October/November 2020
IBA, LSAMP and Science Alliance Newsletter A resource for upcoming conference deadlines, social events, workshops, general information pertinent to your field, program reminders and other relevant activities
In this Issue Upcoming Events/Fall Programs
2
Student Opportunities
4
News and Events Page
5
Tips and Resources
7
Seminars and Conferences
8
About Us
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Save the Date Lab Tutorials Mon, Nov 9th @ 5:30pm Fall Undergraduate Research Festival (FURF) November 9-13 IBA/LSAMP Scholar Symposium Sat, Dec 5th Time TBD
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October/November 2020
Upcoming Events Upcoming Programming – Lab Tutorials The purpose of this program is to allow IBA/LSAMP students the opportunity to peek in and learn more about other student participant’s labs. One strength of our community is the diversity of disciplines and lab types that we all work within. To do so, we have student volunteers who have offered to give us a live look into their in-person labs and their work from home lab settings. We will end the program by discussing tips for how to locate a lab during COVID for those who are currently still searching for a lab spot. This will be a great chance to learn more about the amazing student lab work that is occurring in our community!
Upcoming Event – 2020 Fall Undergraduate Research Festival
ICRU is pleased to announce that we will be holding our 2020 (VIRTUAL) Fall Undergraduate Research Festival virtually during the week of November 9-14, 2020 We understand that presentation opportunities for undergraduates have been limited this year. We are asking you to help spread word about the event! This event is also a good introduction to research for undergraduates who have not yet gotten involved. More information can be found HERE on our website. We will happily answer questions emailed to icru@uiowa.edu.
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October/November 2020
Fall Program Information Peer Mentor Program Peer mentoring is all about creating belonging and community for undergraduate researchers! The IBA/LSAMP Peer Mentoring Program is a great opportunity to contribute to students' success and development, build awareness of self, resources in our community, and networking opportunities. Peer Mentors are advanced students in IBA who will be paired with a Peer Mentee who is a newer student or affiliated student (e.g., Science Alliance) to our program. Peer Mentors guide Mentees one-on-one through your experience in and out of the lab. The Peer Mentoring commitment is a semester-long relationship with the expectation that Peer Mentor and Mentee meet at least three times (zoom preferred) during the course of the semester and participants engage in a reflective writing activities, and attend any required programming. More about our program and expectations can be found in our Peer Mentoring Handbook. If interested in participating in the Peer Mentoring program, please email devon-dawson@uiowa.edu to confirm your interest.
Peer Mentor Matching Event – Wednesday, Sept 15th Our Graduate Assistants, Chelsey Gates, Devon Dawson and Halin Chung coordinated a Peer Mentor Matching Event in September. They facilitated speed matching pairs with students rotating between various groups. Peer Mentors shared their mentoring styles and Peer Mentees expressed what they are seeking in a mentor. After the event our Graduate Assistants matched students based on ranking forms that the students completed.
Linkedin Profile and Online Presence – Monday October 5th Our Graduate Assistants Chelsey, Devon and Halin put together another great program for our students in October. LinkedIn is an online professional networking site that allows members (both workers and employers) to create profiles and “connections” with each other digitally. As part of being in our program we asked all students to create their own LinkedIn profile or update an existing account. The Graduate students also provided general information about online presence and etiquette as scientists/professionals. Page 3
October/November 2020
Student Opportunities Barry M Goldwater Scholarship Competition 2020-21 Goldwater Scholarship Competition The Goldwater Scholarship Program, one of the oldest and most prestigious national scholarships in the natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics in the United States, seeks to identify and support college sophomores and juniors who show exceptional promise of becoming this Nation’s next generation of research leaders in these fields. The Goldwater Scholarship is awarded to those who show the greatest potential for becoming one of the United States’ next generation of research leaders in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering. All elements of an application should help the Foundation understand how you intend to be one of these leaders. Interested students must complete the campus nomination process and be selected to represent the University of Iowa as an institutional nominee. The University of Iowa’s Undergraduate Fellowships Committee may nominate up to four students for the national competition each year. As of this cycle, we may also nominate a transfer student applicant in addition to the four traditional nominations. For more information on the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, visit https://goldwater.scholarsapply.org
11.30.20 – Deadline to apply for UI Campus Nomination 12.7.20 – Notification of Applicants by UIUGFS Committee 1.25.21 – Deadline for UI Nominees & Recommenders ' 2.21 – Nominations reviewed by Goldwater review committee 3.21 – Board of Trustees reviews/votes on slate of Goldwater Scholars 3.26.21– Goldwater awardees announced (12pm Eastern Time)
Summer Opportunity – University of Wisconsin – MSTP Program
UW-MSTP will be launching their first summer research program for summer 2021. The program will be geared towards undergraduate student who are interested in pursuing an MD/PhD. Summer Scholars | Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
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October/November 2020
News and Events Students Attending and Presenting at ABRCMS this Year
Presenting Amanda Caraballo – SA Salma AshShareef – IBA Mikayla Eppert – IBA Odyseuss Orr - SA Josh Peterson– IBA
IBA, LSAMP and Science Alliance have nine students who will be attending the ABRCMS Virtual Conference. November 9-13 http://www.abrcms.org/
Attending Anna Ptacek - LSAMP Anjana Biswa - SA Bryan Guevara – SA Floyd Evans - IBA
Our Newest Additions IBA, LSAMP and Science Alliance keep growing! We are excited that these students are joining us and are looking forward to kicking off a great year with them! IBA Cristina Garcia – Neuroscience Josh Peterson – Biology/Biochemistry Science Alliance Interns Anjana Biswa – Human Physiology Bryan Guevara – Biology Emily Krogstad - Psychology
LSAMP Gofran Ali – Biology Elizabeth Birchfield - Neuroscience Meghan Cantu – Biochemistry Chrissie Cruz – Physics Javier Guerra – Biology Marie Kikuni – Public Health Ruby Sanchez – Biology
COVID-19 and its Impact on IBA, LSAMP and Science Alliance IBA, LSAMP and SA students are continuing to work on research in person and remotely. The University has decided to extend the Winter session to 4 weeks and the Spring Semester will now start on January 25th.(one week later) Due to the later start of the 2nd semester as well as ongoing COVID-19 concerns the University has decided to eliminate Spring Break for the Spring 2021 semester.
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October/November 2020
News and Events Alumni in the News Angela Crystal Olvera BSE Biomedical Engineering Spring 2018 Currently enrolled in the MSTP Program at University of Wisconsin – Madison. Working on PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology under the direct mentorship of Dr. Dawn Davis (MD/PhD). Anticipated graduation date Spring 26 Research Interests: I will continue to work in the field of metabolism and move into islet biology a bit more. Overall, my work is to better understand paracrine signaling in the islet during normal conditions and stress conditions in order to understand the role of this signaling in the pathogenesis of diabetes.
IBA Spring Recriutment We have openings for IBA students for Spring 21!!! We are looking for rising Juniors enrolled in a Bioscience Degree that are interested in pursuing a career in research. Keep your eyes out for Juniors in the Biosciences who may be interested in joining our program. Qualifications Guidelines for underrepresented populations in Biomedical, Clinical, Behavioral & Social Sciences Research 1. URM (African American, Alaskan Native, American Indian, Hispanic American, Native Hawaiians, Native Pacific Islanders) 2. Individuals with a disability 3. Disadvantaged background (must meet two or more qualifications) a. Homeless (past or present) b. Foster Care (past or present) c. Eligible for Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program (for 2 or more years) d. 1st Generation College Student e. Pell Grant eligible (past or present) f. Food Stamps, SNAP or WIC eligible (past or present) g. Grew up in a rural or disadvantaged area IBA Qualifications • Rising Junior or Senior with a qualifying major • Considering a Ph.D. in the Biosciences • 3.0 GPA See Website https://iba.biology.uiowa.edu for more details and online application
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October/November 2020
Tips and Resources Preparing for Virtual Exams Preparing for virtual exams can be stressful. Especially when you may not be able to ask the instructor or peers questions casually in person like you normally could. One way to ensure you are ready for your exams can by using the 5 Day Study Plan tool. To do so, divide your exam material into 4 even parts. From there, you begin on day one with the first quarter of your material. Days 2, 3, and 4 you add another quarter of your material until you hit day 5 where you review it all. This allows for even exposure to course content and provides extra confidence that you are prepared and ready to ace your exam! Contact Chelsey Gates @ Chelsey-gates@uiowa.edu for more details or tips.
Election 2020 and Your Emotional Health IBA/Science Alliance and LSAMP Community The program staff have been keeping you each in mind as we navigate this complex semester and are proud of each of you for making sense in your own ways. We wanted to acknowledge the upcoming general election and that you may be engaging in our political process, some for the first time. Participating in the election can provide you the opportunity to share your values and beliefs about the way our worldviews can align with policy and practice. We also want to validate and note the post-election experience in the coming weeks/months can come with emotions. As such, we came across a compilation of campus resources that are being provided to students and wanted to share: https://inclusionteam.uiowa.edu/election-supportspaces/ These election support spaces are designed to explore the election experience and to provide community as the results become clearer. Beyond these resources, please know the program staff are available to support and process with you. Please feel free to reach out any time – we are here for you.
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October/November 2020
Student Opportunities and Travel Due to COVID-19 many regional and national conferences have moved to virtual formats. Students still have an opportunity to submit abstracts for poster or oral presentations and we would encourage you to explore options in your research fields. Due to COVID-19, there is currently a ban on student travel that has been extended through the Spring 2021. The University will continue to re-evaluate the situation with any new data and guidance available.
Seminars and Conferences For seminars specific to your areas of interests, please see: Biochemistry: https://medicine.uiowa.edu/biochemistry/news-events/seminars Biology: https://biology.uiowa.edu/about/seminars Biomedical Engineering: https://bme.engineering.uiowa.edu/events Carver College of Medicine: https://medicine.uiowa.edu/news Chemical and Biochemical Engineering: https://cbe.engineering.uiowa.edu/news Chemistry: https://chem.uiowa.edu/news/colloquium-seminar-schedule Computer Science: https://cs.uiowa.edu/resources/events Engineering: https://www.engineering.uiowa.edu/events Genetics: https://genetics.grad.uiowa.edu/weekly-announcements-updates Health and Human Physiology: https://clas.uiowa.edu/hhp/news-and-events Math: https://math.uiowa.edu/seminars Microbiology: https://medicine.uiowa.edu/microbiology/news-events/seminar-series Neuroscience: https://neuroscience.grad.uiowa.edu/seminar-series/about Nursing: http://www.nursing.uiowa.edu/events Physics: https://physics.uiowa.edu/resources/upcoming-events Psychology: https://psychology.uiowa.edu/resources/events Page 8
October/November 2020
About Us Fall/Winter Birthdays November 11/8 Anthony Vitale 11/10 Salma Ashshareef 11/8 Jia Zhao December 12/10 Gaby Moya 12/23 Renato Jensen
January 1/1 1/11 1/13 1/14 1/22 1/25 1/26
Marie Mutesi Amanda Caraballo Emily Krogstad Elizabeth Birchfield Ricky Lozano Flores Gofran Ali Odyseuss Orr
IBA/LSAMP/Science Alliance Staff Lori Adams Co-PI and Director, Iowa Biosciences Academy Co-PI, UI LSAMP Associate Professor of Instruction, Department of Biology lori-adams@uiowa.edu Vincent G.J. Rodgers Co-Investigator, Instructor for Iowa Biosciences Academy Co-PI, UI LSAMP Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Physics and Astronomy vincent-rodgers@uiowa.edu Jeff Murray Co-PI, Iowa Biosciences Academy Professor, Stead Family Department of Pediatrics jeff-murray@uiowa.edu Chelsey Gates Graduate Research Assistant chelsey-gates@uiowa.edu Laura Kowalski-Bliss Administrative Services Coordinator laura-kowalski-bliss@uiowa.edu
Brinda Shetty Associate Director, Iowa Biosciences Academy brinda-shetty@uiowa.edu Devon Dawson Graduate Research Assistant devon-dawson@uiowa.edu Halin Chung Graduate Research Assistant halin-chung@uiowa.edu
Iowa Biosciences Academy 169 Biology Building Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1324 Phone: 319-467-1483 iba@uiowa.edu
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