| Message from the Chair | Greetings from the Department of Biology! To keep you up to date on what is happening in Biology, we are changing our newsletter to a digital format that will be distributed every few months. A lot has happened in these last few months. We have two new tenure-track faculty – both in neurobiology – and two new instructional track faculty. We are currently searching for a tenure-track faculty in the area of genetics. Our faculty and graduate students have been successful in obtaining funding. We hosted our first Alumni and Friends Homecoming Event and launched an Alumni Career Seminar Series. We hope you like the new format of our newsletter!
Tina Tootle, Ph.D.
Chair and Professor
Department of Biology | | | | Biology Professor Promotion Bin Z. HE, was promoted to Associate Professor effective July 1, 2025. Dr. HE joined the Department of Biology in 2018. HE is the principal investigator of the Gene Regulatory Lab where he and his team investigate how stress response networks are rewired during evolution among multiple, independently derived opportunistic yeast pathogens. They recently expanded their research to investigate the patterns of gene family expansion and diversification as a shared mechanism for the rise of novel fungal pathogens. For more information about Dr. HE and his research, visit his lab website. | | | We were happy to welcome several new faculty and staff to the Department of Biology this fall.
| | | | Biology Homecoming Event The Department of Biology hosted our first Homecoming Event for alumni and friends on Friday, September 26 prior to the University of Iowa’s Homecoming Parade. Attendees were treated to a tour of the department highlighting the Carver Center for Imaging, a research lab, and teaching lab for our introductory classes as well as the opportunity to visit the Biology Greenhouse. The event also included research posters, demonstrations, and other activities for visitors to engage with faculty, staff, and students while enjoying free food and Biology swag! We appreciate everyone who came out to share this event with us, and we look forward to hosting more events for alumni and friends in the future!
| | | Alumnus Jennifer DeVries delivers career talk The Department of Biology has started an Alumni Career Seminar Series where we will have alumni give a talk to current students about their careers and experiences. Our first alumni career seminar was held on September 30, 2025, with Jennifer DeVries, B.S. in Biomedical Sciences and Microbiology, 2024. Jennifer is currently an Advanced Quality Control Microbiologist at Procter & Gamble and is pursuing a Master of Science in Microbiology and Biochemistry at the University of Florida. Jennifer's presentation, entitled "From Student to Scientist: The Path from Undergraduate to STEM Career," talked about her own professional journey as well as job-seeking tips and undergraduate activities students should consider to benefit their own job search. We plan to offer at least one career seminar per semester and all students, regardless of major or year in school, are welcome to attend.
| | | Graduate & Undergraduate Program Updates | | | | The Department of Biology welcomed new PhD and MS candidates in our Integrated Biology (iBio) Graduate Program this fall.
| | | Eleven students from universities and colleges throughout the U.S. participated in the Summer 2025 REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) at the University of Iowa run by Andrew Forbes, Professor of Biology. The focus of this REU is training in evolutionary science with several academic departments, including the Department of Biology, offering research projects for students to work on such as evolution of behavior, cancer evolution, origin of species, evolution of sex, and the evolution of disease. Throughout the 10-week summer program, students received training in research best practices, participated in career workshops, created a digital poster based on their research, and made formal research presentations. Click here to see the digital posters from the students!
The REU program is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
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