Brenda Shields Email and Phone Number

I received undergraduate and graduate degrees in Biology from Villanova University (thesis study - mitochondrial protein avUCP role in avian thermogenesis). I joined HHMI - Janelia Research Campus in 2007 and developed expert skills in a diverse number of scientific techniques, with strengths in primary cell culture, histology, IHC/ISH and imaging. In 2017, I relocated to Duke University, in the Pratt School of Engineering, as a research scientist in the lab of Michael Tadross. I was instrumental in developing DART, a novel technique to target drugs to native receptors in specific cell-types in the brain. I continue to utilize my advanced technical skills, including protein engineering, to research and develop various molecular-based tools useful for neuroscience. My current focus is to improve the DART system (DART.2) in capture efficiency, specificity and readout, and expand the DART toolbox to include prominent drug targets, such as opioid, cannabinoid and dopamine brain receptors. Improvements for these new targets could lead to a variety of potential strategic therapies for several neurological and mental illness disorders.