Spotlight
Celebrating Iowa’s spring 2025 grads
This spring, nearly 5,500 University of Iowa undergraduate, graduate, and professional students will earn degrees. These Hawkeyes have engaged, excelled, and stretched to reach their goals.
Student success
NIL course simulates agency experience
Students from across the University of Iowa campus collaborate to put together name, image, and likeness plans for Hawkeye student-athlete “clients.”
Graduate spotlight: Ben Cooper
It was through his classes and professors at the University of Iowa that Ben Cooper discovered a love of neurobiology. It was through his work with Undergraduate Student Government that he found a love for working with people and advocating for them. These discoveries led to what he plans to do next with his life.
Graduate spotlight: Brenda Ramirez
As a high school student, Brenda Ramirez thought it would be cool to work in public office someday. That "someday" happened when she became a Hawkeye, serving for three years on Undergraduate Student Government capped by a term as vice president. Ramirez will graduate this spring with a BA in political science and BA in economics.
Health care
Quad Cities-area mom delivers triplets on National Triplet Day
Closely monitored by University of Iowa Health Care experts, Lori Pinckney carried three boys to 35 weeks. “High-risk pregnancies are scary, but with my team at UI Health Care, I felt cared for and listened to,” Pinckney says.
UI Health Care's North Liberty campus: Building for Iowa
UI Health Care's North Liberty campus, which opened at the end of April, features a medical center and services that meet the needs and expectations of Iowans.
A holistic view of children’s health
Medicine alumna Amy Shriver uses her role as a pediatrician to help families learn how focusing on social connection, family reading time, and more can contribute to kids’ mental and physical health.
Research
Curiosity and collaboration, leading to excellence
Michael Welsh’s research changed understanding and treatment of cystic fibrosis. His drive to learn and forward-looking approach exemplifies teamwork and shared success at Iowa.
Exploring origins, functions of sleep in premature infants
Researchers at the University of Iowa are studying the sleep of premature babies to get the earliest look to date into how the twitches that occur during REM sleep shape the nascent communication between brain and body.
Introducing first-generation students to research
First-gen students might come to college unaware of the pathways to research. The University of Iowa offers them support, from educational and networking services to hands-on workshops that deal with brain research.
Always a Hawkeye: Alumni stories
Iowa photojournalism grad looks for new angles
After an award-winning stint as a photographer with "The Daily Iowan" and the opportunity to document a historic women’s basketball tournament run, Grace Smith is continuing to pursue creative visual storytelling — and to photograph a favorite Iowa baller.
A holistic view of children’s health
Medicine alumna Amy Shriver uses her role as a pediatrician to help families learn how focusing on social connection, family reading time, and more can contribute to kids’ mental and physical health.
Becoming a writer no laughing matter for Harper Steele
The Emmy Award–winning writer who penned sketches for ‘Saturday Night Live’ might have pursued another career had it not been for a class she took at the University of Iowa.
Community impact
UI Health Care's North Liberty campus: Building for Iowa
UI Health Care's North Liberty campus, which opened at the end of April, features a medical center and services that meet the needs and expectations of Iowans.
UI experts use data in fight against cancer
A public health team from the University of Iowa is collaborating with partners across the state to share county-specific cancer data with residents in each of Iowa’s 99 counties.
Training emergency care providers for all of Iowa
For more than two decades, the UI Emergency Medicine Physician Assistant Residency Program has addressed the specialty training gap for PAs working in rural emergency departments.
Faculty and staff features
UI detective unravels identity theft scheme
Thanks to Ian Mallory’s investigation, which involved untangling hundreds of documents and obtaining a crucial DNA test, a California man who had been falsely imprisoned and involuntarily hospitalized for saying he was who he said he was regained his true identity.
Bringing nurses’ innovations to life
Iowa Nurse Innovators, a program within the University of Iowa Office of Innovation, empowers inventive nurses to create solutions improving patient safety, workflow efficiencies, and effectiveness in hospitals across the state.
A neuroscientist and his son make strides at Iowa
When his toddler was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder more than 20 years ago, Ted Abel expanded his research focus to include the developmental disorder. Today, the University of Iowa provides an environment where both father and son have thrived.
Athletics
NIL course simulates agency experience
Students from across the University of Iowa campus collaborate to put together name, image, and likeness plans for Hawkeye student-athlete “clients.”
Meet Kid Captain Lukas Hazen
After Lukas Hazen’s parents learned their son might not survive childbirth, they prayed they’d have even a few minutes with him after he was born. Thanks to care provided by UI Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital, they’ve had 12 years and counting.
Meet Kid Captain Raelyn Miller-Ramirez
With expert care at University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital, Raelyn Miller-Ramirez learned to thrive after losing her eyesight following surgery to remove a cancerous, fast-growing tumor.