Happy Graduate and Professional Student Appreciation Week! We want to extend a huge thank you to our graduate and professional students for their contributions to teaching, research, and service. For a list of celebratory events happening on campus this week, visit: grad.uiowa.edu/grad-success...

Yikang Rong, PhD, a Visiting Scholar (Helen C. Levitt Visiting Endowed Professorship) in Lori Wallrath’s lab in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology here at the University of Iowa, will be giving a seminar on Monday, April 6 at 4:00pm in Kollros Auditorium. We hope to see you there!

Madelin Schwager, a 4th-year Neuroscience and Biochemistry major, was featured in the second edition of Campus Partners Connect, a newsletter from the Pomerantz Career Center. She was also interviewed by the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

@iowacitydarwinday.bsky.social member Peter Nitsche, a @uiowabiology.bsky.social student in my lab group, created this lovely graphic novel about the fascinating biology of sex. We hoped to print it time to sell @ICDD 2026, but it won't be ready yet...but you can buy online! a.co/d/0blNjMjL

Alan Jiao, PhD, a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (University of Oxford), will be giving a seminar on Thursday, April 2nd at 4:00pm in Kollros Auditorium. We hope to see you there!

This week, Assistant Professor of Biology @eannemartin.bsky.social, PhD, will present a seminar titled "Uncovering the Molecular Mechanisms of Synapse Coordination” as part of the ACB Seminar Series. The seminar is on April 1st at 9:30-10:30am in Bowen Science Building (Room 2-501).

If you haven't already, don't forget to apply for our undergraduate scholarships and awards! Students can be nominated by Dept. of Biology faculty, staff, and graduate students, or they can nominate themselves. The deadline to apply is April 1st. If you have any questions, email [email protected].

Congratulations to Biology Professor Maurine Neiman, PhD (@maurineneiman.bsky.social), on receiving the 2025 IDEA Award! Professor Neiman has spent her career expanding access and inclusion in the evolutionary biology community worldwide. Read more here: biology.uiowa.edu/news/2026/03...

Thank you for making a difference and giving back to the Department of Biology on One Day for Iowa! We greatly appreciate your support! #1DayForIowa

Today is One Day for Iowa, the University of Iowa’s 24-hour online giving day! Check our social media accounts throughout the day to see how you can help us make this day a great success! #1DayForIowa 💛🖤 Make an impact by donating here: 1dayforiowa.org/bio26

Tomorrow, Hawkeyes will have the opportunity to make a difference by participating in One Day for Iowa, the University of Iowa's 24-hour online giving day. With your support, our department has been able to provide graduate students with funding as they pursue innovative research opportunities.

Talia Hatkevich ( @taliahatkevichphd.bsky.social ), PhD, a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Cell Biology at Duke University School of Medicine, will be giving a seminar on Thursday, March 26th at 4:00pm in Kollros Auditorium. We hope to see you there!

Congratulations to the Elle Woods Scholars team (left to right: Emily O’Brien (iBio MS student), Travis Sirevicius (iBio PhD student), Jessica Miller (iBio MS student), MaKella Steffensen (iBio PhD student), Christian Weinrich (iBio PhD student) for winning our Fall 2025 COSMOS Competition! 🎉

Diedre Reitz ( @diedrereitz.bsky.social ), PhD, a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at UC Davis, will be giving a seminar on Monday, March 23rd at 4:00pm in Kollros Auditorium. We hope to see you there!

Mark your calendars for March 25th! One Day for Iowa, the University of Iowa's 24-hour online giving day, is nearly here and we couldn’t be more excited! Giving Link: 1dayforiowa.org/bio26 #1DayForIowa

Applications for the Biology Undergraduate Scholarships and Awards are currently being accepted! Students can self-nominate or be nominated by others. The deadline for all awards is April 1st. If you have any questions, please email [email protected].

In February, Stephanie Haase (Instructional Services Specialist), Kendra Musmaker (Instructional Services Specialists), and Lohitaksh Chawla (undergraduate Biology student) represented the UI Department of Biology at the 7th Annual Borlaug Elementary Science Fair.

Congratulations to Integrated Biology graduate student Sehee Min, PhD (mentored by Veena Prahlad, PhD), on her successful PhD dissertation defense! 🎉 Dr. Min’s dissertation is titled, “Novel roles for Heat Shock Factor 1 (HSF1) in gene expression in C. elegans."

Our seminar this week will be led by one of our department’s very own: Professor @maurineneiman.bsky.social, PhD! The seminar will begin at 3:30pm on Friday, March 6th, in Kollros Auditorium (BBE101). All are welcome to attend, and we hope to see you there!

Jim Young and Caleb Craven, former students in the Animal Behavior Laboratory course (Fall 2023 semester), recently had their paper on Madagascar hissing cockroaches published! To read the paper, visit: www.micropublication.org/journals/bio...

Congratulations to Professor John Manak for receiving a Summer 2026 Interdisciplinary Research Grant from the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies to study intellectual disability (ID)! Dr. Manak will work with Dr. Benjamin Darbro (Stead Family Dept. of Pediatrics) to identify ID-associated genes.

Our seminar this week will be led by Mohini Sengupta, PhD, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at Saint Louis University. The seminar will begin at 3:30pm on Friday, February 27th, in Kollros Auditorium (BBE101). All are welcome to attend, and we hope to see you there!

On January 31st, 11 students presented their research at the annual Iowa Sciences Academy Scholar Symposium. Please join us in congratulating these students for their hard work and excellence in undergraduate research! 👏

Associate Professor of Biology Bin Z. HE was recently featured in a CLAS article highlighting the work of 4 University of Iowa researchers and artists. To learn more about the HE Lab’s work, as well as the impact Dr. HE strives to impart on the field of biology, visit clas.uiowa.edu/news/2026/01...

Cathy Yea Won Sung, an Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Biology, received a 3-year, $739,338 grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders to investigate how to prevent permanent hearing loss caused by a widely used anti-cancer drug. now.uiowa.edu/news/2026/02...

Our seminar this week will be led by one of our department's very own, Professor and Director of the @dshb-antibodies.bsky.social, Doug Houston, PhD. The seminar will begin at 3:30pm on Friday, February 20, in Kollros Auditorium (Room 101), Biology Building East (BBE). All are welcome to attend!

Congratulations to the @dshb-antibodies.bsky.social on receiving a $3.4 million NIH grant to renovate its labs and offices! dailyiowan.com/2026/02/08/u...

Our seminar this week will be led by one of our department's very own: Professor John Manak, PhD! The seminar will begin at 3:30pm on Friday, February 13th, in Kollros Auditorium (BBE101). All are welcome to attend, and we hope to see you there!

Our Winter 2026 Newsletter is now available! Visit biology.uiowa.edu/news/2026/02... to read about incredible faculty and student achievements, exciting events, undergraduate/graduate program updates, and more.

Congratulations to Professor Maurine Neiman, PhD (maurineneiman.bsky.social), for being named Treasurer of the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE) for 2026!

Congratulations to Forbes Lab postdoctoral scholar Louis Nastasi (@toomanywasps.bsky.social) for being featured in the 2026 Dare to Discover campaign! 👏 Visit research.uiowa.edu/dare-to to learn more about Louis’ research discovering new insect species using traditional taxonomy and genetics.

Sehee Min (Adviser: Veena Prahlad, PhD), a PhD candidate in our Integrated Biology Graduate Program, will be defending her dissertation on February 12th at 11:30am. Her dissertation seminar is open to the public to attend. Let’s show Sehee our support during this milestone in her academic journey! 👏

The UI Department of Biology’s inaugural Barbara Stay Alumnus Seminar will be held this Friday, February 6, featuring alumnus Atulya Iyengar, PhD, as the speaker. A reception with refreshments will be held in the BBE Lobby following the seminar. All are welcome to attend, & we hope to see you there!

Congratulations to Shulin Liu (Integrated Biology PhD student, Fassler Lab) for receiving a Graduate College Ballard and Seashore Dissertation Fellowship for Spring 2026! 🎉 This highly competitive fellowship grants recipients a final semester of supported time for dissertation composition.

Our seminar this week will be led by Erin Davies, PhD, a Stadtman Investigator in the Cancer and Developmental Biology Laboratory at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. The seminar will begin at 3:30pm on Friday, January 30, in Kollros Auditorium (BBE101). All are welcome!

We have a fantastic seminar lineup this semester! Join us in Kollros Auditorium (BBE 101) almost every Friday at 3:30pm to hear from prominent researchers from across the country. All of these seminars are open to the public to attend, so we hope to see you there!

Congratulations to Ashley Goll (Cell & Developmental Biology PhD student, Tootle Lab) for receiving a Graduate College Ballard and Seashore Dissertation Fellowship for Spring 2026! 🎉 This highly competitive fellowship grants recipients a final semester of supported time for dissertation composition.

Join us tomorrow for the Raymond Fong Memorial Lecture with speaker Dakota McCoy, PhD. Dr. McCoy is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecology & Evolution at the University of Chicago and the Marine Biological Laboratory. Email [email protected] for the Zoom link. All are welcome to attend!

Congratulations to Varshu Saravanakumar (iBio PhD student, Neiman Lab) for receiving a Graduate College Post-Comprehensive Research Fellowship for Spring 2026! 🎉 This highly competitive fellowship grants advanced PhD students supported time to pursue their scholarly research activities.

Congratulations to Assistant Professor Cathy Yea Won Sung for receiving a 3-year, $739,338 grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders! This grant will allow Dr. Sung's lab to study the role of immune cells in hearing loss caused by a chemotherapeutic drug.

Through their work studying a freshwater snail from New Zealand, University of Iowa biologists have uncovered a living example of how massive genetic changes can reshape reproduction. To learn more about this exciting discovery, visit: now.uiowa.edu/news/2025/11...

Congratulations to Joseph Oberlitner (Genetics PhD student, Smolikove Lab) for receiving a Graduate College Ballard and Seashore Dissertation Fellowship for Spring 2026! 🎉 This highly competitive fellowship grants recipients a final semester of supported time for dissertation composition.

During the Fall 2025 semester, Iowa Sciences Academy students Bhoomika Shettigar (Neuroscience major) and Riley McCoy (Biomedical Sciences major) attended the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) Conference in San Diego, CA. To learn about their experiences at SfN, visit: biology.uiowa.edu/news/2025/12...

Congratulations to Associate Professor in Biology Bin Z. HE for receiving a 3-year, $900,000 grant from the National Science Foundation! Dr. HE has also been awarded the James Van Allen Natural Sciences Fellowship for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. 👏

Congratulations to Israel Wipf (Cell & Developmental Biology PhD student, Tootle Lab) for receiving a Graduate College Ballard and Seashore Dissertation Fellowship for Spring 2026! 🎉 This highly competitive fellowship grants recipients a final semester of supported time for dissertation composition.

We had some fantastic end-of-semester presentations from students in our Animal Behavior Laboratory course (BIOL:3245)! In this course, students receive hands-on experience observing and analyzing the behavior of a variety of animals.

Congratulations to Adrianna Caro (Integrated Biology PhD student, Green Lab) for receiving a Graduate College Ballard and Seashore Dissertation Fellowship for Spring 2026! 🎉 This highly competitive fellowship grants recipients a final semester of supported time for dissertation composition.

Congratulations to iBio graduate student Kieran Coffey (mentored by Professor Steven Green, PhD) for successfully defending his thesis titled, “Investigating Synapse Regeneration: Transcriptional mechanisms and temporal constraints”! 🎉

What a fantastic turnout at the Entomology Lab Insect Collection Showcase last week! 🦋🐝

A huge round of applause to the two Department of Biology honors students (Colin Reis and Evan Meyer) who participated in our Honors Colloquium on December 8th! Outstanding research from our undergraduate students!