Rate My Professor Tyler Schwend

Tyler Schwend serves as Associate Professor of Biology and Director of Neuroscience at Illinois Wesleyan University. He obtained his B.S. in Biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2003 and his Ph.D. in Life Sciences from Northwestern University in 2010. Following his doctorate, he completed National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellowships at Kansas State University from 2010 to 2012 and at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 2012 to 2015. His academic career at Illinois Wesleyan University began thereafter, where he has advanced to associate professor rank.

Schwend's research specialization lies in developmental biology, particularly the molecular regulation of corneal nerves during eye development. He investigates how glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and extracellular matrix molecules guide nerve pathfinding and growth in the developing embryo, with a particular emphasis on corneal GAGs and their inhibitory role in neuro-regeneration. Employing the embryonic chick cornea as a primary model system, his studies explore mechanisms to overcome these inhibitory effects for potential regenerative therapies. Schwend has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, including "Zebrafish con/disp1 reveals multiple spatiotemporal requirements for Hedgehog-signaling in craniofacial development" with SC Ahlgren in BMC Developmental Biology (2009), "Nerve repulsion by the lens and cornea during cornea innervation is dependent on Robo-Slit signaling and diminishes with neuron age" with PY Lwigale and GW Conrad in Developmental Biology (2012), "Resistance of corneal RFUVA–cross-linked collagens and small leucine-rich proteoglycans to degradation by matrix metalloproteinases" with Y Zhang et al. in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (2013), and "Wiring the ocular surface: a focus on the comparative anatomy and molecular regulation of sensory innervation of the cornea" in Differentiation (2023). At Illinois Wesleyan, he teaches General Biology (BIOL 102), Human Anatomy and Physiology laboratories (BIOL 107/108), Biology and Ethics (BIOL 300), Animal Physiology (BIOL 307), and Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience (BIOL 325), while actively mentoring undergraduate researchers in his lab.