Biography

Andrew J. Spence, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at Temple University. Andrew is an applied physicist by training who leads a research group in locomotor neuromechanics and spinal cord injury. As a group, the Spence Lab is focused on how the nervous and mechanical systems work together to produce movement, taking an integrative approach that combines experimental work with mathematical modeling, instrumentation, and some robotics. Andrew did his undergraduate work in physics at UC Berkeley, before doing a PhD in neuroscience and biomedical microdevices at Cornell University with Michael Isaacson and Ron Hoy. He returned to Berkeley for a postdoc, and worked with Bob Full on the control of many-legged locomotion, and Eileen Hebets on the neurophysiology of antennas. Before coming to Temple University, he was an RCUK Fellowship awardee and subsequently faculty member in the Structure and Motion Laboratory at the Royal Veterinary College, London, working with Alan Wilson before becoming an independent researcher. Currently his group is focused on applying new neurogenetic techniques (chemogenetics in the form of DREADDs; optogenetics) to 1) better treat spinal cord injuries, 2) dissect the control of fast legged locomotion, and 3) understand how constraints (stability, energetics) have shaped quadrupedal gait control.