Jean L. Spencer, PhD
Assistant Professor, Biochemistry & Cell Biology
Biography
Dr. Spencer is interested in the underlying mechanisms and functional consequences of heparan sulfate proteoglycan interference in various disease pathways, including age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, emphysema, Alzheimer’s disease, and diabetes. Her quantitative approach to these problems is based on a combination of biochemical, biophysical, and computational techniques.
In a current project on glaucoma, she is using in vitro testing to examine the feasibility of protecting the optic nerve from elevated pressure by modifying the mechanical properties of the extracellular matrix through injections of replacement materials (proteoglycans, growth factors, etc.). She is also involved in the development of an innovative computational technique for predicting patterns of domain organization within a population of heparan sulfate chains that could lead to new strategies in understanding heparan sulfate-protein interactions and to new drugs for those interactions associated with disease.
Other Positions
- Graduate Faculty (Primary Mentor of Grad Students), Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences
Education
- Carnegie Mellon University, PhD
- Carnegie Mellon University, MS
- University of Colorado Boulder, MS
- Pennsylvania State University, BS
Publications
- Published on 3/28/2024
Meinke LJ, Spencer JL. Corn Rootworm: Biology, Ecology, Behavior, and Integrated Management. Insects. 2024 Mar 28; 15(4). PMID: 38667365.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 12/1/2013
Spencer JL, Bhatia VN, Whelan SA, Costello CE, McComb ME. STRAP PTM: Software Tool for Rapid Annotation and Differential Comparison of Protein Post-Translational Modifications. Curr Protoc Bioinformatics. 2013 Dec; 44:13.22.1-36. PMID: 25422678.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 7/1/2013
Nugent MA, Zaia J, Spencer JL. Heparan sulfate-protein binding specificity. Biochemistry (Mosc). 2013 Jul; 78(7):726-35. PMID: 24010836.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 7/19/2012
Curzi MJ, Zavala JA, Spencer JL, Seufferheld MJ. Abnormally high digestive enzyme activity and gene expression explain the contemporary evolution of a Diabrotica biotype able to feed on soybeans. Ecol Evol. 2012 Aug; 2(8):2005-17. PMID: 22957201.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 5/23/2011
Araújo AD, Majumdar A, Parameswaran H, Yi E, Spencer JL, Nugent MA, Suki B. Dynamics of enzymatic digestion of elastic fibers and networks under tension. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Jun 7; 108(23):9414-9. PMID: 21606336.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 6/1/2010
Guarnieri F, Spencer JL, Lucey EC, Nugent MA, Stone PJ. A human surfactant peptide-elastase inhibitor construct as a treatment for emphysema. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Jun 8; 107(23):10661-6. PMID: 20534582.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 2/23/2010
Spencer JL, Bernanke JA, Buczek-Thomas JA, Nugent MA. A computational approach for deciphering the organization of glycosaminoglycans. PLoS One. 2010; 5(2):e9389. PMID: 20186334.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 12/16/2009
Spencer JL, Raghu S. Refuge or reservoir? The potential impacts of the biofuel crop Miscanthus x giganteus on a major pest of maize. PLoS One. 2009 Dec 16; 4(12):e8336. PMID: 20016814.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 1/1/2009
Nugent MA, Mitsi M, Spencer JL. Proteins and Peptides: Pharmacokinetic, Pharmacodynamic, and Metabolic Outcomes(eds: Mrsny RJ, Daugherty A). In vitro/in vivo correlations of pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and metabolism for extracellular matrix-binding growth factors. Informa Healthcare. New York. 2009; 53-79.
- Published on 8/1/2006
Spencer JL, Stone PJ, Nugent MA. New insights into the inhibition of human neutrophil elastase by heparin. Biochemistry. 2006 Aug 1; 45(30):9104-20. PMID: 16866356.
Read at: PubMed
View 2 more publications: View full profile at BUMC