Shayna Wrighten

Shayna Wrighten is a Biology Professor at Francis Marion University (FMU), where she has been employed since 2012. Her roles include teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in biology, neuroscience, and psychology, such as Biology 406: Human Physiology and Psychology 304: Brain and Mind. She leads the Wrighten Lab, focusing on interdisciplinary research at the intersection of neurobiology, social interactions, and implicit racial bias. Her work also extends to exploring the physiological effects of choral training on lung function in collaboration with the Fine Arts department.

Education: Earned a BS in Neuroscience from Furman University (2002-2006) and a PhD in Biomedical Sciences with an emphasis in Neuroscience from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine (2006-2011). Her PhD research investigated age differences in insulin effects on neural plasticity in rats.

Research Interests:

• Neurobiological mechanisms of social interactions using rodent models.
• Implicit racial bias in college populations, particularly FMU's unique student demographics showing reduced bias against Black individuals.
• Therapeutic applications of choral singing for pulmonary health, including COPD and post-COVID-19 recovery.

Future Directions: Plans include EEG studies on neural correlates of racial bias and expanding choral training research into clinical therapeutic contexts.