Biographical Sketch: Shakira Nelson, Ph.D.

Shakira Nelson Headshot 

Shakira M. Nelson, Ph.D., is a program director in the Division of Training, Workforce Development and Diversity. She co-directs the Postdoctoral Research Associate Training (PRAT) program. Nelson administers the Diversity Supplement Program and Re-entry supplement programs, and manages the Bridges to the Baccalaureate (B2B), Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD)​Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award (IRACDA) programs, and manages grants in the Research on Interventions​ portfolio. Nelson also manages research grants in the area of inflammation and innate immunity in the Division of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biological Chemistry​.

Before joining NIGMS, Nelson was a senior scientific program administrator at the American Association for Cancer Research. She earned a B.S. in microbiology from Pennsylvania State University, an M.P.H. from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a Ph.D. in immunology and infectious diseases from Pennsylvania State University. Nelson conducted postdoctoral research as a cancer prevention fellow at the National Cancer Institute.

To contact Nelson, send email to shakira.nelson@nih.gov.

If you’re a reporter wishing to interview Nelson​, contact the NIGMS Communications and Public Liaison Branch.