Jared Druss grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. He initially found his passion for genetics by working as a research assistant at the Fridovich-Keil lab, starting his sophomore year at Emory University, studying Classic Galactosemia through a rat model. It was through attending the 2022 Galactosemia Foundation Conference and meeting people living with Galactosemia that he realized his passion for working with people with genetic conditions. He has since been involved with a variety of projects over the years investigating whether Classic Galactosemia is progressive, what long-term complications are associated with the condition, and grip strength in Classic Galactosemia.
Jared’s passion for working with people in crisis led him to over 500 hours of volunteering on the Samaritans Hope Crisis Hotline over almost 4 years. He has held leadership roles mentoring new volunteers through various portions of their training. This experience also led him to further consider genetic counseling in particular as a career.
After graduating from Emory University with a BS in Biology, Jared worked as a genetic counselor assistant for Emory University at the Lysosomal Storage Diseases Center/Genetic Clinical Trials Center for two years. In this role, he had the opportunity to work with patients directly, coordinating appointments, genetic testing, referrals, reading out negative results, and shadowing clinic appointments. He also became involved with multiple clinical research studies in Fabry disease, Pompe disease, and other conditions, performing consenting, data collection, analysis, and other research activities. His deeply meaningful experiences working with these patients and helping in their care further solidified his passion for genetic counseling..
In his free time, Jared enjoys weightlifting, swimming, trying new restaurants with friends, and spending time with family. He is thrilled to be in the class of 2027, and excited to speak to prospective students about the field, applications, or Emory’s program.