Jean L. Spencer, PhD

Assistant Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

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.

Publications

  • Published 1/1/2020

    Bolgioni AF, Barbercheck CR, Hokanson SC, Dominguez MI, Spencer JL, Hyman LE, Schreiber BM. BEST: Implementing Career Development Activities for Biomedical Research Trainees (eds: Lara LI, Daniel L, Chalkley R). BU's BEST: Using Biomedical Workforce Data to Inform Curriculum and Influence Career Exploration. Academic Press. Cambridge. 2020; 1-10.

    Read at: Custom

  • Published 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 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 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 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

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