Dr. Verónica Contreras-Shannon Appointed Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at St. Mary's University
Verónica Contreras-Shannon, PhD, was appointed to serve as the Benjamin F. Biaggini Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at St. Mary’s University (San Antonio, TX) on August 1.
Dr. Contreras-Shannon earned her bachelor’s in Biology at the University of California Santa Cruz. She then participated in research at Los Alamos National Lab in Los Alamos, NM, and later earned her PhD from the University of Texas Health San Antonio (UTHSA). After completing her doctoral work in 2003, she completed two postdoctoral fellowships. She is trained in the Pathobiology of Occlusive Vascular Disease, Immunology, Muscle Regeneration, Genetics, and Cancer Biology.
Dr. Contreras-Shannon served as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) for Undergraduate Student Training in Academic Research (U*STAR) program coordinator from 2018–2019 and then as the program director from 2019–2023. MARC U*STAR was replaced by the NIH Undergraduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (URISE) program in 2023, and Dr. Contreras has served as the program director since then.
Additionally, Dr. Contreras has served as the Director of Biomedical Science and Research in SET since 2023. She led the development and implementation of the Minor in Biomedical Research at St. Mary’s, which launched in Fall 2024. These efforts show her commitment to “training the next generation of scientists,” and to champion undergraduate research at St. Mary’s, particularly in the area of biomedical science. Additionally, Dr. Contreras-Shannon has served on a number of prominent search committees for the university, the Faculty Senate, the President’s Council on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), among others. She received the Undergraduate Research Mentor Award in 2013, the Senior Faculty Mentor Award in 2023, and the Distinguished Faculty Award for the School of Science, Engineering and Technology for the academic year 2018-2019. Dr. Contreras-Shannon’s research focuses on the role of the cytoskeleton during various cell phenomena associated with disease. Her research has been funded by a San Antonio Area Foundation Research Grant (2014-2015) and through an NIH Support of Competitive Research (SCORE) Pilot Project Award (SC2) from 2018-2024.
Dr. Contreras-Shannon has been an active member of the ASIP since 2005, serving on Council and as the Career Development Committee Chair (2021–2027). She also serves on the Education Committee and contributes to the organization of career development sessions—both virtual and in person at the Annual Meeting.