Faculty Profile

Biography

Dr. Diana Speelman has a longstanding interest in the relationship between structure and function, including how changes at the anatomic level translate into changes at the molecular level and vice versa. She gained training and expertise in study design and analysis, and in a variety of different biochemical and physiologic techniques through her predoctoral, doctoral and postdoctoral training. Dr. Speelman earned her Ph.D. in medical biochemistry from the University of Maryland, Baltimore for her work on the characterization of ubiquilin proteins and their interactions with the presenilin proteins, which are implicated in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, during which time she successfully gained independent grant funding to support her work on obscurin signaling through small GTPases in skeletal muscle, both in healthy muscle and following contraction-induced muscle injury. In the interim between her research-intensive postdoctoral training and her current position as an assistant professor of biochemistry at LECOM, Dr. Speelman gained teaching experience as a visiting assistant professor of biology at Washington College. Her passion for education and interacting with students in the classroom grew and, in particular, her love for helping students connect core science concepts to topics in human health and disease. During this time, she was also able to more fully study and research interrelated topics of great interest to her, including polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), insulin resistance, and obesity. In joining LECOM as a faculty member, she now enjoys both teaching scientific concepts and using these concepts to explain topics in human health and disease, as well as conducting research in the areas of PCOS and obesity to promote and improve women’s health. Dr. Speelman’s primary research interests include the molecular mechanisms associated with key features of PCOS (hyperandrogenism, subfertility and menstrual irregularity, insulin resistance, and obesity), as well as alternative interventions to complement current therapies used in treating patients with PCOS. Secondary research interests include the effects of environmental endocrine-mimicking compounds on adipose tissue function and endocrine health. Her research spans from bench to bedside and includes the use of cell culture and rodent models to investigate the molecular mechanisms of PCOS and the development of obesity, as well as studies in human participants to evaluate the impact of therapeutic interventions. Dr. Speelman is also involved in the PCOS community, participating in educational and fundraising events throughout the year.

Publications: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/myncbi/1fc2FAf879nQ7/bibliography/50521740/public/?sort=date&direction=ascending