{"id":9048,"date":"2024-09-12T11:20:56","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T15:20:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/?post_type=directory&#038;p=9048"},"modified":"2026-04-06T09:54:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T13:54:59","slug":"sparkenbaugh","status":"publish","type":"directory","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/directory\/sparkenbaugh\/","title":{"rendered":"Erica Sparkenbaugh, PhD"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"xmsonormal\">Dr. Sparkenbaugh received her BS in Biology fro<span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">m<\/span> Allegheny College (<span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">M<\/span>eadville, PA) and co<span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">m<\/span>pleted her PhD in Phar<span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">m<\/span>acology and Toxicology fro<span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">m<\/span> <span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">M<\/span>ichigan State University.<\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\">First arriving at UNC to co<span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">m<\/span>plete her post-doctoral research, Dr. <span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">Sparkenbaugh<\/span> has been with the university since 2012 and a <span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">m<\/span>e<span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">m<\/span>ber of the research faculty since 2016. She brings with her the <a title=\"https:\/\/tarheels.live\/sparkenbaughlab\/\" href=\"https:\/\/tarheels.live\/sparkenbaughlab\/\" data-outlook-id=\"58e4f9e3-089f-46ba-9cc8-e0dd456e08f5\"><span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">Sparkenbaugh<\/span> Lab<\/a>, which ai<span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">m<\/span>s to investigate the interplay between the coagulation cascade and infla<span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">m<\/span><span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">m<\/span>ation in ani<span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">m<\/span>al <span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">m<\/span>odels of disease. The lab takes a <span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">m<\/span>ultidisciplinary 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 <span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">m<\/span>utations in he<span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">m<\/span>oglobin genes and affect red blood cells. The pri<span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">m<\/span>ary co<span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">m<\/span>plications of sickle cell disease are ane<span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">m<\/span>ia and vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC), as well as chronic infla<span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">m<\/span><span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">m<\/span>ation and coagulation activation. We study how this drives end-organ da<span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">m<\/span>age. A significant aspect of the lab&#8217;s research progra<span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">m <\/span>also addresses\u00a0wo<span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">m<\/span>en\u2019s health\u00a0and\u00a0pregnancy co<span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">m<\/span>plications\u00a0associated with blood diseases.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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 &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/directory\/sparkenbaugh\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Erica Sparkenbaugh, PhD\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":9043,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"layout":"","cellInformation":"","apiCallInformation":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-9048","directory","type-directory","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","odd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Erica Sparkenbaugh, PhD | Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/directory\/sparkenbaugh\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Erica Sparkenbaugh, PhD | Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"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 &hellip; Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/directory\/sparkenbaugh\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-06T13:54:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/646\/2024\/09\/1A4A1628-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@UNCPathology\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/directory\/sparkenbaugh\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/directory\/sparkenbaugh\/\",\"name\":\"Erica Sparkenbaugh, PhD | Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/directory\/sparkenbaugh\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/directory\/sparkenbaugh\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/646\/2024\/09\/1A4A1628-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-12T15:20:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-06T13:54:59+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/directory\/sparkenbaugh\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/directory\/sparkenbaugh\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/directory\/sparkenbaugh\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/646\/2024\/09\/1A4A1628-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/646\/2024\/09\/1A4A1628-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":1707,\"height\":2560,\"caption\":\"image of Erica Sparkenaugh\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/directory\/sparkenbaugh\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Erica Sparkenbaugh, PhD\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/\",\"name\":\"Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/#organization\",\"name\":\"UNC Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/646\/2017\/06\/PathologyandLaboratoryMedicine_logo_2c_rgb_v.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/646\/2017\/06\/PathologyandLaboratoryMedicine_logo_2c_rgb_v.png\",\"width\":488,\"height\":460,\"caption\":\"UNC Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/UNCPathology\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Erica Sparkenbaugh, PhD | Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/directory\/sparkenbaugh\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Erica Sparkenbaugh, PhD | Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine","og_description":"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 &hellip; Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/directory\/sparkenbaugh\/","og_site_name":"Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine","article_modified_time":"2026-04-06T13:54:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1707,"height":2560,"url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/646\/2024\/09\/1A4A1628-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@UNCPathology","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/directory\/sparkenbaugh\/","url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/directory\/sparkenbaugh\/","name":"Erica Sparkenbaugh, PhD | Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/directory\/sparkenbaugh\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/directory\/sparkenbaugh\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/646\/2024\/09\/1A4A1628-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2024-09-12T15:20:56+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-06T13:54:59+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/directory\/sparkenbaugh\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/directory\/sparkenbaugh\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/directory\/sparkenbaugh\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/646\/2024\/09\/1A4A1628-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/646\/2024\/09\/1A4A1628-scaled.jpg","width":1707,"height":2560,"caption":"image of Erica Sparkenaugh"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/directory\/sparkenbaugh\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Erica Sparkenbaugh, PhD"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/","name":"Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/#organization","name":"UNC Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine","url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/646\/2017\/06\/PathologyandLaboratoryMedicine_logo_2c_rgb_v.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/646\/2017\/06\/PathologyandLaboratoryMedicine_logo_2c_rgb_v.png","width":488,"height":460,"caption":"UNC Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/UNCPathology"]}]}},"_upd_display_name":["Erica Sparkenbaugh, PhD"],"_upd_reverse_display_name":["Sparkenbaugh, Erica"],"_upd_last_name":["Sparkenbaugh"],"_upd_first_name":["Erica"],"_upd_sortorder_override":[],"_upd_sortorder":["1"],"_upd_gallery_summary":["Assistant Professor\r\n\r\nDirector, <a href=\"https:\/\/tarheels.live\/sparkenbaughlab\/\">Sparkenbaugh Lab<\/a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"mailto:erica_sparkenbaugh@med.unc.edu\">Email<\/a>"],"_upd_no_link":[],"_upd_degree1":[],"_upd_degree2":[],"_upd_email":[[{"email_text":"erica_sparkenbaugh@med.unc.edu"}]],"_upd_phone":[[{"phone_text":"919-962-9958","phone_type":"Office Phone"}]],"_upd_address":[[{"address":{"address-1":"Mary Ellen Jones 8302 (Lab)","address-2":"","campus-box":"","city":"","state":"","zip":""},"address_override":""},{"address":{"address-1":"Mary Ellen Jones 8114 (Office)","address-2":"","campus-box":"","city":"","state":"","zip":""}}]],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/directory\/9048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/directory"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/directory"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/directory\/9048\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9931,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/directory\/9048\/revisions\/9931"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pathology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}