Shane gained his Bachelors of Science (Hons) and Biomedical Science from the University of Melbourne, Australia, majoring in Neuroscience and Anatomy & Cell Biology. He received his PhD in Pharmacology also from the University of Melbourne where he researched the protective barriers of the brain during early development, specifically investigating ways to augment this system for delivery of drugs to the central nervous system.

As a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Ben Barres at Stanford University his research focused on astrocytes. His research showed that one form of reactive astrocyte is induced by factors released by microglia. These astrocytes, present in the brains of patients with several neurodegenerative diseases, release a toxic factor that kills certain neurons. Further investigation in his independent lab at NYU Grossman School of Medicine uncovered that toxic lipids produced by specific reactive astrocytes were responsible for this neuron cell death. His lab continues to uncover new sub-states of reactive astrocytes – producing novel models and tools to study their function and determine their role in infection and disease.