Julia Spear, Graduate Student of Katharine White, Featured for Paper in the Journal of Cell Science

Julia Spear, a fifth year graduate student in the laboratory of Katharine White, Clare Booth Luce Assistant Professor, has been profiled by the Journal of Cell Science for her recent publication. The paper, entitled “Single-cell intracellular pH dynamics regulate the cell cycle by timing G1 exit and the G2 transition,” appears in Volume 136, Issue 10 of the journal.
Her research focuses on the study of how intracellular pH (pHi) changes during cell cycle progression. Normal human epithelial cells function in a pHi range of 7.0-7.2, but transient pHi changes are necessary for cell behaviors such as cell movement, cell division, and programmed cell death. While it is known that pHi changes during these processes, very little is known of the detailed nature of how pHi varies with time or across heterogeneous cell populations. Spear was able to investigate these details using microscopy to measure pHi in single cells using a fluorescent biosensor. She captured images as cells progressed through the cell cycle and found that single cell pHi oscillates during growth and division, with dynamic pHi values corresponding to specific events in the cycle. Additionally, she found that manipulating pHi can alter the lengths and transitions of cell cycle stages. Ultimately, being able to accurately describe pHi over time improves the understanding of how cells time and regulate cell division. This work also suggests routes for therapeutically manipulating or perturbing the cell cycle in normal pH-dependent cell processes like wound healing or in diseases with dysregulated pHi such as cancer and neurodegeneration.
Spear first began research during the summer before her senior year at Susquehanna University prior to coming to Notre Dame. She credits White’s guidance and mentorship in helping to achieve these important research results. After graduation, Spear plans to pursue either a postdoctoral fellowship or an industrial job with a biology focus.
Originally published by chemistry.nd.edu on May 31, 2023.
atLatest Research
- From reaction to resolution: The future of allergy treatmentTwelve-year-old Lauren Eglite was thrilled to attend a Notre Dame football game with her father, Erik, in 2017, even though her acute peanut allergy demands constant vigilance. She was even more excited when the stadium’s brand-new video board aired an NBC Fighting…
- New Study Highlights Mother-Child Link for Anemia in The GambiaAnemia is a "silent epidemic." It affects nearly 2 billion people globally, yet many people ignore its symptoms. Typically caused by the consumption of iron-deficient foods, anemia develops gradually. Its symptoms—such as fatigue, weakness, and shortness of breath—are frequently dismissed or misattributed.
- Megan McDermott joins ND–IBM Tech Ethics Lab as new Notre Dame directorThe Notre Dame–IBM Technology Ethics Lab, a critical component of the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good (ECG) and the Notre…
- Jenkins Center for Virtue Ethics receives grant to advance love-based ethical frameworkThe University of Notre Dame has received a $10 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation to support a project titled Love and Social Transformation: Empowering Scholars and Social Innovators to Develop the Love Ethic.
- ND-GAIN releases latest Country Index updateThe lastest update to the University of Notre Dame’s Global Adaptation Initiative's (ND-GAIN) Country Index is now live. The ND-GAIN team will release a second Country Index update in late Fall, which includes…
- In sub-Saharan Africa, 1 in 6 cancer medications found to be defectiveSerious quality defects were found in a significant number of cancer medications from sub-Saharan Africa, according to new research from the University of Notre Dame.