The Spencer Lab is a pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) research program in the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Susan and Leonard Feinstein IBD Center. The lab’s long-term vision is a new model of IBD care centered on prediction, prevention, and precision medicine, shifting care from reactive management to proactive, personalized intervention.

Elizabeth A. Spencer, MD, MS, is Associate Professor of Pediatrics and an NIH-funded physician-scientist supported by a career development award from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). She received her Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from The College of William & Mary, where she was a Monroe Scholar, and her Doctor of Medicine from Eastern Virginia Medical School. She completed her pediatric residency at the University of California, Los Angeles, followed by fellowships in Pediatric Gastroenterology and Hepatology and in Pediatric Advanced Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Mount Sinai, and earned a Master of Science in Clinical Research from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Dr. Spencer’s clinical practice is dedicated exclusively to pediatric IBD, with a focus on complex, treatment-refractory disease and early-life IBD. She co-founded and co-directs the world’s first dedicated IBD Prevention Clinic and the IBD-Dermatology Multidisciplinary Clinic, co-directs the New Drug Start Program, and directs Pediatric IBD Translational Medicine at the Feinstein IBD Center. Certified by the International Bowel Ultrasound Group, she teaches intestinal ultrasound to clinicians nationally and internationally and serves as Research Co-Chair of the NASPGHAN Intestinal Ultrasound Special Interest Group.

Dr. Spencer contributes to national guideline development, including the American College of Gastroenterology Pediatric Crohn Disease Guideline and NASPGHAN guidelines on acute severe ulcerative colitis and on adolescent and reproductive health in IBD, and is part of NASPGHAN’s inaugural class of GRADE methodologists. She is an elected member of the Society for Pediatric Research and the NASPGHAN IBD Committee. Her honors include the Icahn School of Medicine Distinguished Scholar Award, designation as an American Gastroenterological Association Women’s Executive Council Future Leader, the Translational Science Award, Team Science recognition for both the IBD-Dermatology Clinic and the IBD Prevention Clinic, and the Cullman Family Award for Excellence in Physician Communication in 2024, 2025, and 2026.

As Associate Program Director of the Pediatric Research Residency, Dr. Spencer mentors medical students, residents, fellows, and junior faculty, integrating trainees into active research in prevention, translational science, and real-world therapeutics.