World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
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Best Female Scientists
2025

D-Index & Metrics

Best Female Scientists

D-Index
115
Citations
64118
World Ranking
703
National Ranking
427

Genetics

D-Index
120
Citations
68958
World Ranking
371
National Ranking
188

Medicine

D-Index
122
Citations
69789
World Ranking
3423
National Ranking
1885

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2025 - Research.com Best Female Scientists Award

Overview

Dena G. Hernandez is affiliated with the National Institutes of Health in the United States. Their research focuses on genetics, molecular biology, and medicine, with a particular emphasis on neurology and related subfields. The scientist has contributed extensively to studies on Parkinson's disease and other neurological disorders, integrating genetic and molecular approaches to understand disease mechanisms and potential treatments.

The main fields of study for Dena G. Hernandez encompass Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, and Medicine. Their work spans several subfields including Neurology, Molecular Biology, Genetics, Physiology, and Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience. Key research topics covered by Hernandez include:

  • Parkinson's Disease Mechanisms and Treatments
  • Neurological diseases and metabolism
  • Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
  • Genomic variations and chromosomal abnormalities
  • Lysosomal Storage Disorders Research
  • Genomics and Rare Diseases
  • RNA regulation and disease

Hernandez has co-authored papers frequently with a core group of researchers, highlighting collaborations in the genetic study of neurological conditions. Frequent co-authors include:

  • Cornelis Blauwendraat
  • Andrew Singleton
  • Mike A. Nalls
  • Sara Bandrés-Ciga
  • J. Raphael Gibbs

Their research has been published in several scientific venues, with multiple papers appearing in journals and platforms dedicated to neuroscience and genetics. Common publication venues include:

  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
  • Movement Disorders
  • Brain
  • UNC Libraries
  • Nature Communications

Recent notable papers authored or co-authored by Hernandez showcase research on genetic factors related to Parkinson's disease and related dementias. Some of these are:

  • Genome sequencing analysis identifies new loci associated with Lewy body dementia and provides insights into its genetic architecture (2021, Nature Genetics)
  • Finding genetically-supported drug targets for Parkinson's disease using Mendelian randomization of the druggable genome (2021, Nature Communications)
  • Identification of Candidate Parkinson Disease Genes by Integrating Genome-Wide Association Study, Expression, and Epigenetic Data Sets (2021, JAMA Neurology)
  • Identification of genetic risk loci and causal insights associated with Parkinson's disease in African and African admixed populations: a genome-wide association study (2023, The Lancet Neurology)
  • Accelerating Medicines Partnership: Parkinson's Disease. Genetic Resource (2021, Movement Disorders)

Best Publications

  • A hexanucleotide repeat expansion in C9ORF72 is the cause of chromosome 9p21-linked ALS-FTD

    Alan E. Renton;Elisa Majounie;Adrian James Waite;Javier Simón-Sánchez;Javier Simón-Sánchez

  • Discovery and refinement of loci associated with lipid levels

    Cristen J. Willer;Ellen M. Schmidt;Sebanti Sengupta;Gina M. Peloso;Gina M. Peloso;Gina M. Peloso

  • Identification of novel risk loci, causal insights, and heritable risk for Parkinson's disease: a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies

    Mike A Nalls;Cornelis Blauwendraat;Costanza L Vallerga;Karl Heilbron

  • Genetic variants in novel pathways influence blood pressure and cardiovascular disease risk

    Georg B. Ehret;Georg B. Ehret;Georg B. Ehret;Patricia B. Munroe;Kenneth M. Rice;Murielle Bochud

  • Genome-wide association study reveals genetic risk underlying Parkinson's disease

    Javier Simón-Sánchez;Claudia Schulte;Jose M Bras;Jose M Bras;Manu Sharma

  • Large-scale meta-analysis of genome-wide association data identifies six new risk loci for Parkinson's disease

    Mike A Nalls;Nathan Pankratz;Christina M. Lill;Chuong B. Do

  • Systematic identification of trans eQTLs as putative drivers of known disease associations

    Harm-Jan Westra;Marjolein J Peters;Tõnu Esko;Hanieh Yaghootkar

  • Exome Sequencing Reveals VCP Mutations as a Cause of Familial ALS

    Janel O. Johnson;Jessica Mandrioli;Michael Benatar;Yevgeniya Abramzon

  • Frequency of the C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat expansion in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia: a cross-sectional study

    Elisa Majounie;Alan E. Renton;Kin Mok;Elise G. P. Dopper;Elise G. P. Dopper

  • DNA methylation-based measures of biological age: meta-analysis predicting time to death

    Brian H. Chen;Riccardo E. Marioni;Riccardo E. Marioni;Elena Colicino;Marjolein J. Peters

  • Common variants associated with plasma triglycerides and risk for coronary artery disease

    Ron Do;Cristen J. Willer;Ellen M. Schmidt;Sebanti Sengupta

  • GWAS of 126,559 Individuals Identifies Genetic Variants Associated with Educational Attainment

    Cornelius A. Rietveld;Sarah E. Medland;Jaime Lane Derringer;Jian Yang

  • Genotype, haplotype and copy-number variation in worldwide human populations

    Mattias Jakobsson;Sonja W. Scholz;Sonja W. Scholz;Paul A Scheet;J. Raphael Gibbs;J. Raphael Gibbs

  • Imputation of sequence variants for identification of genetic risks for Parkinson's disease: a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies.

    Michael A Nalls;Vincent Plagnol;Dena G Hernandez

  • Epigenetic Signatures of Cigarette Smoking

    Roby Joehanes;Allan C. Just;Riccardo E. Marioni;Luke C. Pilling

  • Common genetic variants influence human subcortical brain structures.

    Derrek P. Hibar;Jason L. Stein;Jason L. Stein;Miguel E. Renteria;Alejandro Arias-Vasquez

  • Abundant Quantitative Trait Loci Exist for DNA Methylation and Gene Expression in Human Brain

    J. Raphael Gibbs;J. Raphael Gibbs;Marcel P. van der Brug;Marcel P. van der Brug;Dena G. Hernandez;Dena G. Hernandez;Bryan J. Traynor

  • The transcriptional landscape of age in human peripheral blood

    Marjolein J. Peters;Roby Joehanes;Luke C. Pilling;Claudia Schurmann;Claudia Schurmann

  • The Influence of Age and Sex on Genetic Associations with Adult Body Size and Shape: A Large-Scale Genome-Wide Interaction Study

    Thomas W. Winkler;Anne E. Justice;Mariaelisa Graff;Llilda Barata

  • Lewy bodies and parkinsonism in families with parkin mutations.

    M Farrer;P Chan;R Chen;L Tan

Frequent Co-Authors

Andrew B. Singleton
Andrew B. Singleton National Institutes of Health
John Hardy
John Hardy University College London
Mike A. Nalls
Mike A. Nalls National Institutes of Health
Luigi Ferrucci
Luigi Ferrucci National Institutes of Health
J. Raphael Gibbs
J. Raphael Gibbs National Institutes of Health
Sonja W. Scholz
Sonja W. Scholz National Institutes of Health
Albert Hofman
Albert Hofman Harvard University
Stefania Bandinelli
Stefania Bandinelli University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
Toshiko Tanaka
Toshiko Tanaka National Institutes of Health
André G. Uitterlinden
André G. Uitterlinden Erasmus University Rotterdam

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