Jonathan W. Heusel, MD, PhD

Jonathan Heusel is an academic pathologist and physician scientist with more than 30 years’ experience in molecular diagnostics, cellular and molecular immunology, and genomic medicine. Dr. Heusel is a Professor of Pathology, and of Genetics, at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO, where he serves as an institutional leader in clinical and translational genomics.  Dr. Heusel is certified by the American Board of Pathology in Clinical Pathology and Molecular-Genetic Pathology, with expertise in regulatory compliance for clinical molecular pathology laboratories (including NGS labs), with recognized excellence as an Inspector for the College of American Pathologists. In 2016, Dr. Heusel led the consolidation of clinical cytogenetics and NGS testing services for the Pathology & Immunology Department, creating Clinical and Translational Genomics as a future-oriented environment combining clinical genomics testing operations and clinical training opportunities for pathology residents and clinical fellows in three accredited programs. In his administrative role, Dr. Heusel oversees the development and operation of clinical genomics testing in support of patient care, clinical trials and commercial contracts requiring clinical-grade testing services.

Dr. Heusel completed an undergraduate degree in Biology at the University of Nebraska, and was accepted into the Medical Scientist Training Program at Washington University in St. Louis, where he graduated with his MD and a PhD in Immunology in 1995. Following a Clinical Pathology residency and a Howard Hughes Research Fellowship, he joined the Pathology Department faculty at the University of Iowa, where he pursued his research on natural killer cell responses to viral infections, developed over a dozen molecular diagnostic assays for the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics’ Molecular Pathology laboratory, and created a broad training curriculum for residents and fellows in the areas of laboratory medicine, molecular pathology and clinical genomics.

Dr. Heusel returned to Washington University in 2014 to help lead clinical genomics for his alma mater. He works closely with the Washington University Institute for Informatics and the McDonnell Genome Institute, where he served as the founding Medical Director for their clinical NGS facility, to pursue his passion for translation of science and technology into robust healthcare solutions.