D'Andre Anthony Spencer
Biography
D'Andre Anthony Spencer, M.P.H., is a Specialist in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine. He holds a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from the Fielding School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles. His work centers on genetic medicine and global public health, with a focus on genetic disorders and the expansion of clinical genetics and novel technologies in low-resource settings, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Spencer has built and maintained international research collaborations across academic and government sectors over more than a decade, leading studies on conditions including sickle cell disease, pediatric brain tumors, Trisomy 21, and neurological conditions such as Konzo. He serves as Co-Investigator on an NIH R21/R33 grant to assess and implement artificial intelligence technologies for newborn screening of chromosomal aneuploidies, under which approximately 4,000 newborns in the DRC have been screened to date. He also leads an ongoing study using whole exome sequencing to identify genetic factors related to retinoblastoma in a pediatric population in urban DRC.
Prior to his appointment at UC Irvine, Spencer served as a Research Assistant and Field Program Manager for the UCLA-DRC Research and Field Training Program, where he coordinated field data collection across more than 35,000 households and 500 health facilities in support of polio, Ebola, and monkeypox surveillance and response efforts. He also completed 27 months of service with the United States Peace Corps in the Republic of South Africa, where he developed and implemented community health programs focused on HIV/AIDS prevention and capacity building. Spencer has mentored a number of post-doctoral and post-baccalaureate scholars at institutions including Children's National Medical Center and the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale in Kinshasa.
Return to topEducation
- Master of Public Health in Epidemiology, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles
- Bachelor of Science in Community Health, Western Oregon University
Distinctions
- Global Health Fellowship, Fielding School of Public Health, UCLA, 2016
- Faucett Family Foundation Fellowship Award – Dissertation research in developing country, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, 2016
Areas of Expertise
- Global Health Epidemiology
- Vaccine-Derived Polio Outbreak Response
- Ebola Virus Serological Surveillance
- HIV Prevention Low-Resource Settings
- AI-Based Chromosomal Aneuploidy Screening
- Optical Genome Mapping Pediatric Tumors
- Whole Exome Sequencing Genetic Disorders
Recent Publications
- Spencer D, Bonner ER, Tor-Díez C, Liu X, Bougher K, Prasad R, Gordish-Dressman H, Eze A, Packer RJ, Nazarian J, Linguraru MG, Bornhorst M, “Tumor volume features predict survival outcomes for patients diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma” (opens in new tab), Neuro Oncology Advances, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. vdae151, 2024.
- Bramble MS, Fourcassié V, Vashist N, Roux-Dalvai F, Zhou Y, Bumoko G, Kasendue ML, Spencer D, Musasa Hanshi-Hatuhu H, Kambale-Mastaki V, Manalo RVM, Mohammed A, McIlwain DR, Cunningham G, Summar M, Boivin MJ, Caldovic L, Vilain E, Mumba-Ngoyi D, Tshala-Katumbay D, et al., “Glutathione peroxidase 3 is a potential biomarker for konzo” (opens in new tab), Nature Communications, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 7811, 2024.
- Halbrook M., Gadoth A., Mukadi P., Hoff N.A., Musene K., Dzogang C., Sinai C.S., Spencer D., Ngoie-Mwamba G., Tangney S., Salet F., Nyembwe M., Kambamba Nzaji M., Tambu M., Mbala P., Fuller T., Gerber S.K., Kaba D., Muyembe-Tamfum J.J., Rimoin A.W., “Poliovirus-Neutralizing Antibody Seroprevalence and Vaccine Habits in a Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus Outbreak Region in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2018: The Impact on the Global Eradication Initiative” (opens in new tab), Vaccines, vol. 12, 2024.
- Kocher K, Delot-Vilain A, Spencer D, LoTempio J, Délot EC, “Paucity and Disparity of Publicly Available Sex-Disaggregated Data for the COVID-19 Epidemic Hamper Evidence-Based Decision-Making” (opens in new tab), Archives of Sexual Behavior, vol. 50, no. 2, pp. 407-426, 2021.
- Porras AR, Bramble MS, Mosema Be Amoti K, Spencer D, Dakande C, Manya H, Vashist N, Likuba E, Ebwel JM, Musasa C, Malherbe H, Mohammed B, Tor-Diez C, Ngoyi DM, Katumbay DT, Linguraru MG, Vilain E, “Facial analysis technology for the detection of Down syndrome in the Democratic Republic of the Congo” (opens in new tab), European Journal of Medical Genetics, vol. 64, 2021.
- Bramble MS, Vashist N, Ko A, Priya S, Musasa C, Mathieu A, Spencer D, Lupamba Kasendue M, Mamona Dilufwasayo P, Karume K, Nsibu J, Manya H, Uy MNA, Colwell B, Boivin M, Mayambu JPB, Okitundu D, Droit A, Mumba Ngoyi D, Blekhman R, et al., “The gut microbiome in konzo”, Nature Communications, 2021.
- Bratcher A, Hoff NA, Doshi RH, Gadoth A, Halbrook M, Mukadi P, Musene K, Ilunga-Kebela B, Spencer D, Bramble MS, McIlwan D, Kelly JD, Mukadi D, Kingebeni PM, Ahuka S, Okitolonda-Wemakoy E, Muyembe-Tamfum JJ, Rimoin AW, “Zoonotic risk factors associated with seroprevalence of Ebola virus GP antibodies in the absence of diagnosed Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo” (opens in new tab), PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, vol. 15, 2021.
- Hoff NA, Mukadi P, Doshi RH, Bramble MS, Lu K, Gadoth A, Sinai C, Spencer D, Nicholson BP, Williams R, Mossoko M, Ilunga-Kebela B, Wasiswa J, Okitolonda-Wemakoy E, Alfonso VH, Steffen I, Muyembe-Tamfum JJ, Simmons G, Rimoin AW, “Serologic Markers for Ebolavirus Among Healthcare Workers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo” (opens in new tab), Journal of Infectious Diseases, vol. 219, no. 4, pp. 517-525, 2019.
- Spencer D, Hoff N, Mukadi P, Alfosno V, Halbrook M, Okitolonda-Wemakoy E, Gerber S, Bwaka A, Rimoin AW, “Assessing the differences in respondent relationship in a child vaccination serological survey in the Democratic Republic of Congo”, 2018. Presented at 67th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, New Orleans, LA, 2018.
- Bramble MS, Hoff NA, Gilchuk P, Lu K, Mukadi P, Doshi RH, Steffen I, Nicholson BP, Lipson A, Vashist N, Sinai C, Spencer D, Olinger G, Okitolonda-Wemakoy E, Ilunga BK, Pettitt J, Logue J, Bennett RS, Jahrling P, Cavet G, et al., “Pan-Filovirus Serum Neutralizing Antibodies in a Subset of Congolese Ebola Virus Infection Survivors” (opens in new tab), Journal of Infectious Diseases, vol. 218, no. 12, pp. 1929-1936, 2018.
- Kelly JD, Hoff NA, Spencer D, “Neurological, Cognitive, and Psychological Findings Among Survivors of Ebola Virus Disease From the 1995 Ebola Outbreak in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of Congo: A Cross-sectional Study” (opens in new tab), Clinical Infectious Diseases, vol. 68, no. 8, pp. 1388-1393, 2018.
- Hoff NA, Doshi RH, Colwell B, Kebela-Illunga B, Mukadi P, Mossoko M, Spencer D, Muyembe-Tamfum JJ, Okitolonda-Wemakoy E, Lloyd-Smith J, Rimoin AW, “Evolution of a Disease Surveillance System: An Increase in Reporting of Human Monkeypox Disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2001-2013”, International Journal of Tropical Disease & Health, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. IJTDH.35885, 2017.
Contact Information
Email: dandre.spencer@uci.edu
Phone: (949) 824-4090
Address: 1003 Health Sciences Road Suite 308 Irvine CA 92617-3054
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Last updated on 9/3/2026.