Shannon Rose

Shannon Rose, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) College of Nursing, Memphis, TN. She joined the faculty in July 2024 after serving as an Assistant Professor in Pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, bringing extensive expertise in pediatric immunometabolism and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Her educational background includes:

• PhD in Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences (Cell Biology emphasis) from University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
• BS in Biology from University of Central Arkansas

Dr. Rose's research program centers on immune cell metabolism in children, investigating how bioenergetic alterations in circulating immune cells drive inflammation and metabolic decline in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes. Her work integrates transcriptomics and metabolomics to discover diagnostic biomarkers, with current projects funded by The Brain Foundation focusing on autoantibody/cytokine profiles in ASD.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications (2022-2025) reveals dominant themes of mitochondrial dysfunction and bioenergetic signatures in pediatric populations, particularly using multi-omics approaches (mRNA/microRNA profiling, metabolomics) to identify blood-based biomarkers. Key discoveries link environmental factors like air pollution to neurodevelopmental regression in ASD and connect immune metabolism to metabolic disorders.

No scientific awards, prizes, or medals were documented in the provided materials.

Her research program is sustained by significant extramural funding:

• Current: The Brain Foundation grant for ASD biomarker discovery
• Completed: United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation grant for transcriptomics-based ASD diagnostics
• Past: National Institute of General Medical Sciences grant for pediatric obesity immunometabolism

These projects have generated over 50 peer-reviewed publications and established collaborations across multiple institutions.

Dr. Rose leads a research team within UTHSC's College of Nursing focused on pediatric immunometabolism, collaborating with Arkansas Children's Research Institute and international partners to advance understanding of metabolic-immune interactions in neurodevelopmental disorders.