Shanna Ratnesar-Shumate, Ph.D.
Email: sratnesar@gmail.com
Shanna Ratnesar-Shumate, Ph.D., is a visiting faculty member in the Department of Chemical, Environmental, and Materials Engineering at the University of Miami. She currently works as a Senior Science Manager at Noblis-ESI and in that role serves as a science advisor to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Probabilistic Analysis for National Threats Hazards and Risks (PANTHR) Biological Threat Characterization (BTC) program and the Hazard Awareness and Characterization Technology Center (HAC-TC). Prior to this position she was an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology and Microbiology; an affiliate of the Global Center for Health Security; and a lecturer for the Biological Defense and Health Security Graduate Program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. During this time, she served as a Fellow of the National Strategic Research Institute for the United States Department of Defense U.S. Strategic Command and an adjunct faculty member for the University of Nebraska Lincoln Morrison Center. Previously, she served as a Senior Principal Investigator of Aerobiology in the National Biological Threat Characterization Center, at the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, a component of DHS S&T. Prior to the NBACC, Shanna was a Senior Scientist in the Aerosol Sciences Section of the Asymmetric Operations Department at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. She received her BS and ME in Environmental Engineering Sciences at the University of Florida and a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering Sciences at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Shanna has expertise on a range of topics including development and assessment of bioaerosol sensors for early warning and detection; development of field portable and autonomous bioaerosol sampling devices for collection of infectious pathogens in clinical and outdoor settings; fate, persistence, transport, and dispersion of infectious aerosols in the environment; risk assessment of biological agents; and evaluation of personal protective equipment for prevention of infection. Recently, she has published several papers on the characterization of the SARS-CoV-2 in aerosols and droplets on surfaces. Shanna is a Fellow of the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative. Shanna is an editor for the journal Aerosol Science and Technology and a guest editor for the journal Viruses special issue “Aerosol Transmission of Viral Disease”. She has served as the chair for the American Association for Aerosol Research (AAAR) Education Committee, Bioaerosol Working group, and a co-chair for the 2022 Annual Conference for the AAAR “Aerosol Science of Infectious Diseases” special symposia and was elected to serve as the conference chair for 2024. Shanna is a two-time recipient of the Department of Homeland Security S&T Undersecretary’s Award and the JHU/APL R.W. Heart Prize Award for Excellence in Independent Research and Development.
