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Joel Spencer

Joel Spencer
Professional Title: 
Associate Professor and Graduate Group Chair
Email: 
joel.spencer@ucmerced.edu
Lab Website(s): 
Spencer Lab
Research Interests: 

Biomedical Optics, Intravital Imaging and Sensing, Tissue Regeneration, Transplantation, Hematopoietic Stem Cells

The Spencer Lab seeks to to develop novel optical imaging and sensing systems for applications in tissue regeneration, transplantation, and cancer. Projects include:

              • investigating new ways to image the thymus in live mice with subcellular resolution;

              • developing faster oxygen sensing methods for in vivo applications;

              • applying whole tissue imaging methods for studying immune reconstitution; and

              • developing imaging assays for regenerative medicine and other applications.

Selected Publications:

  • Z. Fan*, J. A. Spencer*, Y. Lu, C. M. Pitsillides, G. Singh, P. Kim, S. H. Yun, V. Toxavidis, T. B. Strom, C. P. Lin, and M. Koulmanda, “In vivo tracking of ‘color-coded’ effector, natural and induced regulatory T cells in the allograft response,” Nat. Med. 16, 718-722 (2010). *Equal Contribution https://www.nature.com/articles/nm.2155
  • D. Park, J. A. Spencer, B. I. Koh, T. Kobayashi, J. Fujisaki, T. L. Clemens, C. P. Lin, H. M. Kronenberg, and D. T. Scadden, “Endogenous bone marrow MSCs are dynamic, fate-restricted participants in bone maintenance and regeneration,” Cell Stem Cell 10, 259-272 (2012). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1934590912000616
  • J. A. Spencer, F. Ferraro, E. Roussakis, A. Klein, J. Wu, J. M. Runnels, W. Zaher, L. J. Mortensen, C. Alt, R. Turcottë, R. Yusuf, S. A. Vinogradov, D. T. Scadden, and C. P. Lin, “Direct measurement of local oxygen concentration in the bone marrow of live animals,” Nature 508, 269-273 (2014). https://www.nature.com/articles/nature13034
  • T. Itkin, S. G. Cohen, J. A. Spencer, A. Schajnovitz, S. K. Ramasamy, A. P. Kusumbe, G. Ledergor, Y. Jung, I. Milo, M. G. Poulos, A. Kalinkovich, A. Ludin, O. Kollet, G. Shakhar, J. M. Butler, S. Rafii, R. H. Adams, D. T. Scadden, C. P. Lin, and T. Lapidot, “Distinct bone marrow blood vessels differentially regulate hematopoiesis,” Nature 532, 323–328 (2016).                                                                                                                                                                                            https://www.nature.com/articles/nature17624
Research Areas: 
Biological Imaging and Spectroscopy