University of Iowa Department of Biology

The UI Department of Biology invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professor position in genetics, beginning in the academic year 2026. Review of applications will begin on November 1, 2025. For more information about the position & to apply, please visit: jobs.uiowa.edu/faculty/view...

Congratulations to Biology majors Nyla Valencia (Women’s Wrestling), Sydnie Smith (Women’s Track & Field), and Abigail (Abby) Ryon (Women’s Track & Field) for being named to the 2025 Spring Academic All-Big Ten team!

Kristýna’s Fulbright experience highlights the importance of international scientific collaboration in advancing evolutionary biology, and we are grateful for her work in our department. Join us in wishing Kristýna the best in her future endeavors!

Kristýna Bubeníková, a PhD student from Charles University in the Czech Republic, arrived at the University of Iowa in November 2024 as a Fulbright Masaryk Scholar. In the Forbes Lab, she studied Torymus parasitoid wasps and their evolutionary interactions with oak gall wasps through July 2025.

Meet the members of the GRE (Gene Regulatory Evolution) Lab! 🧬 Associate Professor Bin Z. HE is the principal investigator of this lab, which aims to understand how gene regulatory networks for stress responses evolve and how this may have contributed to species’ adaptation to their environment.

...help initiate new or expand existing international partnerships and/or to build an institutional relationship to facilitate future joint research projects.

Congratulations to Professor Maurine Neiman (@maurineneiman.bsky.social) for receiving the Global Research Partnership Award from the University of Iowa International Programs! 🎉 In recognition of the increasing importance of globalization in higher education research, the GRPA is intended to...

Congratulations to undergraduate student Rain Johnson (Biology on the Integrative Biology track; Eberl Lab) for receiving the Independent Creative Research by Undergraduates (ICRU) Fellowship for the summer of 2025! 👏 This fellowship is awarded by the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR).

Way to go, Emma and Kaylee! 🎉

The UI Department of Biology is seeking a bi-weekly part-time employee to work in the Drosophila Culture Media Lab (Fly Kitchen). This position helps support the department’s research and teaching labs which use Drosophila (fruit flies) in genetics experiments.

jobs.uiowa.edu/content/temp...

Congratulations to undergraduate student Olivia Blake (Biology on the Neurobiology track; Eberl Lab) for receiving the Independent Creative Research by Undergraduates (ICRU) Fellowship for the 2025-2026 academic year! 👏 This fellowship is awarded by the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR).

Congratulations to Professor and DSHB Director Douglas Houston (@dhouston.bsky.social) for receiving a grant from the National Institutes of Health titled, “DSHB: Innovations in open sharing of antibodies for research”! 👏 The grant is for 4 years in the amount of $2,188,873.

Congratulations to Jessica Miller and Darby Forsyth for receiving 2nd and 3rd place respectively in the 2025 Quick Pitch Challenge!

The QPC is a communication competition that challenges undergraduate students to present their research or creative work to a general audience in three minutes.

Congratulations to Bin Z. HE, PhD, for his promotion to associate professor! 👏

Dr. HE joined the Dept. of Biology in 2018. He is the principal investigator of the Gene Regulatory Lab where he and his team use yeast pathogens to investigate how stress response networks are rewired during evolution.

Congratulations to Jerzy Twarowski, Ph.D., for successfully defending his dissertation on June 19th! Dr. Twarowski was mentored by Anna Malkova, Ph.D.

Let’s give Jerzy a huge round of applause for this remarkable achievement! 👏

The Biology sessions were led by Biology professors Jan Fassler and Bryan Phillips; Integrated Biology Graduate Program students Emily Hirsch and Daniela Santos Da Mata, both from the Phillips Lab; and Postdoctoral Research Scholar Tara Hicks (Fassler Lab).

Activities in the UI Department of Biology included students learning about genetic models of human disease, as well as understanding how protein aggregation is regulated in normal development and how it may be misregulated in disease.

In May, middle school students from Iowa participated in the Project HOPE (Healthcare Occupations Preparation and Exploration) event on the University of Iowa campus. During the event, students had the opportunity to experience career simulations of various healthcare and research occupations.

Congratulations to Kendra Musmaker, Ph.D., for successfully defending her dissertation on June 18th! Dr. Musmaker was mentored by Anna Malkova, Ph.D.

Let’s give Kendra a huge round of applause for this remarkable achievement! 👏

To purchase a physical or e-book copy, visit: a.co/d/bRZF88M

Congratulations to Assistant Professor of Instruction Brandon Waltz, PhD, & undergrad student Lilly Froehlich for publishing their biology-oriented children’s book, “Water Bear Don’t Care!" 🎉 Illustrated by Lilly, this book is a playful & educational journey into the resilient world of tardigrades.

J.J. Neiman-Brown Academic Caretaking Fund

...and postdoctoral researchers as they engage in professional and academic development opportunities. Applications for the current award cycle are due on July 31st. For more information about the fund and/or to submit an application, please visit: hr.uiowa.edu/livewell/wor...

The J.J. Neiman-Brown Academic Caretaking Fund was established in memory of UI Biology Professor @maurineneiman.bsky.social's son J.J., a kind & inquisitive child who brightened the day of everyone he met with his smile. The fund supports child or other caretaking costs for UI faculty...

The UI Department of Biology is participating in the Summer Food Drive Competition to support the Food Pantry at Iowa! The competition runs now through August 10th. We have a box located in the Biology Administrative Office (BB143) where you can drop off items. Help us stock the Food Pantry at Iowa!

Two CLAS faculty members receive grants from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust Scott Daly, associate professor in the Department of Chemistry, and Katheryn Rothenberg, assistant professor in the Department of Biology, discuss their respective research projects and what the funds...

Congratulations to Assistant Professor Katheryn Rothenberg (@krothphd.bsky.social) for receiving a grant from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust to further her work exploring the role of Rap1 GTPase in controlling cell migration! 👏

For more information, please visit: clas.uiowa.edu/news/2025/04...

The UI Department of Biology’s Points of Interest Newsletter (2025, Issue 1) is now available! Discover the latest awards, promotions, publications, and more from our staff, faculty, and students here: anyflip.com/vimso/lffm/

YouTube video by Physical Properties of the Cytoplasm Physical Properties of the Cytoplasm Seminar Series #18 | Alan Kay

On June 11th, Professor Alan Kay gave an online seminar titled, “Making room in the cytoplasm: the pump-leak model & its broader physiological roles”. This seminar is part of a series on physical properties of the cytoplasm. To watch a recording of the seminar, visit: www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2lU...

The Martin Lab in the Department of Biology is seeking a full-time Associate Research Scientist to conduct research in neurobiology, with a focus on electrical and chemical synapse formation.

For more information and to apply, please visit: uiowa.referrals.selectminds.com/jobs/researc...

Abigail (Abby) Ryon, a Spring 2025 graduate (B.S. in Biology, Integrative Biology track), was a member of Ana Llopart’s lab in the Dept. of Biology since 2021. Abby is currently working full-time at UIHC as a PCT in the Heart and Vascular Center. Her future plans involve attending medical school. 👏

The UI Department of Biology invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professor position in genetics, beginning in the academic year 2026. Review of applicants will begin on November 1, 2025. For more information about the position and to apply, please visit: jobs.uiowa.edu/faculty/view...