René is the Coordinator of the Aquaculture Phytoplankton Monitoring Network (AQPMN). The aquaculture branch of PMN enhances the Nation’s ability to respond to the growing threat posed by harmful algal blooms (HABs) at aquaculture sites by creating working relationships between the aquaculture industry and marine biotoxin researchers.
René is a biogeochemist by training with research experience working on nature-based approaches to improve coastal wastewater management and groundwater-surface water interactions in coastal systems for the mitigation of HABs. She was a research coordinator for the City University of New York (CUNY), where she forged student/faculty relationships and created international research programs in Beijing, China, for graduate and undergraduate chemistry students. As an NCCOS Scientist, she has partnered with community groups to develop opportunities to serve stakeholders in the aquaculture industry nationwide, including urban and rural areas. René received a BS in Chemistry from York College - CUNY and was awarded a NOAA EPP CESSRST Master’s fellowship at Brooklyn College. She is currently a PhD candidate in Earth and Environmental Sciences at The Graduate Center- CUNY while working as an Environmental Scientist with NCCOS’s HAB Monitoring and Reference Branch at the Hollings Marine Laboratory in Charleston, SC.