Mary’s College of Maryland. She studies DNA damage and repair pathways that impact human health and teaches college chemistry courses. Shanen was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio and has three younger siblings. She developed interests in math and science at an early age and participated in several science exploration activities while in middle school and high school. Shanen earned a bachelor of science degree in Biochemistry with extra training in statistical methods from Miami University and a doctoral degree in Biochemistry from The Ohio State University.