Jerry Usary in the California desert

Jerry Usary was raised in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee.
After serving two tours of duty in the US Air Force, he returned home to attend East Tennessee State University were he obtained a bachelor's degree in biology with a minor in chemistry.

At the JH Quillen College of Medicine, Jerry Usary studied in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (now called the Department of Biomedical Sciences). In 2000, he was awarded the PhD in Biomedical Science. For many years, Jerry worked at the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at UNC.

Jerry Usary said "My research there involved using microarray analysis to understand the genetic basis of tumorigenesis and to develop methods and models that can help identify specific cancer subtypes and predict which methods of treatment will be most effective based on the gene expression patterns of the patient's own cancer."

Jerry worked as a research associate scientist in the lab of Charles Perou, where a vigorous multi-pronged effort has been underway to rapidly bring the era of personalized medicine from the laboratory to the patients in the clinic.

Jerry now operates his own scientific consulting business Arrow Genomics LLC where he advises on projects, writes manuscripts, and develops protocols.