Dr Sarah J Spencer

Peter Doherty Research Fellow - Department of Physiology

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Background

I conducted my PhD at the University of Queensland under the supervision of Professor Trevor Day. During this time I acquired an extensive background in the impact of psychological stress on brain pathways that control or contribute to the body’s stress responses. In my first postdoctoral position with Professor Quentin Pittman at the University of Calgary I expanded my work to include a focus on neuroimmune interactions, examining, among other things, the effects of a neonatal immune challenge on the adult animals’ responses to further inflammatory insults. In my postdoctoral work with Professor Alan Tilbrook my research combines these backgrounds in stress and neuroinflammation to investigate effects of psychological and physical stress during lactation and pregnancy on the mother as well as her offspring.

Research Interests

There are a number of occassions in the life of a healthy animal when it is naturally less responsive to stress than usual. Some examples of this are during late pregnancy, lactation, and in cases of animals with low abdominal fat.

Stress throughout life has been shown to significantly impact upon many aspects of physiology and we are interested to explore generally the short and long-term effects of stress on the animal at these times when it is naturally less responsive.

I have a number of investigations on this theme. For instance, I have a project examining the effects of stress in fat versus thin animals – littermates raised in different nutritional environments. I have another project looking at the effects of stress during the lactation period on long-term anxiety and stress responses in the mothers and their offspring. In addition to this, I am investigating the impact of sleep deprivation during pregnancy, an affliction common to many women, on learning and memory in the short and long-term.

All these areas of investigation have special significance for human welfare in that they may enable us to develop ways to enhance the body’s own natural stress-suppressive mechanisms in instances where the stress responses are disregulated.

Fos-positive TH cells in the nucleus of the solitary tract after stress

Academic Distinctions, Awards and Funding

National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) equipment grant - Clarke, Mitchell, Cowley, Tiganis, Oldfield, Rosa, Walker, Lackmann, Watt, Denton, Evans, Kett, Brown, Tilbrook, Smith, Andrews, Spencer, Armitage, Strauss, Simpson, Williams (Australia 2009)

Early Career Development Grant – Strategic Grant Scheme (Australia 2009)

Endocrine Society of Australia Postdoctoral Fellowship (Australia 2009-2010)

Clive and Vera Ramaciotti Foundation Establishment Grant (Australia 2008)

NHMRC equipment grant - Denton, Widdop, Oldfield, Evans, Parkington, Drummond, Kett, Black, Watt, Spencer, Rajapakse, Clarke, Schmidt, Bertram (Australia 2008)

Collier Charitable Trust equipment grant (Australia 2007)

Peter Doherty Fellowship (Australia 2007-2011)

Society for Neuroscience Postdoctoral Trainee Award (Canada 2006)

Heart and Stroke Foundation Focus on Stroke Personnel Award (Canada 2006-2008)

Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medial Research (AHFMR) Research Fellowship (Canada 2004-2007)

Brenda Strafford Foundation Award for Alzheimer’s Research (Canada 2004)

AHFMR Recruitment Award (Canada 2004)

University of Queensland Postgraduate Research Scholarship (Australia 2001-2004)

First class Honours for studies into 1-EBIO stimulated secretion in the mouse small intestine (New Zealand 2000)

Publications

Spencer SJ, and Tilbrook A. Neonatal nutrition alters adult anxiety and stress responsiveness in female but not male rats. Psychoneuroendocrinology. doi = 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2009.02.013.

Galic MA, Riazi K, Heida JG, Mouihate A, Fournier NM, Spencer SJ, Kalynchuk LE, Teskey GC, and Pittman QJ. Postnatal inflammation increases seizure susceptibility in adult rats. J. Neurosci., 28(27):6904-6913 (2008)

Spencer SJ, Galic MA, Tsutsui M, Pittman QJ, and Mouihate A. Effects of global cerebral ischaemia in the pregnant rat. Stroke, 39:975-982 (2008)

Spencer SJ, Mouihate A, Galic MA, and Pittman QJ. Central and peripheral neuroimmune responses: hypo-responsiveness during pregnancy. J. Physiol., 586(Pt 2):399-406 (2007)

Spencer SJ, Mouihate A, Galic MA, Ellis SL, and Pittman QJ. Neonatal immune challenge does not affect body weight regulation in rats. Am. J. Phys. Reg., 293(1):R581-589 (2007)

Spencer SJ, Mouihate A, and Pittman QJ. Peripheral inflammation exacerbates damage after global ischaemia independently of temperature and acute brain inflammation. Stroke, 38(5):1570-1577 (2007)

Spencer SJ^*, Hyland NP^*, Sharkey KA, and Pittman QJ. Neonatal immune challenge exacerbates experimental colitis in adult rats: potential role for TNFα. Am. J. Phys. Reg., 292(1):R308-315 (2007)^*Co-authors contributed equally to this work

Spencer SJ,Martin S, Mouihate A, and Pittman QJ. Early-life immune challenge: defining a critical window for effects on adult responses to immune challenge. Neuropsychopharm., 31(9):1910-1918 (2006)

Spencer SJ ^*, Boisse L ^*, Mouihate A, and Pittman QJ. Long term alterations in neuroimmune responses of female rats after neonatal exposure to lipopolysaccharide. Br. Behav. and Immun., Special issue - Stress, Genetics and Immunity, 20(4):325-330 (2006)
^*Co-authors contributed equally to this work

Spencer SJ, Auer RN, and Pittman QJ. Rat neonatal immune challenge alters adult responses to cerebral ischaemia. J. Cereb. Blood Flow Metab., 26(4):456-467 (2006)

Boisse L, Spencer SJ, Mouihate A, Vergnolle N, and Pittman QJ. Neonatal immune challenge alters nociception in the adult rat. Pain, 119(1-3):133-141 (2005)

Spencer SJ, Heida JG, and Pittman QJ. Early life immune challenge - effects on behavioural indices of adult rat fear and anxiety. Behav. Br. Res., 164(2):231-238 (2005)

Pittman QJ, and Spencer SJ. Neurohypophysial peptides: gatekeepers in the amygdala. Trends Endocrinol. Metab., 16(8):343-344 (2005)

Spencer SJ, Buller KM, and Day TA. Medial prefrontal cortex control of the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus response to psychological stress: possible role of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. J. Comp. Neurol., 481(4):363-376 (2005)

Spencer SJ, and Day TA. Role of catecholaminergic inputs to the medial prefrontal cortex in local and subcortical expression of Fos after psychological stress. J. Neurosci. Res., 78(2):279-288 (2004)

Spencer SJ, Ebner K, and Day TA. Differential involvement of rat medial prefrontal cortex dopamine receptors in modulation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis responses to different stressors. Eur. J. Neurosci., 20(4):1008-1016 (2004)

Spencer SJ, Fox JC, and Day TA. Thalamic paraventricular nucleus lesions facilitate central amygdala neuronal responses to acute psychological stress. Brain Res., 997(2):234-237 (2004)

Buller KM, Crane JW, Spencer SJ, and Day TA. Systemic apomorphine alters HPA axis responses to interleukin 1β administration but not sound stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 28(6):715-732 (2003)