Spencer, Brady
Primary Appointment
Assistant Professor of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology, Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology
Education
- BS, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Harding University
- PhD, Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Contact Information
Email: yws5hb@virginia.edu
Research Disciplines
Biochemistry, Immunology, Infectious Diseases/Biodefense, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Neuroimmunology
Research Interests
Gram-positive pathogenesis; type VII secretion; impact of secreted effectors on host-pathogen interactions and immune responses
Research Description
The Spencer lab studies host-pathogen interactions of Gram-positive bacteria, focusing on the major neonatal pathobiont Group B Streptococcus (GBS). GBS can asymptomatically colonize the female genital tract, leading to transmission during pregnancy, and the neonatal GI tract, and both these niches serve as reservoirs for neonatal bacteremia and meningitis upon penetration of the blood-brain barrier. We are interested in how GBS factors promote colonization and systemic infection.
Specifically, we study the molecular mechanisms of the type VII secretion system (T7SS) in GBS and how its secreted proteins and toxins contribute to toxicity and inflammation during pathogenesis, as well as to mucosal colonization/niche establishment by outcompeting other bacteria and modulating the immune response. Our research is highly interdisciplinary, spanning pathogenesis, biochemistry, structural biology, immunology, reproductive and gastrointestinal biology, and the microbiome. We employ microbiological, molecular, cellular, biochemical, and immunological methods, as well as cellular and animal models, to examine the impact of the T7SS on GBS interactions with microbes and the host.