Wednesday, May 6, 2026

Congratulations to our graduating seniors and all students completing their undergraduate research internships with the Iowa Sciences Academy! Some students will finish at the end of this semester and some at the end of the summer.  Their curiosity, dedication, and hard work have made a meaningful impact on our program. We wish them all continued success as they take their next steps forward!

These students have participated in a variety of programs including Science Alliance, Latham Fellowship, UI-MARC, and UI-IINSPIRE Alliance.

The Science Alliance is a UI-sponsored collaborative program, connecting faculty, staff, graduate students and post-docs interested in cultivating future generations of scientists with UI students currently exploring research opportunities.

The Latham Science Engagement Fellowship program is designed to enhance research opportunities and strengthen science outreach communication skills for selected undergraduate students. 

The Iowa Illinois Nebraska STEM Partnership for Innovation in Research and Education (IINSPIRE) is a paid internship opportunity for undergraduate STEM students. 

The UI-MARC (Maximizing Access to Research Careers) was an NIH-funded T34 training program that supported the academic and personal success of junior and senior University of Iowa students committed to pursuing a PhD or combined M.D./Ph.D. program after graduation (not the M.D. only).

NameProgram(s)MajorMentor
Seren CastellanoScience Alliance, Latham, MARCBiology and AnthropologyMaurine Neiman
Vamsi ChallaScience AllianceBiomedical Sciences and PhysicsRenata Alambert
Emily EckhardtScience AlliancePhysicsVincent Rodgers
Evie EllisonScience AllianceNeuroscienceEdward Wasserman
Emily FormellaScience Alliance, LathamBiomedical EngineeringKristan Worthington
Klaertje HesselinkScience Alliance, MARCChemical & Biochemical EngineeringTori Forbes
Alexi MichanicouScience AlliancePhysicsAllison Jaynes
Abby MyrothScience Alliance, Latham, MARCNeuroscienceMark Blumberg
Zachary NiemaszScience AllianceBiologySnehajyoti Chatterjee
Keegan NissenScience AllianceSpeech and Hearing ScienceElizabeth Walker
McKinley SandersScience AllianceMicrobiologyJack Stapleton
Kassandra SigafusScience AllianceBiologyBryan Phillips
DeAndre StegerScience AllianceInformatics (Human-Computer Interaction) and PsychologyMichelle Voss
Everett WhiteScience Alliance, LathamBiochemistry and Molecular BiologyLong-Sheng Song
Isabelle YoderScience AllianceNeuroscienceNatalie Denburg
Christina YuScience AllianceNeuroscienceMark Blumberg and Greta Sokoloff
Ellie WojcikowskiScience AllianceNeuroscienceBengi Baran
Kylee HarfordUI-IINSPIREActuarial SciencesTiffany Adrain
Riley McCoyUI-IINSPIREBiomedical SciencesShane Heiney
Samsam MohamedUI-IINSPIREInformatics (Bioinformatics)Ashutosh Mangalam
Tae'Shaun PresswoodUI-IINSPIREExercise ScienceMaurine Neiman
Bhoomika ShettigarUI-IINSPIRENeuroscienceEce Demir Lira
Zoe AultLathamAstronomy and Physics 
Braden CarneLathamPhysics and AstronomyJasper Halekas
Lauren CrawfordLathamPublic HealthMolecular Otolaryngology and Renal Research Laboratories (MORL)
Jenny HuynhLathamBiologyDr. Ortega-Gutierrez
Ana Laura LeyserLathamBiomedical Sciences 
Renee LinLathamBiologyMichael Wendt
Peter NitscheLathamBiology and English & Creative WritingMaurine Neiman
Anand SubramaniamLathamPsychology, Pre-MedAubrey Chan