The pandemic may have turned the world upside down last year, but several Iowa State University (ISU) genetics, development and cell biology (GDCB) students and two students affiliated with GDCB overcame obstacles and advanced their careers with aplomb. The Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Harvard University and Mayo Clinic are a few of the places where these graduates are continuing their stellar trajectories. 

The eight GDCB students who received their doctorates in 2020 are Maira Pedroso de Almeida, Allison Birnbaum, Kai Chang, Kerui Huang, Ashish Jain, Hao Jiang, Rebekah Starks and Weijia Su. The two Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology (PLPM) students affiliated with GDCB who graduated in 2020 are Colton McNinch and Tesia Dennison. McNinch and Dennison’s co-major professor is a GDCB faculty member.

Learn more about these 2020 graduates in the April 2021 issue of BioCY News.