Swati Agrawal

Swati Agrawal is an Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of Mary Washington, specializing in molecular parasitology and innovative STEM pedagogy. Her research investigates protein trafficking mechanisms in Toxoplasma gondii using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, while her educational work develops augmented reality tools for biomolecular visualization.

Research domains include:

• Ubiquitin-derived protein import systems in apicoplasts
• Parasite egress mechanisms and host-cell interactions
• CRISPR-based functional genomics in protist parasites
• AR/LEGO modeling for teaching protein-nucleic acid structure

Agrawal creates active learning interventions using Unity and BioBlender to enhance visual literacy in cell and molecular biology courses. Her pedagogical research examines graphical abstracts and tactile learning methods for improving science communication skills.