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Professor Spencer received his Ph.D. in Biopsychology in
1986 from the University of Arizona. He was a recipient of
an individual National Research Service Award postdoctoral
fellowship and carried out his postdoctoral studies at the
Rockefeller University, where he continued on as an assistant
professor from 1991-1993. He joined the Department of Psychology
at the University of Colorado, Boulder as an assistant professor
in 1994. He currently is a recipient of an NIH Independent
Investigator Award (K02).
Dr. Spencer's research has focused on understanding the
regulation of a neuroendocrine system, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal
axis, and how that system contributes to stress adaptation.
The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis controls the secretion
of the glucocorticoid hormones (cortisol and corticosterone)
and is activated by stress. Dr. Spencer's laboratory is currently
studying mechanisms by which glucocorticoids affect the expression
of certain stress responsive genes including "Clock Genes"
in various brain regions that may be especially critical to
an organism's ability to adapt to repeated stress. Dr. Spencer's
research has also examined mechanisms of corticosteroid receptor
regulation and glucocorticoid regulation of the immune system.
Dr. Spencer has co-authored over 70 research papers and
his research program has been supported by the National Institute
of Mental Health, the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive
and Kidney Diseases, and the McArthur Foundation.
Selected Publications:
Weinberg, MS, Girotti, M and RL Spencer. Restraint-induced
fra-2 and c-fos expression in the rat forebrain: relationship
to stress duration. Neuroscience, 150: 478-486, 2007.
Girotti, M, Weinberg, MS and RL Spencer. Differential responses
of HPA axis immediate early genes to corticosterone and circadian
drive. Endocrinology, 148: 2542-2552, 2007.
Girotti, M, Pace, TWW, Gaylord, RI, Rubin, BA, Herman, JP
and RL Spencer. Habituation to repeated restraint stress is
associated with lack of stress-induced c-fos expression in
primary sensory processing areas of the rat brain. Neuroscience,
138: 1067-1081, 2006.
Ginsberg, AB, Frank, MG, Francis, AB, Rubin, BA, O’Connor,
KA and RL Spencer. Specific and time-dependent effects of
glucocorticoid receptor agonist RU28362 on stress-induced
POMC hnRNA, c-fos mRNA and zif268 mRNA in the pituitary. Journal
of Neuroendocrinology, 18:129-138, 2006.
Francis, AB, Pace, TWW, Ginsberg, AB, Rubin, BA and RL Spencer.
Limited brain diffusion of the glucocorticoid receptor agonist
RU28362 following i.c.v. administration: implications for
i.c.v. drug delivery and glucocorticoid negative feedback
in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Neuroscience,
141: 1503-1515, 2006.
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