Jeff Carroll

Jeffrey Bryan Carroll is an American scientific researcher in the field of Huntington's disease (HD). As a carrier of the abnormal gene that causes HD, he is also a public advocate for families affected by the disease, and co-founder of the HD research news platform HDBuzz. His life and work were the subject of a 2011 Gemini award-nominated CBC documentary feature. Carroll is an Associate Professor of neuroscience in the Department of Psychology at Western Washington University. Early life and family history Born in Seattle on August 18, 1977 to parents Cindy and Jim, Carroll is one of six siblings. He joined the US Army in 1998, serving in Kosovo. While serving in the army, Carroll's mother was diagnosed as suffering from Huntington's disease (HD), a fatal, incurable, genetically inherited neurodegenerative illness. Learning that he and his siblings were each at 50% risk of having inherited the genetic abnormality that causes HD, and having no scientific background, Carroll enrolled in an Army-sponsored basic biology course, initiating a career as a neuroscientist. Carroll underwent genetic testing for Huntington's disease in 2003 and received a positive result, indicating that he will succumb to the disease at some time, unless effective treatments are found. Scientific career