Shelby Bradford, PhD

Shelby Bradford, PhD

Assistant editor at Labx Media Group

Shelby is an Assistant 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

Illustration of a person on a purple background wearing a VR headset. Images of plants, microbes, planets, and animals swirl around them, highlighting what they are learning on their headset.

Gamifying Science to Reach New Audiences

3D illustration of pink cancer cells on a blue background.

Respiratory Viruses Wake Up Dormant Cancer Cells

Conceptual illustration of cancer research showing scientists conducting research. A pink cell, microscope, test tube rack, and DNA strand are pictured.

Radiotherapy Causes Genomic Changes in Breast Tumors

Conceptual illustration showing a cancer cell with pink proteins and violet growths on the left and an orange DNA helix stretching across the image to the top right corner.

Genetic Variability Affects How Tumors Respond to Immunotherapy

Photo of a woman with straight dark hair looking fatigued lying in bed with a grey blanket covering her.

Immune Markers Help Identify Subgroups of ME/CFS Patients

Illustration of the profile of a human head, with the top of the head opened up to show a pink brain. A worm is standing up inside of the brain, with a string of musical notes coming from it.

What Causes an Earworm?

3D illustration of green DNA wrapped around blue histones on a grey background.

3D Genome Rewiring Alters Gene Expression in Cancer

3D illustration of blue neurons with dendrites extending across the image and overlapping. Several cell bodies of the neurons in the center of the page are highlighted in yellow, red, and orange to depict neurodegenerative pathology.

Alzheimer’s Disease Affects Tissues Beyond the Brain

Illustration of multiple viruses, each a different color.

The “Virus Hunter” Who Advanced Public Health, One Tool at a Time

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NIH Scientists Issue ‘Bethesda Declaration’ to Protest Research Politicization

3D illustration of a green virus with lighter and darker green receptors in focus on the right of the image. Three more viruses are out of focus on the left.

Preparing for Disease X in a Changing World

Illustration shows Hanne Ahola, a cell biologist at the University of Helsinki, looking in horror at the liquid waste flask that she just dumped her cells into. She is wearing a lab coat, gloves, and has blond hair.

A Moment of Distraction Caused Cellular Destruction

Image of a woman with her hands across her stomach. She has a look of discomfort on her face. There is a blown up image of her stomach next to her and it has colorful butterflies and gut bacteria all swarming within the gut.
November 2025, Issue 1

Why Do We Feel Butterflies in the Stomach?

These fluttering sensations are the brain’s reaction to certain emotions, which can be amplified or soothed by the gut’s own “bugs".

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Long-Read RNA Sequencing Reveals a Regulatory Role for Splicing in Immunotherapy Responses

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Research Roundtable: The Evolving World of Spatial Biology

Research Roundtable: The Evolving World of Spatial Biology

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Exploring the State of the Art in Gene Editing Techniques

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Simplifying Early Alzheimer’s Disease Diagnosis with Blood Testing

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