Professor of Biology John Manak was recently recognized in an article by The Daily Iowan for his work with Benjamin Darbro in using fruit flies to identify genes implicated in intellectual disability.
Read the full article by Jacob Calvin here: dailyiowan.com/2026/03/25/u...
Our seminar this week will be led by James Bear, PhD, a Professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. The seminar will begin at 3:30pm on Friday, April 17th, in Kollros Auditorium (BBE101). All are welcome to attend!
Emily O’Brien, a Master’s candidate in the Integrated Biology (iBio) Graduate Program, will be defending her thesis on Tuesday, April 14th, at 2:00pm. The seminar is open to the public to attend. Let’s show Emily our support during this significant milestone in her academic journey! 👏
On April 28th, there will be a panel discussion for postdoctoral researchers centered around how to be competitive in the job market and what hiring managers and recruiters are looking for. Tina Tootle (@tinatootle.bsky.social), PhD, our Departmental Executive Officer, will be one of the panelists.
Adrianna Caro, a PhD candidate in the Integrated Biology (iBio) Graduate Program, will be defending her dissertation on Monday, April 13th, at 10:00am. The seminar is open to the public to attend. Let’s show Adrianna our support during this significant milestone in her academic journey! 👏
The UI Department of Biology is seeking a bi-weekly parttime employee to work in the Drosophila Culture Media Lab (Fly Kitchen). This position helps support the department’s research and teaching labs.
For more information about the position, please visit: jobs.uiowa.edu/content/temp...
Iowa City Darwin Day 2026 is fast approaching! All Darwin Day events are free and open to the public to attend. We hope to see you there!
Website: iowacitydarwinday.org
Maisie Laughlin, a Master’s candidate in the Integrated Biology Graduate Program, will be defending her thesis on April 8th at 3:00pm in Biology Building East (Room 106). The seminar is open to the public to attend. Let’s show Maisie our support during this milestone in her academic journey! 👏
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!
To learn more about her experience at the University of Iowa as well as her plans post-graduation, watch Madelin’s interview with CLAS here: www.youtube.com/shorts/Nlfhq...
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 biology@uiowa.edu.
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
We hope you will help us make #1DayForIowa a great success!
If you don’t want to wait until tomorrow, please visit 1dayforiowa.org/bio26 to donate today. Your generous contributions help support our department and we thank you for that support! 💛🖤
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 biology@uiowa.edu.
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!
