Shelby Giza

I have been working as a Research Scientist at Norvatis Institutes for Biomedical Research since 2007. My role here has evolved over time but mainly focuses on identifying and validating new targets in eye disease, testing and indentifying new biologics for the treatment of those diseases, developing novel in vitro cell-based models, as well as understanding the biology of some of our internal in vivo models.

On UMass Dartmouth Chemistry...

I really liked the personal attention you receive in the small class environment as well as the small department size. I felt like I was part of a tight-knit community, not lost in a sea of students. I also really liked the different chemistry avenues you can take here. You can focus on unique areas of chemistry like natural products with cranberries or biowarfare agents like botulinum neurotoxin.

On the preparation that UMassD Chem provided...

Working in Dr. Singh's lab was the most valuable experience I received at UMassD. The time I spend there helped me in a way that I still appreciate and utilize to this day. I learned firsthand how to apply the scientific method to novel research by exploring peer-reviewed journals, designing experiments, executing these experiments, troubleshooting and reporting the data. I learned that not every experiment works every time, that's how research works and that's okay. This has proved to be invaluable in my research career success for the last 11 years.