Misael Romero-Reyes

Dr. Misael Romero-Reyes is originally from Toluca, México where he also completed his undergraduate education and obtained his bachelor’s degree from UAEMex. His passion for teaching started while mentoring his fellow friends and peers in organic and analytical chemistry during the late hours of night. At UAEMex, he conducted research in organic chemistry and pursued other pharmaceutical research at the University of Iowa. He then continued his passion for the chemical sciences by pursuing his PhD in chemistry at Emory University in which he completed his doctoral degree in 2021 with an emphasis on chemical biology.

Romero-Reyes’s time in graduate school was unique and he focused a significant chunk of his time in developing himself as a teacher. He participated in multiple creative instruction and general educator courses and workshops to gain not only the essential skills for being an instructor and course developer, but also to develop techniques to incorporate multiple learning and teaching pedagogies using available modern-day tools. He was able to implement these techniques by being a course instructor whilst a graduate student at Emory and as a professor at Hanover College. In these classes, he incorporated interactive engagement strategies (e.g., online games, flipped-classroom settings for certain topics) that was met with resounding success. Prior to joining GCC in 2022, Romero-Reyes gained a breadth of experience in teaching chemistry courses, and he has taught general chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, upper-level science writing and communication, research-focused chemistry courses, as well as special topics courses pertaining to sustainable chemistry and the environment dilemma today. Romero-Reyes has a niche in integrating broader applications to each of his courses by connecting what is being taught to the current challenges faced in the real world. He focuses on soft skills in his classes (communication skills) that will help the students in their future careers, wherever they may lie.

In addition to teaching, Romero-Reyes is invested in research and is focusing on developing a platform for the specific isolation of small molecules from complex aqueous and non-aqueous mixtures. He is specifically focused on developing environmentally friendly techniques to combat the unsustainable methods used currently in water treatment. His research has a special emphasis in organic, materials and environmental chemistry which allows students to gain interdisciplinary experiences whilst simultaneously developing their own ideas along the way, thus fostering critical thinking and promoting problem-solving.

Aside from lecturing and research, he is devoted to advancing scientific knowledge for everyone, especially underrepresented groups. His primary service goal as a professor includes increasing awareness of science to the public, providing students a sense of voice and increasing the number of underrepresented minorities in college. To that extent, he has participated in many outreach events that allowed him to enhance his science communication. Participating in outreach and DEI activities has taught him how to communicate with patience and kindness, and use innovative concepts such as relatable analogies to his fellow colleagues, students and the general public.

• Doctorate – chemistry – Emory University
• Bachelor's – chemistry – Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México

• Water remediation – using the combination of chemical, organic and biological chemistry to purify water
• Metal organic frameworks – development of these materials in a sustainable manner for remediation applications
• Education research – assessment of different techniques for teaching and learning

• Sanford, A.; Manuel, B.; Romero-Reyes, M. A.*; Heemstra J. M.* 2022. Combating Small Molecule Environmental Contaminants: Detection and Sequestration using Functional Nucleic Acids. Chemical Science. 13 7670-7684.
• Patterson, K.; Romero-Reyes, M. A.; Heemstra J. M. 2022. Fluorescence Quenching of Xanthene Dyes during Amide Bond Formation using DMTMM. ACS Omega.
• Romero-Reyes, M. A. and Heemstra J. M. 2021. Enabling the Sequestration and Removal of Multiple Small Molecule Contaminants using an Enhanced Aptamer Filtration System. Bioconjugate Chem. 32 (9) 2043–2051.

• Best Poster Award, Environmental Category (2022), Materials Research Society
• Minor Research Grant (2022), Hanover College
• Major Research Grant (2021), Hanover College
• Quayle Teacher Scholar Award (2021), Emory University
• Martha and Bill Dobes Outstanding Graduate Teaching Fellow Award (2021), Emory University
• Science ATL Communication Fellowship (2020-2021), Science ATL
• Dean’s Teaching Fellowship (2020-2021), Emory University
• Quayle Citizen Scholar Award (2020), Emory University
• PopUp Tour Science SLAM (2019), Wunderbar Together
• Presea Ignacio Manuel Altamirano (2016), UAEMex