Shakira M. Nelson, Ph.D. is a program director in the Division of Training, Workforce Development, and Diversity. She is the Director of the Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research and Research Supplements to Promote Re-entry into Biomedical and Behavioral Research Careers programs, and a co-Director of the NIGMS Postdoctoral Research Associate Training (PRAT) program. Shakira also co-manages the Bridges to Baccalaureate, the Initiative for Maximizing Student Development program, and Research on Interventions program.
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 The Pennsylvania State University, a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a Ph.D. in immunology and infectious diseases from The Pennsylvania State University. Nelson conducted postdoctoral research as a cancer prevention fellow at the National Cancer Institute.