inventor of the Year

Phil Jensik, PhD, associate professor in SIU School of Medicine’s  Department of Physiology, has been named SIU’s Inventor of the Year for 2024. 

The SIU System Inventor of the Year Award honors an exemplary faculty member who has shown an ability to innovate at the highest level, advancing scientific achievements that will be useful to the public at large. Recipients have worked with the Office of Technology Management and Industry Relations (OTMIR) to produce patents and establish at least a 5-year track record of success at commercializing their discoveries. 

Jensik’s research explores mutations in genes that result in neurodevelopmental disorders such as intellectual disabilities, speech disorders, and autism spectrum disorders, affecting about 1 in 10 U.S. children. He has worked with a pharmaceutical drug company to develop a genetic therapeutic to assist in combating Huntington’s disease, a neurodegeneration disease. He has more than a dozen pending patent applications throughout the world and his intellectual property is out-licensed, generating revenue for the university. 

“Dr. Jensik is the kind of creative thinker who makes SIU a world-class institution, while he makes the world a little brighter through his talents and dedication,” said Robert Patino, OTMIR director. “His laboratory team is unraveling some of the mind’s mysteries.”

Jensik joined the SIU faculty in 2016. He earned his BS in chemistry from Eastern Illinois University and subsequently received his MS and PhD from SIU’s Department of Physiology.