Dr. Guo, an Assistant Research Scientist in the laboratory of Kamal Rahmouni in the Department of Pharmacology in the UI College of Medicine, was selected for the Outstanding Staff Award based on his tremendous contribution toward research and teaching missions of the UI since he joined the University in 2007. His unique laboratory skills and creativity has allowed him to push further the technical boundaries making it possible to extend the repertoire of the approaches that can be applied to his research. Deng’s tremendous experience has allowed him to make substantial contributions to understanding the molecular mechanisms that regulate energy balance and how disruption of these processes lead to obesity. Over his career, Deng has published 69 papers including 18 since joining the University of Iowa. Many of his articles report seminal findings and were published in high impact journals. Deng has been involved in training a number of undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows at the University of Iowa and visiting scholars from other national and international institutions.