Jill Shea, PhD, is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Utah School of Medicine and an investigator of the Huntsman Cancer Institute. The central goal of her research is to improve surgical outcomes through translational research.

To accomplish this goal she is currently developing three key areas of research: 1) surgical intervention, 2) imaging, and 3) drug treatment. Specific projects include the development of new nerve guide conduits to improve patient outcomes following traumatic injuries, development of new imaging techniques to treat pancreatic cancer, and development of animal models for pancreas cancer to assist in the development of new therapeutic approaches. Though these projects seem diverse they all share the common theme of advancing current treatments relevant to the Department of Surgery.