Shelby Mills is originally from Hazel Green, AL and then moved to Tuscaloosa, AL for school. She received all 3 of her Chemical and Biological degrees from The University of Alabama. Shelby’s graduate school research focused on protein engineering of caffeine degradation enzymes. This research is what sparked her interest in the field of synthetic biology. After graduation, Shelby moved to the greater Boston area to start her career as an engineer in biotechnology. Shelby was active in her AIChE undergraduate chapter holding officer positions, and then transitioned to becoming an active member of the AIChE Young Professionals Committee(YPC) during graduate school. She has served a term as a CEOC director, and is the 2021 YPC chair. When she is not at work, Shelby enjoys spending time with her husband Connor and their two dogs Rosie and Meg.