Stokes Award for Outstanding Service

The Stokes Award for Outstanding Service to the IINSPIRE Alliance was presented to Cailin Huyck Orr, SERC at Carleton College, for service at an exemplary level, in pursuit, of the alliance’s primary goal to increase the participation of URM students in STEM fields.

Outstanding IINSPIRE LSAMP Alumni Award

Paul Faronbi, General Mills, Iowa State University Alumni

Hayley Vaughn, PhD Candidate, Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Genetics at the University of Iowa, Upper Iowa University Alumni

Excellence in Mentoring Awards

Outstanding Mentor Award for Faculty or Staff

Rebecca Schmidt, Assistant Professor of Biology, Upper Iowa University

Outstanding Student Mentor Awards

Jiahao Chen, Graduate Research Assistant of Materials Science & Engineering, Iowa State University

Student Poster Session

Students with the top three posters in two categories, Research and Experiential, were awarded cash prizes. In addition, students with the top three oral presentations were awarded a cash prize. The top prize in each category received $300.00, second place received $200.00, and third place $100.00. Faculty and students attending the event also voted for their favorite poster. The winner of the People’s Choice Award for posters received a cash prize of $250.00. The winners of each category are as follows:

Oral Presentations

1st Place
Ana Collazo Martinez, Iowa State University
The Association of Adiponectin and Inflammatory Signals in Alzheimer’s Disease

2nd Place
Elissa Monteiro, University of Iowa
Does Executive Functioning Mediate Links Between Childhood Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms and Substance Use and Related Problems in Adulthood?

3rd Place
Helena Valquier-Flynn, Doane University
The Effect of Surface Properties on Growth Rate of a Pseudomonas Aaeruginosa Biofilm in a Glucose-based Minimal Mineral Medium

Research Poster Category

1st Place
Rikki Laser, University of Iowa
Deficits in REM Sleep Twitching Indicate Developmental Delay in Autism Mouse Model

2nd Place
Madison Kinder, Augustana College
The Antitumorigenic Effects of Natural Compounds, Conessine and Cardamonin, on MDA-MB-231 Breast Epithelial Cells

3rd Place
Bailey Brighman, Doane University
Quantifications of Biofilms on Porous Oil-Infused Polymeric Surfaces with Fluorescence Microscopy

Experiential Poster Category

1st Place
Zory Hamblin, Upper Iowa University
What I learned in Forensic Science

2nd Place
Erik Zorilla, Upper Iowa University
SVYM Internship Experience

3rd Place
Jeannie Dees, Wartburg College
Historical Roots of Math and Physics in the British Isles

People’s Choice Award

Jesse Cochran, University of Iowa
Ketogenic Diet Recuses Cardiac Hypertrophy and Heart Failure Induced by Loss of the Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier