Renee Collier

Renee Collier was Derek's research fellow during his time at the NIH.

History
Renee was working at the NIH under Derek Shepherd as a research fellow. Her research into curing autism piqued his interest because he thought he could apply it to his own research, so they worked closely together. When she hit a wall and became frustrated, he encouraged her to keep going, saying she was frustrated because she was close to a breakthrough. He ended up working on her research on his own. He called her in the middle of the night when he found something. She came into the lab and when she saw what he had discovered, she was so excited that she said she could kiss him, but then said she wouldn't. Despite this, the two shared a kiss, after which Derek pulled back and said that he loves his wife and doesn't want anyone but her, leading him to leave the NIH to go back to Seattle.

Romantic
While working with Derek Shepherd, she developed romantic feelings for him. After he helped make a breakthrough in her research, she said she could kiss him, but said she wouldn't. However, the two did share a kiss, after which Derek said he loved his wife and didn't want anything but her, causing him to move back to Seattle.

Familial
She has a younger sister who is autistic. She says that she always wondered what her sister was thinking, which led her to a side project of trying to cure autism.

Career
She's a research fellow at the National Institutes of Health. She worked closely with Derek Shepherd during his time there. She was working on a cure for autism as a side project and her research into that caught Derek's attention because he felt it could be helpful with his own research.