Jessica Brooke Spinelli

Jessica Brooke Spinelli is an Assistant Professor at the UMass Chan Medical School within the Program in Molecular Medicine. She holds multiple affiliations across Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences departments including Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, Cancer Biology, and Translational Science.

• BSc in Biochemistry from Hofstra University
• PhD in Chemical Biology from Harvard University

Her research focuses on mitochondrial metabolism and its role in cellular decision-making. Key areas include:

• Metabolic reprogramming in obesity and cancer
• Redox homeostasis and stress survival
• Electron transport chain dynamics
• Lipid-metabolism interactions
• Thermogenesis in adipose tissues
• Metabolic vulnerabilities in disease states

Recent publications (2023-2025) highlight her work on:

• Rhodoquinone's role in mammalian electron transport
• Sex-specific metabolic enzyme phosphorylation in obesity
• MCJ/DnaJC15's influence on brown fat thermogenesis
• Glucose-pyrimidine interdependencies in cancer
• Ammonia recycling mechanisms in tumor growth
• Selenium-ubiquinone interactions in ferroptosis

She collaborates extensively with researchers in:

• Molecular Medicine
• Biochemistry
• Cancer Biology
• Metabolic Disease