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Janice M. Spence, Ph.D.

Research Assistant Professor
of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Lymphoma Genesis and Transformation

URMC Labs
601 Elmwood Ave., Rm 2-3653
Rochester, NY 14642-8608
Tel: (585) 275-8861
Fax: (585) 276-2200

Jan_Spence@urmc.rochester.edu

Dr. Spence is working with Dr. Richard Burack, Director of Hematopathology, in studying the mechanisms involved in lymphomagenesis and lymphoma transformation. The focus of the research is to identify mechanisms directly relevant to human disease.

Qualifications

Ph.D. Microbiology, University of Rochester 2001
Postdoctoral Fellow, Microbiology, 2001-2007

Professional Activities

2005 University of Rochester Medical Center Developmental Grant
2001 Melvin A. Hare Award for Excellence in Research
1995 Melvin A. Hare Award for Excellence in Teaching

As an adjunct faculty member, Dr. Spence has developed and taught introductory and upper level microbiology courses at SUNY Brockport, Rochester Institute of Technology, and St. John Fisher College.

Research Overview

As a graduate student and postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Virginia Clark, Dr. Spence characterized the contact-inducible enhanced invasion phenotype of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and studied the virulence factors involved in invasive gonococcal disease, with emphasis on the role of anaerobically regulated genes. In 2002 she became a fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Martin Pavelka, where she investigated the role of porins, water-filled channels that serve as the primary gate-keepers for access of hydrophilic compounds to mycobacterial cells. Most recently, she has been working on the development of a genetic screening technique for the identification of M. tuberculosis porins, which are believed to play a limiting role in the effective delivery of therapeutics into this pathogen. Towards this goal, she has investigated the recently-identified porins of M. smegmatis, which may provide information relevant to a more suitable system for the genetic isolation of the M. tuberculosis porin genes.

Publications

Spence JM, Wright LF, Clark VL. Laboratory Maintenance of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Taylor R ed., Current Protocols in Microbiology, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2007.

Spence JM, Tyler RE, Domaoal RA, Clark VL. L12 enhances gonococcal transcytosis of polarized Hec1B cells via the lutropin receptor. Microb Pathog. 2002 Mar;32(3):117-25.

Spence JM, Clark VL. Role of ribosomal protein L12 in gonococcal invasion of Hec1B cells. Infect Immun. 2000 Sep;68(9):5002-10.

Spence JM, Chen JC, Clark VL. A proposed role for the lutropin receptor in contact-inducible gonococcal invasion of Hec1B cells. Infect Immun. 1997 Sep;65(9):3736-42.

Anderson CL, Spence JM, Edwards TS, Nusbacher J. Characterization of a polyvalent antibody directed against the IgG Fc receptor of human mononuclear phagocytes. J Immunol. 1985 Jan;134(1):465-70.