The Department of Biochemistry hosted its 11th annual and first ever virtual scientific retreat on Saturday, August 22, 2020. The retreat included lab presentations, a keynote address by former graduate student, Dan Kephart, and interactive presentations hosted by faculty, students and postdoctoral fellows. The retreat started with a farewell word from previous DEO, Dr. Charles Brenner, followed by an introduction to the departments new interim chair, Dr. Kris DeMali. We then welcomed our 8 incoming graduate students:
Adnan Ahmed (Texas Tech University)
Grace Ciampa (University of Massachusetts-Lowell)
Ashley Goll (University of Iowa)
Nicholas Hammons (North Dakota State University)
Miriam McDonough (Simpson College)
Spydel Nardy (Iowa State University)
Rebecca Splitt (Bradley University)
John Tworek (Augustana College)
Following the introductions, we had presenters from various labs showcasing their research. Keynote speaker, Dan Kephart, Vice President of Research and Development at LGC, gave a speech entitled, "Bright Opportunities on the Dark Side." He spoke of his time in Iowa, how he decided to work in industry, and fielded questions from faculty and students. After a brief break, the department hosted 3 interactive poster presentations sessions where students, faculty and postdoctoral fellows were able to highlight their work while having informal discussions with their peers and mentors.