Nastaran Daneshgar successfully defended her doctoral thesis in early June and graduated from the Experimental Pathology Ph.D. Program. Her thesis, Klotho-Sirt1-CHK2 Pathways in the Regulation of Cardiac Function in Aging and Post-Myocardial Injury, focuses on aging and cardiac function, offering promising insights into potential therapeutic interventions for age-related cardiac diseases. She conducted her thesis work in the laboratories of Dr. Dao-Fu Dai and Dr. Chad Grueter, utilizing a combination of human tissue, mouse models, and human-derived stem cell models.

June's recipients include: Dion Baylor, Bob Rotzoll, and Junalyn Vander Pol.

Dr. Harty received a new 2 year grant from the NIH entitled “Brain T cell interactions in microbial experienced mice.” The award totals $404,300, the project started June 4, 2024 and concludes April 30, 2026.

Cancer researcher Steven Offer, PhD investigates the genetic factors that increase the risk of a toxic reaction to the cancer drug Fluorouracil (5-FU). 5-FU, used since the 1970s to treat many cancers including colorectal, stomach, breast and cervical cancer, can be toxic to certain patients. While many cancer drugs can be toxic, what sets 5-FU apart is that severe illness and death is largely preventable.

Dr. Marco Hefti received a five-year NIH R01 award entitled “A non-canonical role for tau in early human brain development” from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The award totals $561,007 and the project starts May 1, 2024 and concludes February 28, 2029.

April's recipients include: Jennifer Hinkhouse, Kristen Milton, and Ashley Tritthardt.

Rachel Fitzjerrells, a Bioinformatics and Computational Biology PhD student in the Mangalam Lab, won the prestigious Max Smith Oral Presentation Award at the 71st Iowa Section AADOCR on February 13th, 2024. Her presentation, “Machine Learning Approach Identifies Dysbiotic Oral Communities in Multiple Sclerosis,” explored innovative methods for analyzing the oral microbiome. Rachel's presentation was selected as the best from over 40 graduate student and post-doctoral presentations, demonstrating her excellent communication skills, cutting-edge research, and engaging delivery.

Dr. Kai Rogers received the Best Abstract Award from the American Society for Apheresis (ASFA) for his abstract titled "A Murine Model of Extracorporeal Photopheresis as a Targeted Immunotherapy for Multiple Sclerosis," co-authored with Drs. Kathryn Eschbacher, Alexander Boyden, and Nitin Karandikar.

Research on radiation-induced loss and regeneration of influenza-specific lung T resident memory by Mariah Hassert, Lecia Epping, Stephanie van de Wall and Madison Mix in the Harty lab and Mohammad Heidarian in the Badovinac lab was recently published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

Dr. Leslie Bruch Appointed as the New Faculty Co-Director for Flocks Learning Community in the Carver College of Medicine