Scarlet Shell

I have a passion for understanding how living systems work, as well as for sharing my love of biology and research with the next generation of scientists and informed citizens.

The central goal of my lab is to understand the regulatory mechanisms that underlie mycobacterial stress tolerance. We combine genetics, genomics, transcriptomics and biochemistry to understand how mycobacteria respond to, and ultimately survive, stressful conditions.

Our guiding principles are curiosity, respect, and scientific rigor. Together we strive to push the boundaries of knowledge and advance our field by addressing basic research questions that hold the keys to advancements in human health and understanding of the natural world.

Visit Digital WPI to view student research and projects advised by Professor Shell.

I have a passion for understanding how living systems work, as well as for sharing my love of biology and research with the next generation of scientists and informed citizens.

Visit Digital WPI to view student research and projects advised by Professor Shell.

To treat many infectious diseases, including the global scourge of tuberculosis, doctors must do battle with a wily adversary, bacteria. Unfortunately for afflicted patients, bacteria have also acquired strategies for thwarting attacks from the immune system and the onslaught of antibiotic drugs. We need to know more about the strategies bacteria use to survive stresses. Biology and biotechnology professor, Scarlet Shell, is seeking to do just that by probing the molecular changes that underlie these mechanisms.

Scholarly Work

Shell, S.S., Prestwich, E.G., Baek, S.H., Shah, R.R., Sassetti, C.M., Dedon, P.C., and Fortune, S.M. 2013. DNA Methylation Impacts Gene Expression and Ensures Hypoxic Survival of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. PLoS Pathogens. 9(7): e1003419. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1003419

Hargreaves, V.V., Shell, S.S., Mazur, D.J., Hess, M.T., and Kolodner, R.D. 2010. Interaction between the MSH2 and MSH6 nucleotide-binding sites in the S. cerevisiae MSH2-MSH6 complex. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 285(12):9301-10.

Shell, S.S.*, Putnam, C.D.*, and Kolodner, R.D. 2007. The N-terminal region of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Msh6 is an unstructured tether to PCNA. Molecular Cell. 26(4): 565-578

Yang, G., Scherer, S.J., Shell, S.S., Yang., K., Kim, L., Lipkin, M., Kucherlapati, R., Kolodner, R.D., and Edelmann, W. 2004. Dominant effects of an Msh6 missense mutation on DNA repair and cancer susceptibility. Cancer Cell. 6(2): 139-50.

Media Coverage

See More Media Coverage

SciTech Daily

Ancient African Remedy Shows Promise Against Tuberculosis in New Study

A team of WPI researchers co-authored a study that suggests a compound in a plant, African wormwood, may be effective against tuberculosis.

Telegram.com

Telegram & Gazette, Scarlet Shell, WPI Professor Receives $1.1 Million Grant for Bacteria Study, 2017-01-12

Scarlet Shell, assistant professor of biology and biotechnology, has received a $1.1 million CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation for a five-year program to study the molecular mechanisms bacteria use to survive stressful conditions of starvation and lack of oxygen.

Scarlet Shell

SDG 3: Good Health & Well-Being

Scholarly Work

News

WPI and UMass Lowell Award Seed Grants to Research Teams

The Month in Photos: March 2021

WPI Announces Faculty Promotions and Tenure Awards

WPI Awarded NIH Grant to Identify Sweet Wormwood Plant Compounds Effective Against Tuberculosis Bacteria

Announcements

Media Coverage