Shelby Johnson, PhD

Dr. Shelby L. Johnson is a Program Officer at the Coalition for Aligning Science (CAS), where she leverages her expertise in neuroscience and early drug discovery to support the ARIA Initiative. Dr. Johnson is passionate about driving innovative science forward to advance therapies for patients rapidly.

Before joining CAS, Dr. Johnson was a Senior Scientist at Sage Therapeutics, a company committed to drug discovery for neurological disorders. In this role, Dr. Johnson served as the pharmacology representative supporting projects from early target validation through lead optimization.

Dr. Johnson earned her PhD in Neuroscience with a focus in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Rhode Island. Her research focused on investigating natural products and repurposed pharmaceuticals for efficacy in neurodegenerative disease models – namely, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Johnson completed her postdoctoral training at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, where she explored the potential role of somatic mutations in neurological disorders.