Since 2016, the University of Iowa’s Office of the Vice President for Research has sponsored a banner campaign around downtown Iowa City to feature researchers whose ideas are already making an impact on the world. The Dare to Discover campaign showcases researchers, scholars, and creators from across the University of Iowa.
Each year since, the Department of Internal Medicine has been represented in some way on at least one or two banners. This year, we are again proud to count 6 of the 100 rising stars in this year’s banner campaign as connected to our department.
Travis Fischer, PhD student, biomedical science (cancer biology)
Unlocks body’s anti-cancer response
Faculty mentor: George Weiner, MD, Professor of Internal Medicine – Hematology, Oncology, and Blood & Marrow Transplantation
Immunotherapy, treatment that harnesses the body’s immune system to combat cancer, is considered a breakthrough yet is ineffective for many patients. Travis Fischer explores how a certain type of immunotherapy called in situ immunization activates the body’s immune cells with a virus-like particle, leading to an anti-cancer response. Fischer examines how this agent activates and enhances T cells, a crucial type of immune cell that can directly target and destroy cancer cells. Improving immunotherapies could lead to more effective personalized treatments, with fewer side effects than chemotherapy or radiation, offering hope for patients with hard-to-treat cancers.
Travis has an infectious enthusiasm for his own work and for the work of his colleagues. His can-do positive attitude and willingness to assist others will contribute to his own future success as a scientist and as a valued collaborator and mentor in his own right.
– George Weiner, MD
Jasmyn Hoeger, Undergraduate student, biology
Explores systems of gene control
Faculty mentor: Ryan Boudreau, PhD, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine – Cardiovascular Medicine
The research team in the Boudreau Lab studies the systems that control gene expression in heart and brain disease. As part of this effort, Jasmyn Hoeger is investigating a group of genes that share a common control mechanism for how they produce proteins, which may also generate novel microproteins. Hoeger is working to understand the purpose of these microproteins and how stable they are. She is also studying how open reading frames, a part of the gene that comes before the main coding region, affect protein production and could be a target for gene therapy. Hoeger’s work will help broaden the range of genes included in genetic testing and lay a groundwork for developing new gene therapies.
Jasmyn is ahead of her time as a young scientist. As an undergrad, her CV already has an impressive number of accolades, including several prestigious fellowships, a short-talk presentation at a national Keystone symposium, and a co-first author original research article in preparation.
– Ryan Boudreau, PhD
Soheil Hosseini, PhD student, biomedical engineering
Leverages AI to study lung disease
Faculty mentor: Eric Hoffman, PhD, Professor and Richard Hichwa Chair in Radiology; Professor of Internal Medicine
Soheil Hosseini is developing and validating novel AI methods to study the natural structure of blood vessels in the lungs using advanced medical imaging. Recent research has shown that the size and branching of airways in the lungs can affect the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), even in nonsmokers. By using AI and advanced imaging to look at the blood vessels in the lungs, Hosseini is now exploring how these blood vessels contribute to lung diseases. This allows the researchers to study scans from large ongoing studies, focusing not only on smoking but also on the growing impact of environmental factors.
Soheil has creatively utilized advance AI methods to tackle a particularly challenging task of reliably extracting the pulmonary vascular tree from contrast enhanced dual energy CT (DECT) scans and to separate these complex structures into the arterial and venous trees. By matching the trees to the labeled airway structure, he provides a means of standardizing the vascular tree metrics with reference to their airway tree counterparts. This has opened a new line of investigation, allowing for the assignment of roles played by innate airway and vascular structure in contributing to inflammatory and environmentally based lung disease.
– Eric A. Hoffman, PhD
Jayashree Jena, Postdoctoral scholar, internal medicine – edocrinology and metabolism
Investigates underlying causes of obesity
Faculty mentor: Renata Pereira Alambert, PhD, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine – Endocrinology and Metabolism
Jayashree Jena is investigating the molecular-level biological processes that underlie the development of metabolic conditions such as obesity. Obesity correlates with the development of various conditions, including diabetes and heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States and worldwide. Obesity has been increasing globally, but women show fewer adverse effects of obesity when compared to men. Jena’s research aims to expand understanding of sex differences related to the development of obesity. Her work has the potential to identify new targets for personalized therapeutics to manage obesity and associated diseases.
Dr. Jena, lovingly known as the lab queen, is a dynamic investigator who is an integral part of my research team. She has excellent technical skills and is a generous leader in the lab, mentoring trainees of all levels. Her hard work and dedication are reflected in her productivity, and I am confident she will continue to excel in her career as a scientist.
– Renata Alambert, PhD
Srija Manchkanti, MD student
Links hormone therapy to women’s health
Faculty mentor: Sanjana Dayal, PhD, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine – Hematology, Oncology, and Blood and Marrow Transplantation
Srija Manchkanti’s research focuses on understanding the effects of estrogen therapy on heart, kidney, liver, and metabolic health in women. Using a large global database, Manchkanti examined the prevalence of conditions like hypertension, heart failure, liver disease, and diabetes in patients receiving estrogen treatments. She found that cisgender women on estrogen had higher rates of these conditions, while transgender women had a higher prevalence of high cholesterol and obesity. By identifying the differing long-term health effects of estrogen across different populations, Manchkanti paves the way for medical professionals to improve outcomes for patients receiving estrogen therapy.
Srija has been working very diligently on her assigned topic of research for about 2 years. She has patiently learned to navigate the TriNetX platform and acquired skills to design a robust study and perform data analysis. For her outstanding research work, prior to Dare to Discover award, she has won an abstract achievement award from American Society of Hematology in 2023, and was a finalist in Emerging Scientist category for Women in 2024, awarded by ATVB, Vascular Discovery: From Genes to Medicine Scientific Sessions. As she graduates from medical school this year, she is planning to continue to develop her research skills to address important health questions. I wish her all success.
– Sanjana Dayal
Nathan Witmer, PhD student, molecular medicine
Determines how heart disease develops
Faculty mentor: Ryan Boudreau, PhD, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine – Cardiovascular Medicine
Nathan Witmer started working in the Boudreau Lab as an undergraduate student. There, his research aims to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying heart disease, which remains the world’s leading cause of death despite advanced treatments and disease prevention. The research team has discovered several microproteins and Witmer is working to determine their functions, their relevance to heart disease, and if they are targetable for heart disease treatments. Witmer’s research builds on current knowledge about how heart cells function and how they become dysfunctional during disease states and could potentially lead to additional studies aimed at developing new gene therapies for these microproteins.
Nathan is one of the top students in his graduate program, and given his high-level productivity, he will soon be graduating with an impressive number of papers, including three first-author original research contributions, with one already being published in Cell Metabolism.
– Ryan Boudreau