Dr. Sparkenbaugh received her BS in Biology from Allegheny College (Meadville, PA) and completed her PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology from Michigan State University.
First arriving at UNC to complete her post-doctoral research, Dr. Sparkenbaugh has been with the university since 2012 and a member of the research faculty since 2016. She brings with her the Sparkenbaugh Lab, which aims to investigate the interplay between the coagulation cascade and inflammation in animal models of disease. The lab takes a multidisciplinary approach to research, utilizing clinically relevant transgenic mice, intravital microscopy, behavioral studies, cell and molecular biology techniques, histopathology and more. Our translational research program focuses on hemoglobinopathies such as sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia. These are blood disorders caused by mutations in hemoglobin genes and affect red blood cells. The primary complications of sickle cell disease are anemia and vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC), as well as chronic inflammation and coagulation activation. We study how this drives end-organ damage. A significant aspect of the lab’s research program also addresses women’s health and pregnancy complications associated with blood diseases.
The laboratory is housed in the newly renovated Mary Ellen Jones building, and is part of the UNC Blood Research Center, an interdisciplinary group of researchers investigating blood diseases.
