Renee Lopez-Swalls | Si Noyce | SIU

Renee Lopez-Swalls

Research Education Specialist

As Research Education Specialist, Renee serves diverse roles in the River Region Program that include designing and organizing the Summer Research Immersion activities at SIUC, overseeing the teacher advisory team, and assisting Master Teaching Fellows in implementing classroom activities.

Renee is an expert on the cell biology and development of the model fern Ceratopteris richardii (C-Fern). For the past nine years, she has been active in teacher preparation and development programs, including initiating the use of C-Fern in the NSF-supported PlantingScience, an online program that enables scientists to enter classrooms worldwide. During her undergraduate and graduate studies, she received fellowships from the SIU McNair Scholars program (US Department of Education), NSF Heartland GK-12 and NSF Bridges to the Doctorate programs. She served as a research mentor to students working in the lab, including numerous undergraduates and middle school students with disabilities. She has been involved in the Noyce Program since completing the PhD in 2016.