Dawn Shell, Ph.D. joined the Department of Pathology, Microbiology, Immunology and Forensic Medicine as an Assistant Professor in May 2004. Previously she was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Drexel University College of Medicine. She received her Ph.D. from the MCP Hahnemann University School of Medicine. Dr. Shell is a member of the American Society of Microbiology and the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society.
Research
Dr. Shell's research interests include the genetic and molecular characterization of bacterial virulence factors. She has researched the membrane localization and differential expression of the α-2,3-sialyltransferase (Lst) of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis, an enzyme which facilitates the serum resistance of these pathogens during infection. Currently, she is investigating the immunogenicity of Lst and its viability as a target for vaccine development. She is also investigating the regulation of genes that encode for fimbriae in Enterotoxigenic E. coli.
Publications
Shell, D.M., L. Chiles, R. C. Judd, S. Seal, and R. F. Rest. 2002. The Neisseria
Lipooligosaccharide-Specific α-2,3-Sialyltransferase Is a Surface-Exposed
Outer Membrane Protein. Infect. Immun. 70:3744-3751.
Packiam, M., D. M. Shell, S. V. Liu, Y-B. Liu, D. J. McGee, R. Srivastava, S. Seal and R. F.
Rest. 2006. Differential Expression and Transcriptional Analysis of the α-2,3-
Sialyltransferase Gene in Pathogenic Neisseria spp. Infec. Immun. 74(5):2637-
2650.
