Andrew J. Spence

Biography

Andrew J. Spence, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at Temple University. His research group focuses on understanding how animals (including humans) move. The Spence group takes an interdisciplinary and comparative approach to this problem, integrating biomechanical studies of moving animals with robotics and new techniques from the frontier of molecular biology (optogenetics). Prior to coming to Temple University, Dr. Spence was a tenured Lecturer (2012-2013) at the Structure and Motion Laboratory at the Royal Veterinary College, London, UK. Dr. Spence was an RCUK Academic Research Fellow at the Structure and Motion Lab (2007-2012), during which time he established a research program in the control and neuromechanics of legged locomotion, with a side-line in the evolution and biomechanics of mammalian gliding. For both of these areas Dr. Spence has a focus on developing and applying new technologies. Dr. Spence started out in the Structure & Motion Laboratory as a Postdoc with Prof. Alan Wilson (2006-2007), looking at the biomechanics of horses on varied surfaces. Before moving to the UK, Dr. Spence studied antennal mechanoreception with Prof. Eileen Hebets, and then the neuromechanics of locomotion in the PolyPEDAL Laboratory with Prof. Bob Full (2004-2006). His undergraduate degree is in Physics, from UC Berkeley (1993-1997), and his PhD thesis work, at Cornell University (1997-2003), was in the Applied and Engineering Physics Department. His thesis work was on electronic and fluidic microfabricated devices for neural interfacing, with Prof. Mike Isaacson; these devices were tested in neuroethological studies in the lab of Prof. Ron Hoy.

Research Interest

Neuromechanics, Biomechanics, Optogenetics, Robotics, Motor control, Animal locomotion.