Shaina Yates-Alston, PhD

Shaina Yates-Alston, PhD has held a variety of positions in the medical and scientific fields since 2014. In 2014, they were a Research Assistant at Winston-Salem State University, where they investigated the effect of butyric acid on insulin resistance in induced diabetic hepatic cells and the susceptibility of Acinetobacter baumannii to cinnamaldehyde. In 2015, they were a Summer Research Intern at Wake Forest University, where they developed experimental protocols, performed experiments, and acquired, analyzed, and interpreted results related to photothermal ablation of aggressive breast cancer cells in a 3D matrix, using synthesized silver nanoparticles and near-infrared irradiation. From 2016 to 2020, they held a variety of positions at Wake Forest Baptist Health, Northern Hospital of Surry County, and Wake Forest School of Medicine. At Wake Forest Baptist Health, they worked as a Medical Laboratory Technologist, where they were responsible for patient sample testing and interpretation within various laboratory specialties, laboratory equipment maintenance and quality control, and troubleshooting equipment/software malfunctions and reporting errors. At Northern Hospital of Surry County, they were a Clinical Laboratory Technologist Intern, where they were responsible for multidisciplinary work as an MT doing patient sample testing and interpretation within various laboratory specialties. At Wake Forest School of Medicine, they were a Ph.D Candidate in the Molecular Medicine and Translational Science Program, where they conducted research involving heavy microbiology, biofilms, thermal medicine, polymer nanoparticle science, and antimicrobial therapy. Shaina also wrote and edited scientific publications that were successfully peer-reviewed. Finally, they are currently a General Science Manager at the CK-12 Foundation, where they are responsible for management of science content and products, development of protocols and best practices, and involvement in projects that help gain insights, analyze, and train the ML system and AI products.

Shaina Yates-Alston, PhD, obtained their Bachelor of Science (BS) in Clinical Laboratory Science/Medical Technology/Technologist from Winston-Salem State University in 2016. That same year, they obtained their Medical Technologist (MT) certification from the American Medical Technologists. In 2016, they began their Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Molecular Medicine and Translational Science at Wake Forest School of Medicine, which they completed in 2021. Shaina also holds a CPR certification.