Lab Members

Jennifer Richer, PhD

Dr. Jennifer Richer, Professor with tenure, Department of Pathology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, has studied steroid hormone receptor action in breast for over 25 years. Translational studies from her lab led to two recently completed clinical trials targeting the androgen receptor in primary and metastatic breast cancer with de novo or acquired resistance to ER-directed endocrine therapy. The Richer lab also discovered a mechanism by which carcinomas co-opt use of immune-suppressive factors typically made by trophoblasts to ensure fetal tolerance during pregnancy.

Richer served 5 years as co-leader of the University of Colorado Cancer Center (UCCC) Tumor Host Interactions Program. She is currently on the UCCC IAB and helped build the Outreach and Engagement-Community Advisors for Research Equity in Science (COE-CARES). Richer’s national service includes 5 years as a standing member of the NIH NCI Tumor Cell Biology study section and many years of service on numerous additional grant review panels. She was the Basic Science Chair for The Endocrine Society Annual Meeting 2021 and Co-chair of the 2016 Keystone Symposium on Nuclear Hormone Receptors.

Dr. Richer is passionate about supporting the next generation of scientists and has served as principal investigator of the University of Colorado’s American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant for junior faculty and the Diversity in Cancer Research Summer Fellowship Program. She received the Dean’s Mentoring Award and NIH Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) Faculty Sponsor Award in 2015. Trainees in her laboratory have obtained numerous fellowships including NIH F31, F32, F99/K00, and K99/R00 grants, and other career development awards from federal and private foundations. Dr. Richer was named as Graduate School Dean at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in February 2023, a half time position so that she can continue to lead her active breast cancer research program.

Nicole Spoelstra B.S

Research Services Program Manager

B.S., Microbiology – Colorado State University

Nicole grew up in both Denver and Centennial, CO. She received histology training early in her career thanks to the mentorship of John McGinley, HTL (ASCP), and continues to employ those techniques in her everyday work. Nicole received molecular biology and administrative training during her time in Kathryn Horwitz’s lab, where she was mentored by Jennifer Richer, PhD and many other invaluable members of the lab. She helped Dr. Richer start up her lab shortly thereafter. In addition to her position in research, Nicole managed the Laser Capture Microdissection Shared Resource at the University of Colorado from 2004-2014, where she had the opportunity to work closely with several scientists both within and outside the university. She currently manages the Richer lab.

In her spare time Nicole enjoys art, travel, being outdoors, and spending time with friends and family.

Jessica Christenson, PhD

Instructor

Postdoctoral Research, Breast cancer metastasis (Richer lab) – University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO (2014-2018)
Ph.D., Biology – City of Hope, Duarte, CA (2014)
B.S., Biology and History – University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (2005)

For the past 15 years Jessica has made it her mission to identify novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of patients with breast cancer. In recent years her aims have shifted to focus exclusively on the study of metastatic disease. Jessica is currently investigating how the lung itself promotes the growth and survival of metastases in an effort to better understand ways in which to block metastatic progression and extend the survival and quality of life of patients with metastatic disease.

Dane Sessions, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

B.S., Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (2014)
Ph.D., Microbiology, University of Virginia School of Medicine (2022)
M.D., University of Virginia School of Medicine (2025)

Dane is from California and is an MD-PhD student at the University of Virginia, graduating in 2025. He is spending his last year of medical school in the Richer lab studying mitochondrial fusion-fission dynamics in the context of androgen receptor signaling in breast cancer. He plans to pursue a pediatrics residency and fellowship to become a practicing pediatric physician-scientist. Outside of work, he is a husband and father and spends his free time cooking for his family, making coffee, and doing anything outdoors. He and his family are excited about hiking and snowboarding in the mountains near Denver!

Li-Wei Kuo, M.S

4th Year Doctoral Candidate

B.S., Medical Laboratory and Biotechnology, Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan

M.MS. (Medical Science), Clinical Medicine (Cancer focus), National Chung Kung University, Taiwan

M.S , Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Georgetown University, Washington D.C

2022-2023 Cancer Biology T32 awardee (associated with University of Colorado Cancer Center)

2023 REGMS Scholar, Endocrine Society

Li-Wei was born and raised in Chiayi City, Taiwan. He worked as a Medical Technologist (MT) in a hospital for a few years and realized basic research could benefit the patients more. His close family was also affected by cancers. In Fall 2020, he decided to attend the Cancer Biology (CANB) Program at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and joined Richer Lab in 2021. His research focuses on understanding triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and ovarian cancer tryptophan catabolism and the autocrine/ paracrine on cancer cells and macrophages.

In his free time, he enjoys exploring the new restaurants in Denver, running and traveling.

Juanantonio Ruiz, B.S

Lab Member

Juanantonio grew up in Aurora, Colorado. His interest in science came from an early age when his mom watched NCIS having him believe he could be a scientist like Abby. He received his BS in Biology at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Juanantonio plans to continue his education by going to graduate school in the future.

In his free time, he loves to play and watch soccer, taking his dogs out on walks, supporting the local sport teams (even though it can be tough sometimes), and traveling to different countries.

Makenzy Mull, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Ph.D., Molecular Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine (2024)
B.S., Biology and Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Asheville (2019)

Makenzy is new to Denver, originally from the east coast, she was raised in Asheville, North Carolina and spent 6 years in Baltimore, Maryland. Her undergraduate research mentor at UNC Asheville, helped her pursue graduate school and a career as a research scientist. She finished her Ph.D. in the lab of Dr. Stuart Martin at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where her thesis work focused on metastatic breast cancer and cell signaling. Makenzy's unique thesis project with calcium physiology and breast cancer, will bring a new skillset to the Richer lab for her postdoctoral work. In her free time, Makenzy enjoys baking, reading, Pure Barre, and spending time with her dogs and family.

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