Two genetics, development and cell biology faculty members received congratulations letters in April from the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, in recognition of their awards of tenure and promotion. For the 2018-2019 academic year, the Board of Regents approved awards of tenure and promotion for Dr. Bing Yang to the rank of professor and Dr. Maura McGrail to the rank of associate professor.

Professor Bing Yang

Professor Yang joined Iowa State University in 2007 as an assistant professor. He was promoted to associate professor in 2013 and to professor in April 2018. Yang earned his bachelor of science and master of science degrees from Southwest Forestry College in China. He earned his Ph.D. in 2000 and continued his studies as a postdoctoral research fellow from 2001-2004 at Kansas State University. Yang's area of expertise is development and application of genome editing technologies as well as basic understanding and deployment of genetic disease resistance in crop plants

Associate Professor Maura McGrail

Associate Professor McGrail joined Iowa State as an adjunct assistant professor in 2005, and she became an assistant professor in 2012 and to associate professor in April 2018. McGrail earned her bachelor of science in biochemistry from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and her Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology from the University of Minnesota. She conducted postdoctoral work at the University of California, San Diego, Myriad Genetics in Salt Lake City, and at the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah. Cancer genetics and genomics in zebrafish is her area of expertise.

Yang and McGrail were recognized for their awards by the department at the 2018 GDCB Honors and Awards Recognition Luncheon, which was held on April 26.