Macy is a staff scientist in the lab. She was born in East Peoria, Illinois and grew up in Keokuk, Iowa. In 2013, she started attending Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois. While there, she participated in the University Orchestra, taught general chemistry students as a peer tutor, conducted research under Dr. Douglas Armstrong as part of the requirements for the ONU Honors Program, and worked at the circulation desk of Benner Library. Macy graduated in 2017 with a B.S. in Biochemistry, a music minor, and University Honors. She then moved to St. Louis with her husband, Sam, to enter the chemistry graduate program at WUSTL where she earned her Ph.D. in the Jackrel lab. In 2021, Macy was awarded an NIH NRSA Fellowship from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Following her graduation in 2023, she transitioned to a staff scientist role in the lab.
Outside of school, Macy enjoys reading fiction, playing the bass, participating at church, and spending time with Sam.
Publications
Chen S, Puri A, Bell B, Fritsche J, Palacios HH, Balch M, Sprunger ML, Howard MK, Ryan JJ, Haines JN, Patti GJ, Davis AA, and Jackrel ME (2024). HTRA1 disaggregates α-synuclein amyloid fibrils and coverts them into non-toxic and seeding incompetent species. Nat. Commun. 15: 2436. link
Sprunger, M.L. and M.E. Jackrel^ (2022). Monitoring condensate dynamics in S. cerevisiae using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP). STAR Protoc. 3,101592. pdf file link
Sprunger, M.L., K. Lee, B.S. Sohn, and M.E. Jackrel^ (2022). Molecular determinants and modifiers of Matrin-3 toxicity, condensate dynamics, and droplet morphology. iScience. 25(3):103900. pdf file link
Sprunger, M.L. and M.E. Jackrel. (2021). Prion-like proteins in phase separation and their link to disease. pdf file Biomolecules.
Sprunger, M.L. and M.E. Jackrel. (2019). Quality control in the ER: Misfolded prohormones get a checkup. Mol. Cell. 75(3): 415-416. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2019.07.020. pdf file link
Ryan, J.J., M.L. Sprunger, K. Holthaus, J. Shorter and M.E. Jackrel. (2019). Engineered protein disaggregases mitigate toxicity of aberrant prion-like fusion proteins underlying sarcoma. J. Biol. Chem. doi: 10.1074/jbc.RA119.009494. pdf file.