Professor Núñez

Professor Megan Núñez is the Nan Walsh Schow ’54 and Howard Schow Professor in the Physical and Natural Sciences.  A summa cum laude graduate of Smith College, she earned her doctorate from the California Institute of Technology.  She held a Clare Boothe Luce assistant professorship at Mount Holyoke College and a fellowship at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University before joining the Chemistry Department at Wellesley in 2013.

A chemical biologist whose research focuses on DNA damage and bacterial adhesion, Professor Núñez has mentored  ~80 female undergraduate researchers in her laboratory, advancing their progress into STEM careers.  She has authored or coauthored 34 research publications and served as PI or co-PI on numerous NIH and NSF research grants.  Her research was honored with a Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award in 2012.

Megan Núñez served as Dean of Faculty Affairs from 2019-2025.  Dean Núñez had responsibility for faculty development, faculty appointments, and diversity and inclusion efforts.  She worked directly with departments in the sciences, languages, and the visual and performing arts.  Prior to becoming dean, she served as chair of the Chemistry department and director of the Biochemistry program.

At Mount Holyoke College, Professor Núñez founded and directed the PLUMS program, a peer-led science workshop program designed to improve outcomes for a diverse student body through active, collaborative learning and community-building.  For this work she was presented with the Faculty Teaching Award in 2012.  From 2018-2022, she served as PI of Wellesley’s Science Center HHMI Inclusive Excellence project with the goal of helping every student to thrive at the College.

The mother of 20-year-old twins, Megan enjoys reading, hiking, bicycling, and yoga.