Shelby Bradford, PhD

Shelby Bradford, PhD

Assistant editor at The Scientist

Shelby is an Associate Editor at The Scientist. She earned her PhD in immunology and microbial pathogenesis from West Virginia University, where she studied neonatal responses to vaccination. She completed an AAAS Mass Media Fellowship at StateImpact Pennsylvania, and her writing has also appeared in Massive Science. Shelby participated in the 2023 flagship ComSciCon and volunteered with science outreach programs and Carnegie Science Center during graduate school.

Articles by Shelby Bradford, PhD

Photograph of a New World Screwworm standing on a wooden post. The fly has a shiny greenish-blue back, translucent wings, and large orange eyes.

As the New World Screwworm Returns, Scientists Unite to Fight Back

By Shelby Bradford, PhD | | 6 min read

A 3D illustration of tan cells with bumps on their surface, purple cells with petal-like folds, blue cells, and pink cells with long projects clustered around branches of red blood

Artificial Blood Vessels and AI Will Help Better Model the Human Pancreas

By Shelby Bradford, PhD | | 3 min read

A bar chart with two sets of red and black bars representing the median annual income for graduate and postdoctoral researchers compared to their equivalently educated peers from all professions. Graduate researchers make approximately $36,500 compared to their peers’ $82,000. Postdoctoral researchers make approximately $60,000 compared to their peers’ salary of nearly $120,000.

Compensation Challenges Strain Graduate and Postdoctoral Researchers

By Shelby Bradford, PhD | | 7 min read

Photo of an unlit movie theater with a film showing two astronauts in space suits walking across a dusty surface.

Lights, Camera, Science! The Science and Entertainment Exchange Brings Real Science to Hollywood

By Shelby Bradford, PhD | | 5 min read

3D illustration of two human head shapes made on crumpled paper facing each other on a grey background. The head on the left has red tape covering its mouth, representing censorship.

Police Removed Prominent Scientists from the ADA Meeting. Researchers Respond

By Shelby Bradford, PhD | | 6 min read

A vector illustration of blue background with a human arm extending from the left of the image holding up their hand against a robot arm entering from the right of the frame holding a pencil. Above the human’s hand, the word “No” is written in white with a white exclamation point beside it. This represents opposition to improper AI use in science writing.

arXiv Takes the First Step to Combat “AI Slop” in Submissions

By Shelby Bradford, PhD | | 5 min read

Photograph of a full human brain resting on a table in front of a blurred background. The tissue appears light in color with the crevices of the folds appearing a dark purple color.

The Brain Health Accelerator Seeks to Revolutionize Neuroscience Research

By Shelby Bradford, PhD | | 4 min read

Two photographs of organic chemist Matthew Powner. On the left, a photograph of Powner from 2014 sitting at a desk in a suit is in grayscale. On the right is a more recent photo of Powner in color with short, brown hair and wearing a light colored, collared shirt in front a blurred background of a lab.

Then and Now: Matthew Powner Studies the Chemical Intersections at the Origins of Life

By Shelby Bradford, PhD | | 5 min read

3D illustration of a skin cross section showing cells of the epidermis and dermis. A divot in the skin represents a healing injury, with the cells beneath it a light brown-yellow color compared to the surrounding pink cells.

Rapid Senescence Onset in Skin Cells Aids Wound Healing

By Shelby Bradford, PhD | | 5 min read

Photograph of wooden domino pieces on a table. A line of them extending from the top left corner has fallen over. A red and white inflatable ring in a rope square stops the fallen dominoes from knocking over a larger group of them on the bottom right of the image. The image represents the protective effect of preventative measures.

Lessons from Prevention Pioneers Create Roadmaps for Future Challenges

By Shelby Bradford, PhD | | 4 min read

Photograph of a large rock outcropping in a basin with green shrubby trees at its base under a clear blue sky

Early Eukaryotes Used Oxygen at the Seafloor

By Shelby Bradford, PhD | | 5 min read

Illustration of a person standing with a telescope looking out over a blue background with strands of DNA floating in the distance. This represents Daniel Lin-Arlow directing the science vision for the company Ansa Biotechnology as the chief scientific officer.

Career Chat: A Synthetic Biologist-Turned-Startup Founder Leads the Company’s Scientific Vision

By Shelby Bradford, PhD and Meenakshi Prabhune, PhD | | 4 min read

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The Scientist Digest cover September 2026

September 2026

Multiplex Microscopy Becomes Easier with Encoded Antibodies

A new system that enables researchers to uniquely tag monoclonal antibodies for use in microscopy could help simplify complex imaging studies.

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Rethinking ALS Biomarkers: From Discovery to Clinical Impact

Rethinking ALS Biomarkers: From Discovery to Clinical Impact

Explore how emerging biomarker research and ultrasensitive multiplex proteomics are revealing molecular signatures associated with neurodegeneration, inflammation, and disease progression in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Best Practices for qPCR Assay Design and Optimization

Best Practices for qPCR Assay Design and Optimization

Explore practical strategies for designing, optimizing, and validating qPCR assays to improve specificity, reproducibility, and confidence across routine and high-throughput gene expression studies.

Beyond the Basics: Strategies for Single-Cell and Spatial Transcriptomics Analysis

Beyond the Basics: Strategies for Single-Cell and Spatial Transcriptomics Analysis

Explore strategies for navigating critical analytical decisions in single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics, from quality control and data integration to clustering, marker selection, and cell-type annotation.

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Building Translation-Ready Biomarkers with Connected Workflows

Identify sources of variability and approaches for improving consistency across biomarker development.

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The ASSIST PLUS pipetting robot for affordable workflow automation

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Monod Bio Licenses AI-designed Protein Technologies to SignalChem Biotech for Custom Discovery Assays

Partnership brings Monod Bio’s LuxSit luciferase and NovoBodies to SignalChem Biotech’s custom assay services