UIowa Neuroscience Graduate Program

09/10/2026

🎓 Congratulations, Dr. Avery Van De Water!

Please join us in celebrating Avery Van De Water, PhD, on the successful defense of their doctoral thesis! 🎉

Avery, a member of the Dorit Kliemann Laboratory in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, defended their thesis, “Encoding patterns of dynamic audiovisual social stimuli in autism spectrum disorder,” on September 9.

Their research investigates how the brain processes complex social information using video fMRI and encoding models, with a focus on dynamic audiovisual social processing in autism spectrum disorder.

After years of hard work, research, discovery, and dedication, Avery has officially earned their PhD! 🎓🧠

Congratulations, Dr. Van De Water! We are incredibly proud of all you have accomplished and are so excited to celebrate this wonderful milestone with you. We wish you all the best as you begin this next chapter! 💛

Drop a 🎓 in the comments to help us congratulate Avery!

🖤💛

09/09/2026

🌎🧠 Welcome, 2026 Neuroscience Graduate Program Cohort! 🧠🌎

Please join us in welcoming the newest members of the University of Iowa Neuroscience Graduate Program! 🎉

This year’s cohort brings together an incredible group of students with experiences and educational backgrounds from around the globe. Our international students hail from Spain, South Korea, Egypt, China, and the United Kingdom, adding to the wonderfully diverse community that makes our program so special. 🇪🇸🇰🇷🇪🇬🇨🇳🇬🇧

We’re so excited to have you here and look forward to seeing you learn, grow, discover, and make your mark in neuroscience during your time at Iowa.

Welcome to the Neuroscience family, 2026 cohort! We’re so glad you’re here! 💛🖤

09/08/2026

🎉 Big congratulations to Neuroscience alumna Ashley Plumb, PhD ’24, on receiving an NIH F32 fellowship!

We’re so excited to celebrate Ashley on this incredible accomplishment! Her $156,128 NIH fellowship will support the next two years of her postdoctoral research in the Sadler Lab at The University of Texas at Dallas.

Ashley’s research is taking a fascinating look at the relationship between stress, the gut microbiome, and migraine. Through her fellowship, she’ll investigate how stress-related changes in the gut microbiome may influence susceptibility to migraine headaches and contribute to their development. 🧠🦠

The F32 is a highly competitive NIH fellowship designed to support promising postdoctoral researchers, and Ashley’s award is the first F32 in the Sadler Lab and only the third active F32 award at The University of Texas at Dallas. What an achievement!

We love seeing our graduates take the knowledge and training they gained at Iowa and use it to ask important questions and push neuroscience forward. We couldn’t be prouder of Ashley and all she’s accomplishing!

Congratulations, Ashley! We’re cheering you on and can’t wait to see what you discover next! 💛🧠

09/08/2026

🎉 Congratulations to Tre’Andice Williams! 🎉

We’re thrilled to celebrate Tre’Andice Williams, PhD candidate in the University of Iowa Neuroscience Graduate Program, on being named a **2026–2027 Iowa Innovation Leadership Fellow** by the University of Iowa Office of Innovation! 🧠✨

Tre’Andice’s research explores the role of nuclear tau in early brain development and how its regulation may contribute to neurological vulnerability. Through her work with molecular biology, cell culture models, and human tissue analysis, she is investigating mechanisms that could one day lead to new therapeutic strategies for neurological disorders.

But Tre’Andice’s vision for innovation goes beyond the lab. She is passionate about finding ways to translate scientific discoveries into meaningful improvements for patients and communities, bringing together research, medicine, and entrepreneurship to tackle unmet needs in human health.

As an aspiring physician-scientist, Tre’Andice hopes to combine translational neuroscience research with compassionate clinical care—and we’re excited to see how she puts that vision into action!

Please join us in congratulating Tre’Andice on this well-deserved recognition! We are so proud to have her in the Neuroscience Graduate Program and can’t wait to see where her curiosity, creativity, and commitment to improving human health take her. ❤️

Congratulations, Tre’Andice! 🎊🧠

09/08/2026

🎉🧠 Help us congratulate Matthew Summerfield! 🧠🎉

We’re excited to celebrate Neuroscience graduate student Matthew Summerfield on receiving an NIH F31 Individual Predoctoral Fellowship from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)!** 🔬

Matthew’s fellowship will support his project, “Determining the Role of the Parabrachial Nucleus in Chemosensitivity and Epilepsy,” as he investigates how this brain region contributes to the neural mechanisms underlying chemosensitivity and epilepsy.

This is an exciting accomplishment and a wonderful recognition of Matthew’s hard work, dedication, and potential as a neuroscientist. We’re so proud to celebrate this milestone with him!

👏 Congratulations, Matthew! We can’t wait to see where your research takes you!

07/28/2026

The Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience is proud to congratulate PhD candidate Katie Scott on being selected as a recipient of a University of Iowa Graduate College Summer Fellowship! 🎉

Working in the laboratory of Dr. Aislinn Williams, Katie's research focuses on SCN2A-related neurodevelopmental disorders, investigating how genetic mutations alter brain development and function. Her work seeks to deepen our understanding of these rare disorders and help lay the foundation for future therapeutic approaches.

This competitive fellowship provides Katie with dedicated time to focus on her dissertation research and writing as she works toward completing her PhD later this year.

Congratulations, Katie, on this well-deserved recognition! We are proud to celebrate your accomplishments and look forward to seeing the continued impact of your research.

Read more about Katie and the other Graduate College Summer Fellowship recipients here: https://grad.uiowa.edu/news/2026/07/meet-4-doctoral-students-advancing-research-graduate-college-summer-fellowships

This summer, 109 advanced doctoral candidates are participating in the Graduate College Summer Fellowship Program, allowing them to focus on dissertation research without the competing demands of summer employment.

07/08/2026

🎉 Congratulations to Dr. Ahmet Kuralay! 🎉

The Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience at the University of Iowa is proud to congratulate Dr. Ahmet Kuralay on the successful defense of his doctoral thesis!

Working in the laboratory of Dr. Jon Resch, Ahmet's dissertation, Molecular and Functional Mapping of Inputs to Aldosterone-Sensitive HSD2 Neurons that Regulate Sodium Appetite, explored the neural circuits that regulate sodium appetite. By identifying and functionally mapping the inputs to aldosterone-sensitive HSD2 neurons, his research advances our understanding of how the brain monitors the body's sodium needs and helps maintain fluid and electrolyte balance.

Beyond his scientific accomplishments, Ahmet has been a wonderful member of our program, known for his curiosity, enthusiasm, and infectious positivity. His passion for neuroscience and collaborative spirit have left a lasting impression on our students, faculty, and staff.

Congratulations, Dr. Kuralay, on this incredible achievement! We wish you continued success as you begin the next chapter of your career.

06/03/2026

The Neuroscience Graduate Program is proud to congratulate Sara Mitchell, PhD, on the successful defense of her doctoral thesis, "Investigating coordinated neural activity of maternal behavior and stage with intersections of stress networks and experience."

Sara conducted her doctoral research in the laboratories of Hanna Stevens, MD, PhD, in the Department of Psychiatry, and Rainbo Hultman, PhD, in the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics. Through her innovative research, Sara advanced our understanding of the neural networks that coordinate maternal behavior and how these circuits intersect with stress-related pathways and lived experience.

The successful completion of a doctoral degree represents years of dedication, perseverance, scientific curiosity, and scholarly achievement. Sara's accomplishment reflects her commitment to excellence in research and her meaningful contributions to the field of neuroscience.

Please join us in congratulating Sara on this significant milestone and wishing her continued success in the next chapter of her career.

Congratulations, Dr. Mitchell!

05/27/2026

🎓 Congratulations to our 2025–2026 Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience thesis defense students!

This academic year, we had the privilege of celebrating an incredible group of students as they successfully defended their theses and reached this major milestone in their scientific journeys. Your hard work, perseverance, curiosity, and dedication to advancing neuroscience research have been truly inspiring.

Please join us in congratulating:
✨ Matt McGregor
✨ Amy Barry
✨ Brittany Todd
✨ Ben Kreitlow
✨ Angela Richardson
✨ Gage Liddiard
✨ Mallory Shin
✨ Hannah Stutt
✨ Ashby Martin
✨ Utsav Mukherjee
✨ Brooke Yeager
✨ Annie Rohl

We are so proud of all you have accomplished and are excited to see where your careers and discoveries lead next. Congratulations on earning this well-deserved achievement!

05/08/2026

🎉 Congratulations to Annie Rohl, PhD! 🎉

The Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience is proud to announce that Annie Rohl, PhD, successfully presented and defended her thesis, “Activity in the Human Subthalamic Nucleus During Speech Production,” on Tuesday, April 21, 2026 marking an outstanding milestone in her doctoral training.

Conducted in the laboratories of Drs. Jeremy Greenlee, MD and Joel Berger, PhD, Annie’s research advances our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying speech production, with important implications for both basic neuroscience and clinical applications. Her work reflects a remarkable combination of scientific rigor, innovation, and dedication.

We extend our sincere congratulations to Annie on this significant achievement. Her accomplishments are a testament to her perseverance and passion for discovery, and we look forward to seeing the continued impact of her contributions to the field of neuroscience.