Denisha Spires was born and raised in Jackson, MS where she attended Tougaloo College, a noteworthy HBCU. While earning her bachelor’s degree in biology, she focused on the pathophysiology of type 1 and type 2 diabetic nephropathy in relation to endothelin 1 working with Dr. Jan M. Williams, PhD at the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. [PMID: 29846112; PMC6230747] she received her PhD in Physiology at the Medical College of Wisconsin (November 2020) where her thesis was centered on examining the sex-based differences in the progression and severity in type 2 diabetic kidney disease working with Dr. Alexander Staruschenko, PhD. [PMID: 33870721] [PMID: 29923767] Currently as a postdoctoral fellow, she is continuing her studies of the pathophysiological role of various factors in diabetic kidney disease and other renal diseases in relation to mitochondrial dysfunction with Dr. Daria Ilatovskaya, MS, PhD, FAHA at Augusta University’s Department of Physiology.
Q: Do you have any particular experiences, interests, or passions that have shaped you as a researcher?
A: My greatest inspiration for my current career path came from my experience as a student through the Murrah High School’s Base Pair Program. The program allowed select students the opportunity to have mentored research experience throughout their high school tenure as well as summer research experience.
Q: What do you hope to achieve with your current research? How did you come to specialize in your particular field of research?
A: I started in this field early on through participating in an already on-going study with my mentor Dr. Jan M. Williams on the characterization of a rat model for streptozotocin-induced type 1 diabetic nephropathy in high school. It is a model that is still in use today. I hope my current research has as much of a long-lasting impact for research use and potential development of therapeutics as that initial study.
Q: What advice would you give to undergraduate students who want to get more experience with research?
A: My advice would be to focus on finding a great mentor and environment more so than the research topic itself. It is the mentor and their team that will provide the most value in this initial stage of your career. Same would go for graduate students looking for their mentor.
Q: What is one thing you wish you could tell your younger self about academia/research/life in general?
A: Take advantage of as many technical/ topic-based training opportunities as possible to build your arsenal and have more options available as you enter the next phase of your career.
Q: What thought/philosophy/principle has helped you during difficult times?
A: Your team’s MVP, #1 cheerleader, and greatest critic will always be “you”. Start with what you want for “you” and the rest will follow.