Affiliation: Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University College of Medicine

John David Spencer MD is a physician-scientist and Chief of Nephrology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University College of Medicine. The objective of Dr. Spencer’s research program is to define the role of innate immunity and antimicrobial peptides in the regulation and prevention of urinary tract infection (UTI). Specifically, his research focuses on the function and regulation of antimicrobial proteins in the Ribonuclease A Superfamily. The Spencer laboratory has demonstrated that peptides in this family, including Ribonuclease 4, 6, and 7, are potent, novel, and may play a critical role in shielding the urothelium from invading pathogens. These findings are significant because treatment strategies for acute and recurrent UTI are limited. Moreover, antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria is increasing and antibiotics are subsequently becoming less effective. By identifying how antimicrobial peptides prevent UTI, we can begin to develop therapeutic strategies that leverage the body’s endogenous immune defenses as therapeutic targets for novel UTI treatment and prevention strategies.