Instructor Background

Shelley O’Grady has a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Chemistry & Biology from Ryerson Polytechnic University. She worked at two major biopharmaceutical companies before moving on to Texas A&M to work on her graduate degree. Upon receiving a Master’s degree in Biochemistry she moved to her now permanent home of Austin, Texas to join the Ambion Research & Development team.

While working in R&D she helped create and develop UltraHyb, an ultra sensitive hybridization buffer for use in Northern & Southern blots, and Gene Arrays, which was named winner of Ambion’s 1999 ‘Product of the Year’ award. She was then promoted to Quality Development Scientist where she developed quality control assays and helped transition new products from the research and development phase into production.

Following Ambion, Professor O’Grady moved to the University of Texas at Austin where she worked for Dr. John T. McDevitt, steward of the “integrated bio-nano-chip” technology. There, she focused her attention on developing lab-on-a-chip diagnostic assays, including most recently, a salivary diagnostic assay for early cardiac disease detection. This project was in collaboration with Austin start-up LabNow Diagnostics.

Professor O’Grady first joined the Biotechnology Department in 1999 as an industry guest-lecturer on emerging biotechnology techniques and quality assurance procedures. She became an Adjunct Faculty in the Biology Department in 2003 where she still teaches various biology classes such as Biology Fundamentals, Cellular & Molecular Biology, and Life on Earth. Returning to the Biotechnology Department as an adjunct, and then temporary full-time faculty, she teaches Quality Assurance for the Biosciences, Molecular Biology Techniques, Biotechnology Lab Methods & Techniques, and Biotechnology Lab Instrumentation.

Professor O’Grady has helped develop a quality system for the Biotechnology Department ensuring exceptional quality education. She has authored and co-authored several manuals in this effort including a department-specific Quality Manual, Student Handbook, Faculty Handbook and laboratory instruction manuals (Biotechnology Lab Methods & Techniques, and Molecular Biology Techniques).
In the last few years Professor O’Grady has presented at several regional and national conferences, but one of her favorite presentations was leading a DNA forensic workshop for a group of young teenagers at the ACC Girls Summer Institute. When she’s not teaching exciting biotechnology topics you will find her caring for sick, injured or orphaned baby wildlife at the Austin Wildlife Rescue.