PhD-trained, published researcher, biotech scientist, science communicator, and consultant. Featured in CNN, Fox News, STAT News, and beyond. I study the biology of complex chronic illness, and I live with it. That combination is the foundation of everything I do.
Dr. Cortney Gensemer is a scientist and science communicator whose work sits at the intersection of research and the lived reality of complex chronic illness. She received her PhD studying the genetic and molecular mechanisms of hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS) at the Medical University of South Carolina, where she contributed to research on hEDS and related conditions.
Her research spans genetics, cell and molecular biology, animal models, and clinical research, all focused on connective tissue biology and the immune dysregulation underlying conditions like hEDS, ME/CFS, MCAS, and POTS.
Alongside her scientific work, Dr. Gensemer has become a leading voice in the movement to position patients as active participants in the research process, not just subjects of it. She has been part of a broader cultural shift around what it means to be a patient-scientist, bringing research credibility and lived experience into the same conversation. Her work has been covered by CNN, Fox News, STAT News, and the Post & Courier, and she is a regular speaker on complex chronic illness, research in this space, and lived experience.
Through Cort Does Science, she translates new research for a community of over 60,000 followers across platforms — making the science accessible without sacrificing accuracy.