Zoe Hicks wanted to combine her fascination with the human body with her love of sports. The Californian found that opportunity as an athletic training student for the Hawkeyes.

Student Registered Nurse Anesthetists (SRNAs) play a significant role in our nation's health care system, particularly in rural settings where they work alongside Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) and often serve as the community's only option for administering anesthesia during medical procedures. In Iowa, for example, CRNAs are the sole provider of all anesthesia services in 88 of 117 community hospitals in the state. Current University of Iowa SRNAs Rachel Westernik and Sarah Rohde are working on a clinical rotation at Spencer Hospital in Spencer, Iowa, where, in addition to their regular workload, they are actively preparing for any COVID-19 cases that may enter their facility. The two were recently given the daunting task of teaching ICU nurses and respiratory therapists how to convert and utilize anesthesia devices for ICU ventilation.

Student Registered Nurse Anesthetists (SRNAs) play a significant role in our nation's health care system, particularly in rural settings where they work alongside Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) and often serve as the community's only option for administering anesthesia during medical procedures. In Iowa, for example, CRNAs are the sole provider of all anesthesia services in 88 of 117 community hospitals in the state. Current University of Iowa SRNAs Rachel Westernik and Sarah Rohde are working on a clinical rotation at Spencer Hospital in Spencer, Iowa, where, in addition to their regular workload, they are actively preparing for any COVID-19 cases that may enter their facility. The two were recently given the daunting task of teaching ICU nurses and respiratory therapists how to convert and utilize anesthesia devices for ICU ventilation.

As an undergraduate student, Charles Martin-Stanley II developed a passion for sociology and social justice. In a doctoral program at the University of Iowa, he is using that passion to develop real-world solutions that aim to keep black men in college.

As a young girl in Kenya, Margaret Mungai aspired to become a doctor. Now, the University of Iowa biology major not only is poised to attend medical school, she is aiming to advance novel treatments for disease as a physician-scientist

University of Iowa senior Adeline Barron knows a challenge when she sees one. After a childhood amid civil unrest in Ivory Coast and times of financial hardship in Des Moines, Barron found inspiration at the University of Iowa. Here, she is a champion for underrepresented voices on campus, and aims to have a career in higher education administration.

Since the publication of an interview with him last year that appeared in the University of Iowa Department of Internal Medicine's "Making the Rounds" e-newsletter, UI undergraduate researcher Benjamin Kirk has continued to work ahead of the curve, attending, presenting, and winning poster awards at the 2020 Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students and at the 2019 American Society for Cell Biology/European Molecular Biology Organization Meeting. Most recently, Kirk received the Excellence in Undergraduate Research Award from the Iowa Center for Research by Undergraduates. Kirk, a member of the Abel Lab, will also receive a $1,000 travel award, which he intends to use to attend either the 2020 Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science Conference or the 2020 American Society for Cell Biology Conference.

Anytime there is an opportunity for involvement, Takayla "T.K." Al-Amin answers the bell. The University of Iowa undergraduate has held leadership roles and worked with professional sports teams and local athletic organizations, experiences that will serve her well as she looks forward to a career in the sports industry.

Tartil Ali is thankful for the role models in her life, and the University of Iowa student looks to pay their contributions forward through her work on campus, in the community, and in a future health care career.

The Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Iowa has a permanent home. At a ceremony on Jan. 24, UI President J. Bruce Harreld joined deans, faculty, and donors to celebrate the official opening of a building that will transform teaching and research, and will position the department to better prepare students for learning modern psychology and finding jobs in the field. Harreld said the building, located as a gateway to the east side of campus at Gilbert Steet and Iowa Avenue, will enhance students' academic experience, increase the research capacity and success of faculty and staff, and help recruit more talent to the university. "It's about all of us coming together-to make better science, greater strides for our students, and actually lifting ourselves to what is possible as opposed to being stuck in what is impossible," Harreld said. The building is the first centralized home for the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, which is the seventh-oldest psychology department in the United States and has been a leader in teaching and research for nearly 130 years.

Rajula Elango, a graduate of the University of Iowa who is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School, is a rising star in the field of DNA repair and genomic instability. Her graduate school research contributed to a paradigm shift in the field and she showed that a unique DNA repair pathway, called break-induced replication, has a mode of DNA synthesis that contradicts the accepted understanding that all DNA replication leads to a semi-conservative inheritance of DNA. This important discovery by Elango and her colleagues was published in a leading research journal Nature.

Three University of Iowa were students recognized at the inaugural First-Generation Student Awards and Recognition Ceremony staged earlier this month as part of the 2019 National First-Generation College Celebration. The UI First-Generation Task Force established the awards to recognize first-generation student achievements as well as the outstanding advocacy and support efforts of faculty and staff. Each recipient received a plaque and $250.

Eight students who demonstrated a dedication to scholarship, research, service, leadership, and activism were among the faculty, staff, and students recognized at the University of Iowa's annual Celebration of Excellence and Achievement Among Women.