Shumin Tan

Dr. Shumin Tan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology at the Tufts University School of Medicine. She leads a research program focused on understanding how Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) exploits host environmental cues to survive and replicate. Her work integrates novel fluorescent reporter strains, in vitro macrophage models, and in vivo murine infection systems to study bacterial niche adaptation and heterogeneity during infection. Key research areas include ion homeostasis, cholesterol metabolism, and signal integration pathways critical for pathogen persistence.

Education: Ph.D. in Microbiology from Stanford University (2011), B.A. in Molecular Biology from Washington University (2004). Professional roles include editorial board membership at Infection and Immunity and PLoS Genetics, and leadership in tuberculosis research conferences. Active teaching includes ethics courses for graduate students.

Recent grants include NIH funding for studies on macrophage metabolism in tuberculosis, potassium homeostasis mechanisms, and bacterial environmental signal integration. Notable achievements include identifying novel drug targets related to Mtb's response to host microenvironments and demonstrating the role of statins in improving tuberculosis outcomes in mice.

Professional activities include organizing the Northeast World Tuberculosis Day Conference and serving as a session chair at Gordon Research Conferences. Her lab's innovative approaches to spatial-temporal analysis of host-pathogen interactions have advanced understanding of granuloma dynamics and drug efficacy in heterogeneous infection microenvironments.