Ames, Iowa
September 16, 2008
Iowa State University's
Office of Biotechnology reached a milestone this year as its
graduate fellowship program surpassed 200 student recipients.
The nearly 30 Iowa State academic departments or
interdisciplinary programs involved in biotechnology research
are eligible each year to apply for the fellowships for their
outstanding students. The Office of Biotechnology has awarded
207 graduate fellowships since the program began.
To receive one of the Office of Biotechnology fellowships,
student nominees must excel in several areas, including grade
point average, Graduate Record Exam scores, letters of
recommendation, science background, research experience and
scholarly publications. Students who are awarded a fellowship
conduct research on a biotechnology-related project while
working towards their M.S. or Ph.D. degrees. To help discover
their research interests, students may work with several
different research teams during the first year of the
fellowship.
This year, fellowships were awarded to the following eight
incoming graduate students with exceptional qualifications who
are preparing for careers in biotechnology research.
Bioinformatics and computational biology
Hsien-Chao Chou
Usha Muppirala
Arun Sethuraman
Ecology and evolutionary biology
Timothy Mitchell
Interdepartmental genetics
Rachel Anderson
Brandon Jeffrey
Molecular, cellular, and developmental biology
Jenifer Saldanha
Natural resource ecology and management
Krista Lang
About the Office of Biotechnology
The Office of Biotechnology was established at Iowa State
University in 1984 as part of the Office of the Vice Provost for
Research to offer innovative programs in biotechnology research,
education, outreach and technology transfer. A Biotechnology
Council of leading biotechnology faculty from the Colleges of
Agriculture and Life Sciences, Engineering, Human Sciences,
Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Veterinary Medicine makes funding
and program recommendations. The Office of Biotechnology has
provided $13.8 million to more than 127 new faculty to help them
initiate their research programs. It has awarded more than 200
fellowships for outstanding graduate students. The office
operates state-of-the-art instrumentation facilities that serve
on- and off-campus researchers. The Biotechnology Outreach
Education Center of the Office of Biotechnology trains educators
and students throughout the year, provides free laboratory
supplies for K-12 and extension educators throughout Iowa, and
develops innovative new curricula. The office helps fund a
full-time biotechnology liaison who works with faculty and
industry to facilitate interactions that promote research,
economic development and technology transfer. |
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