Molecular & Cellular Biology Program Office
University of Iowa — 357 MRC
Iowa City, IA 52242
molcell-biology@uiowa.edu
800-551-6787 or 319-335-7748
Fax: 319-335-7656
Program Director: Frederick Domann, Ph.D.
frederick-domann@uiowa.edu
Program Administrator: Paulette Villhauer
paulette-villhauer@uiowa.edu
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Mark Schultz, a graduate student in Beverly Davidson's laboratory, has been awarded a grant from the Beyond Batten Disease Foundation. This constitutes a grant to underwrite a one-year project entitled "Cellular Phenotypes and Drug Screening for JNCL". Way to go Mark! |
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Jessica Maiers has been awarded a Predoctoral Fellowship from the American Heart Association. The title of his project is "Mechanisms coupling tight junctions and adherens junctions". The award is from January 2012 - December 2013. Jessica is a graduate student in Kris DeMali's laboratory. Congratulations Jess! |
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Sean Gu has received a Predoctoral Fellowship from the American Heart Association. The title of his project is "Role of Protein Methionine Oxidation in Atherothrombosis". The award is from Jan. 2012 - December 2013. Sean is a graduate student in Steven Lentz's laboratory. Congratulations Sean! |
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Trenton Place has received a Predoctoral Training Award from the Institute for Clinical and Translational Science effective November 1, 2011. Way to go Trent! |
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Congratulations! The following students received a $500 Travel Award for travel to a scientific meeting to present their research for their presentations at the 2011 MCB Retreat. Xiaowen Sun (Poster), Jessica Maiers (Talk), Viviane Muniz (Poster), and Nirjal Bhattarai (Poster). They are pictured with their mentors, Kris DeMali (Xiaowen and Jessica), Dawn Quelle (Viviane), and Jack Stapleton (Nirjal). |
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Brief History of the Molecular & Cellular Biology Program
The Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology is one of the first cross-departmental graduate programs at The University of Iowa. It was founded by John Menninger in 1974, and funded by a National Research Service Award Training Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology from 1975-1992. This initial Program did not admit students or grant degrees. Instead, after their first year of graduate study, students from various departments were chosen and awarded stipends based on merit. Similarly to today, the students and faculty met for a weekly seminar, designed to inform trainees about the variety of research that was of interest to cell and molecular biologists, to give trainees practice in presenting their research to a critical audience, and to provide a social connection for trainees who were working in various departments. In 1992, the Molecular Biology Graduate Program was formalized into a degree-granting PhD program, and in 2005, the program came full circle with a name change and a new NIH training grant in Molecular and Cellular Biology.
Today, the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology still fosters the interdisciplinary efforts of a diverse group of investigators—both faculty and students—with common interests in molecular and cellular biology. Currently the program faculty represent the departments of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Biological Sciences, Internal Medicine, Microbiology, Molecular Physiology and Biophysics Ophthalmology, Pathology, Pediatrics, Pharmacology, and Radiology. The program actively recruits new students with diverse research interests.