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Dr. Sheldon earned undergraduate master's degrees from Lakehead University where she investigated the role of the stationary phase sigma factor in the survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 under starvation conditions. She completed her PhD studies at the University of Western Ontario under the mentorship of Dr. David Heinrichs, characterizing a novel staphylococcal citrate synthase and defining its role in Staphylococcus aureus iron acquisition and pathogenesis. During her postdoctoral research, Dr. Sheldon joined Dr. Eric Skaar's lab at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she identified the iron uptake strategies required for the virulence of Acinetobacter baumannii and worked to define the innate immune response to this pathogen. Her research focuses on the interaction between nutrient acquisition and pathogenicity in medically relevant bacteria. Specifically, she is interested in how the availability of essential nutrients, particularly metal ions, impacts infection outcomes and how successful microbial pathogens evolve strategies to counter host nutritional immunity. Dr. Sheldon joined the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology & Immunology at the University of Saskatchewan in 2022, where her current research centers on Acinetobacter baumannii, an emerging opportunistic pathogen known for its rapid acquisition of multidrug resistance, which has become a priority for the World Health Organization due to its association with severe infections.
University of Saskatchewan • Saskatoon, SK
Joined the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology & Immunology, focusing on microbial pathogenesis and the immune response.
Standard university-wide graduate requirements apply to most arts and science departments unless otherwise specified by the program.