Shehnaaz Manji graduated in Science (Hons) at La Trobe University and completed a PhD at University of Melbourne in the Department of Medicine at St. Vincent’s Hospital. She was a postdoctoral fellow in the Molecular Oncology group in the Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne.

She joined the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute to study mitochondrial diseases before changing her research focus on the biology of hearing and deafness. In 2011, Shehnaaz moved to the Department of Otolaryngology, Royal Victorian Eye & Ear Hospital, University of Melbourne. She has been involved in teaching and supervising staff and students. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national and international conferences.