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Celebrating our alumni: Brianna Brun, 2013 graduate of the genetics undergraduate program, receives yearlong fellowship at the University of Iowa Medical School

Brianna Brun
Brianna Brun

Even from a young age, science was Brianna Brun’s favorite subject in school. After falling in love with genetics, Brianna, who moved to Iowa when she was very young and grew up in Charlotte, Iowa, looked for colleges that offered degrees in genetics. She discovered Iowa State had everything she was looking for in the genetics undergraduate program. During the four years she attended Iowa State from 2009-2013, she “was able to take part in research, work as a peer mentor, and even become president of the Genetics Club. The program provided me every opportunity I ever wanted.” She received her B.S. degree in genetics in the spring of 2013 and began medical school at the University of Iowa in the fall of 2013.

In June of 2015, Brianna started a yearlong fellowship through the Iowa Wellstone Center at the University of Iowa. Throughout this year, she will take part in the clinical care of muscular dystrophy patients with Dr. Kathy Mathews and evaluate muscle biopsies with Dr. Steve Moore. She says a “large majority of my time will be spent doing clinical research related to the phenotype of patients with muscular dystrophy due to the defective glycosylation of alpha-dystroglycan. This truly is an outstanding opportunity to learn more about genetics in a clinical setting and allow me to work towards becoming a clinical geneticist. I truly believe the genetics program at Iowa State gave me the tools needed to obtain this fellowship. From providing a strong base of knowledge to fostering my love of genetics.”

Following graduation, Brianna plans to attend residency and become a pediatric clinical geneticist. After residency, she would like to work at a teaching hospital. Her major goal is to see patients in clinic and spend her remaining time either teaching medical students or doing research in genetics.

In addition to her studies, Brianna also enjoys running, cooking, and reading. Since starting medical school, “budgeting has also become an interest of mine. I have developed my own personal budget, and (on occasion) have created budgets for other individuals.”