Biography
Speer received a B.S. in Biotechnology and Molecular Bioscience (2013) from the Rochester Institute of Technology and an M.S. (2017) and Ph.D. (2020) in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of Louisville with a focus on One Health and environmental metal toxicity in lung cancer. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship on arsenic co-carcinogenesis in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of New Mexico before advancing to a Research Assistant Professor in 2023 focusing on the role of environmental metal exposure in female reproductive health.
Personal Statement
Throughout my research journey, I have sought to understand the interface between humans and our environment. My research vision builds upon my expertise in molecular mechanisms of metals toxicology, cancer biology, and environmental health and applies it to a new area of research in female reproductive health. My career in science was inspired by a passion to understand how anthropogenic environmental pollution contributes to reproductive issues in wildlife populations. I developed experience working with multiple toxic metals, investigating mechanisms of genomic instability in the context of cancer, studied metal toxicity in multiple organ systems, and used cell culture, mouse, rat, and wildlife models to address complex research questions. Looking ahead, I seek to investigate how global metal pollution contributes to the worldwide and cross-species (One Health) issue of rising infertility and early reproductive aging using my background in metals and genomic instability as a foundation for this work.
Areas of Specialty
One Health
Metals Toxicology
Female Reproductive Health
Carcinogenesis
Education
PhD, Pharmacology and Toxicology
Certifications
Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry; Perkin Elmer.
Achievements & Awards
Faculty Presentation Award, College of Pharmacy Research Day, University of New Mexico; 2023.
Postdoctoral Poster Award, University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center Research Day; 2022.
Postdoctoral Fellow Presentation Award, 11th Metal Toxicity and Carcinogenicity Meeting; 2022.
Postdoctoral Fellow Oral Presentation Award, Mountain West Regional Chapter of the Society of Toxicology; 2022.
Oral Presentation Award, College of Pharmacy Research Day, University of New Mexico; 2022.
Postdoctoral Researcher and Young Investigator Award, Carcinogenesis Specialty Section, Society of Toxicology; 2022.
Postdoctoral Research Award, Metals Specialty Section, Society of Toxicology; 2022.
Courses Taught
Guest Lecturer, “Environmental Reproductive Health”. Maternal Child Health Seminar I (PH 572), University of New Mexico; 2023.
Guest Lecturer, “Reproductive Toxicology”. Environmental Toxicology (PHTX 634), University of Louisville; 2023.
Guest Lecturer, “Rigor and Reproducibility: use of cell culture in biomedical research”. Environmental Toxicology (PHTX 634), University of Louisville; 2022-2023. Guest Lecturer, “Genomic Approaches for Environmental Carcinogenesis”. Molecular and Cell Biology (BIOL 423), New Mexico Highlands University; 2022.
Guest Lecturer, “Genomic Approaches for Environmental Carcinogenesis”. Molecular and Cell Biology (BIOL 423), New Mexico Highlands University; 2022.
Research and Scholarship
Speer, R.M., Yu, H., Nandi, S., Zhou, X., Guo, Y., Alexandrov, L.B., Hudson, L.G., Liu, K.J. (2024) Arsenic and UVR co-exposure results in a unique gene expression profile identifying key co-carcinogenic mechanisms. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology. 482:116773, 2024. PMID: 38036231.
Speer, R.M., Nandi, S., Zhou, X., Yu, H., Guo, Y., Hudson, L.G., Alexandrov, L.B., Liu, K.J. Arsenic selectively alters mutational patterns of UVR exposure. Communications Biology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-05659-4. 6(1):1273, 2023. PMID: 38104187. PMCID: PMC10725444.
Wise, S.S., Lu, H., Speer, R.M., Wise, J.P. Jr., Young, J.L., Toyoda, J.H., Croom-Perez, T., Kouokam, J.C., Specht, A., Liu, K.J., Hoyle, G., Cai, L., Wise, J.P. Sr. Chromium deposition in an oropharyngeal aspiration model for hexavalent chromium in rats. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 457:116294, 2022. PMID: 36283442.
Speer, R.M., Toyoda, J.H., Tayler J. Croom-Pérez, T.J., Liu, K. and Wise, Sr., J.P. Particulate Hexavalent Chromium Inhibits E2F1 Leading to Reduced RAD51 Nuclear Foci Formation in Human Lung Cells. Toxicological Sciences, 181(1):35-46, 2021. PMID: 33677506. PMCID: PMC8081024.
Speer, R.M., Wise, S., Croom-Perez, T.J., Aboueissa, A., Martin Bras. M., Barandiaran, M., Bermúdez, E. and Wise, Sr., J.P. A Comparison of Particulate Hexavalent Chromium Cytotoxicity and Genotoxicity in Human and Leatherback Sea Turtle Lung Cells from a One Environmental Health Perspective. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 376(1): 70-81, 2019. PMID: 31108106 PMCID: PMC6602062.