Three University of Iowa undergraduates, Megan Hynd, Elizabeth Kruse, and Madison Merfeld, have won the 2019 Iowa Neuroscience Institute Summer Scholar Awards.

The INI Summer Scholar Program supports Iowa undergraduates planning to pursue research during the summer in the lab of an INI faculty member. As INI Summer Scholars, the students receive a stipend of $5,000 and have the opportunity to attend a summer undergraduate seminar series and a variety of informal events. The INI Summer Scholar application process is highly competitive, and Hynd, Kruse, and Merfeld stood out for the quality of their research plan, mentor endorsement, and academic performance

Hynd, a third-year student, who plans to pursue a PhD in Clinical Neuroscience, will work in the lab of Jan Wessel, assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences. Her project is titled, “Dual-pulse TMS as a measure of GABAergic activity: predicting behavioral measure of proactive versus reactive inhibition.” Wessel says Hynd “often exceeds the expectations set for her” and called her “determined and ambitious.”  

Kruse, a third-year year pre-medical student, will spend the summer in the lab of Michael Dailey, associate professor of biology, pursuing “Studies on roles of microglia in neuropathology." Dailey says she is “an outstanding student who has already shown great research potential.”

Merfeld, a third-year student, who plans to pursue a PhD in Neuroscience, will work in the lab of John Wemmie, professor and Roy J. Carver Chair of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, and associate director of the Iowa Neuroscience Institute. Her project is, “Novel mechanisms of alcohol-evoked intoxication." Wemmie says Merfeld is, “hardworking, reliable, and proficient. Her keen observations and thoughtfulness will be crucial for success in a scientific career.”

Psychiatric and neurological disorders are devastating to individuals, their families, and society. Created with the transformative grant of $45 million from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust, the INI seeks revolutionary discoveries in fundamental neuroscience to translate an understanding of how the brain works into clinical treatments for disorders of the brain and nervous system.