In Memoriam: Elizabeth Ann Vallen, 1965-2024

Elizabeth Ann Vallen, professor of biology at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, passed away on April 10. She was 59 years old.

Dr. Vallen was the Howard A. Schneiderman ’48 Professor of Biology at Swarthmore College where she served for nearly three decades. She taught courses on introductory cell and molecular biology, as well as a seminar on symbiotic interactions. During her tenure with the college, she had two separate terms as chair of the biology department and helped to establish both the Biology Scholars Program and the Swarthmore Summer Scholars Program. Additionally, she was known for creating the Chester Children’s Chorus’ Science for Kids program, which aims to inspire students of all ages to pursue an education in science.

For her academic research, Dr. Vallen studied cell division throughout her career, and transitioned to studying the relationship between corals and sea anemones and photosynthetic algae in the 2010s. Her academic contributions to the biology field led her to serving on the editorial board for Cell Biology Education when the journal first launched in 2002.

Dr. Vallen was a magna cum laude graduate of Case Western Reserve University in Ohio where she majored in biochemistry. She received her Ph.D. in molecular biology from Princeton University.