April Shea

April Shea serves as Senior Scientist in Applied Biology for the National Strategic Research Institute at the University of Nebraska, the DOD-designated University Affiliated Research Center sponsored by U.S. Strategic Command.

In her role, Shea serves as a principal investigator for countering weapons of mass destruction (CWMD) efforts for the Department of Defense (DOD) and Other Government Agencies (OGA) and supports multiple CWMD efforts across the chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threat space.

Shea also serves as a biorisk manager for NSRI and is responsible for managing risks associated with the use and handling of biological materials in laboratory and operational settings. Her role encompasses the development, implementation and management of the biorisk management program, ensuring biological research and activities are conducted safely and securely.

Shea brings nearly 20 years of experience “working at the bench” in microbiology laboratories. She has spent her career supporting the military and DOD studying high consequence pathogens and various detection modalities. She has extensive experience working in high containment environments and is known for maintaining top-notch laboratories in compliance with all federal safety and security regulations.

Prior to joining NSRI, Shea served as the technical manager for the Unified Culture Collection (UCC) at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID). During her tenure, she developed expertise in process and protocol development to ensure purity and reliability of the products produced by the UCC, as they are used for diagnostic, therapeutic and vaccine development in both DOD and DOD partner laboratories.  

In addition to her responsibilities in the UCC, Shea managed one of the biosafety level (BSL) 3 containment suites at USAMRIID where she was responsible for day-to-day operations and worked closely with the biosafety and biosurety offices to ensure best practices were utilized in accordance with biological safety and security standards and regulations.  

Prior to USAMRIID, Shea worked in the Division of Microbiology at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP). The primary focus of her efforts was obtaining signature spectra of threat agents using Raman vibrational spectroscopy to build a reference library for the Raman Chemical Imaging Biothreat Detection Program. She also assessed threat agents using Infrared (IR) spectroscopy and attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) spectroscopy.

Shea earned a master's degree in microbiology and immunology from Georgetown University as well as a bachelor's degrees in biology and forensic and investigative science from West Virginia University.