Our Mission

The Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Molecular Medicine is one of the first cross-departmental graduate programs at The University of Iowa. It was founded by John Menninger in 1974, and funded by a National Research Service Award Training Program in Molecular Medicine from 1975-1992. This initial Program did not admit students or grant degrees. Instead, after their first year of graduate study, students from various departments were chosen and awarded stipends based on merit. Similarly to today, the students and faculty met for a weekly seminar, designed to inform trainees about the variety of research that was of interest to cell and molecular biologists, to give trainees practice in presenting their research to a critical audience, and to provide a social connection for trainees who were working in various departments. In 1992, the Molecular Biology Graduate Program was formalized into a degree-granting PhD program, and in 2017, the program changed its name to Molecular Medicine to reflect a expanded focus on translational science.

Today, the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Molecular Medicine still fosters the interdisciplinary efforts of a diverse group of investigators—both faculty and students—with common interests in molecular and cellular biology. Currently the program faculty represent the departments of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Dows Institute for Dental Research, Internal Medicine, Microbiology, Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, Neurology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, Otolaryngology, Pathology, Pediatrics, Pharmacology,  Psychiatry, Radiation Oncology, and Surgery. The program actively recruits new students with diverse research interests.

Molecular Medicine Events

Molecular Medicine Interdisciplinary Program Thesis Defense Seminar: Matthew Juber promotional image

Molecular Medicine Interdisciplinary Program Thesis Defense Seminar: Matthew Juber

Thursday, May 15, 2025 9:30am
Medical Education Research Facility
Matthew Juber is a PhD candidate in the Biomedical Science (Molecular Medicine) Interdisciplinary Graduate Program. His research has been with Dr. Matt Potthoff's laboratory.If you are unable to attend in person, please consider showing support via Zoom. https://uiowa.zoom.us/j/96219241107
Molecular Medicine Interdisciplinary Program Thesis Defense Seminar: Sandra Blom promotional image

Molecular Medicine Interdisciplinary Program Thesis Defense Seminar: Sandra Blom

Friday, June 6, 2025 1:00pm
Medical Education Research Facility
Sandra Blom is a PhD candidate in the Biomedical Science (Molecular Medicine) Interdisciplinary Graduate Program. Her research has been with Dr. Samuel Stephens's laboratory.If you are unable to attend in person, please consider showing support via Zoom: https://uiowa.zoom.us/j/93210709435
Molecular Medicine Interdisciplinary Program Thesis Defense Seminar: Nathan Witmer promotional image

Molecular Medicine Interdisciplinary Program Thesis Defense Seminar: Nathan Witmer

Monday, June 30, 2025 10:00am
Medical Laboratories
Nathan Witmer is a PhD candidate in the Biomedical Science (Molecular Medicine) Interdisciplinary Graduate Program. His research has been conducted in Ryan Boudreau's laboratory.If you are not able to attend in person, please consider showing your support by attending via Zoom. https://uiowa.zoom.us/j/95883392288
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Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs Events

Molecular Medicine Interdisciplinary Program Thesis Defense Seminar: Matthew Juber promotional image

Molecular Medicine Interdisciplinary Program Thesis Defense Seminar: Matthew Juber

Thursday, May 15, 2025 9:30am
Medical Education Research Facility
Matthew Juber is a PhD candidate in the Biomedical Science (Molecular Medicine) Interdisciplinary Graduate Program. His research has been with Dr. Matt Potthoff's laboratory.If you are unable to attend in person, please consider showing support via Zoom. https://uiowa.zoom.us/j/96219241107
CS | ECE Seminar – The Future of Multi-Robot Coordination: from Large-Scale Optimization to Robot Art promotional image

CS | ECE Seminar – The Future of Multi-Robot Coordination: from Large-Scale Optimization to Robot Art

Thursday, May 15, 2025 3:30pm to 4:30pm
MacLean Hall
SpeakerEric EwingAbstractRecent advances in multi-robot systems have created opportunities for widespread deployment in applications ranging from warehouse automation to search and rescue. However, coordinating large groups of robots remains challenging, both in terms of computational efficiency and accessibility to non-expert users. This talk explores novel approaches to multi-robot coordination through the lens of Multi-Agent Pathfinding (MAPF). We first examine data-driven techniques for...

Big Ten Neuroscience Seminar

Monday, May 19, 2025 11:00am to 12:00pm
Virtual
The 2024-2025 Big Ten Neuroscience Seminar Series is organized by our colleagues at Penn State University and will feature virtual seminars from a different Big Ten neuro program on the 4th Monday of each month (November, December, May dates are adjusted for holidays.) The links will be shared in the Neuroscience this week email. Contact iowa-neuroscience-institute@uiowa.edu if you do not receive this email and would like to attend a seminar.
ACB Seminar Series - Madhuri Bendale  promotional image

ACB Seminar Series - Madhuri Bendale

Wednesday, May 21, 2025 9:30am to 10:30am
Bowen Science Building
Madhuri Bendale, a Cell and Developmental Biology Graduate Student in the Frank Lab will present a seminar titled "Studying Homeostatic Plasticity at the Fly NMJ."
Hardin Open Workshops - ORCiD: Open Researcher and Contributor ID (Zoom) promotional image

Hardin Open Workshops - ORCiD: Open Researcher and Contributor ID (Zoom)

Tuesday, June 3, 2025 10:00am to 11:00am
Virtual
What is ORCID? Why would you want one? This session will discuss ORCID, how researchers can benefit from having one, and how ORCID connects with other information systems. This will also be a hands-on workshop where everyone will have the chance to create their own ORCID and learn the most efficient ways to populate their profile with their publications.PLEASE NOTEClass will be taught via Zoom. Advance registration is required. Registrants will be emailed the Zoom link 30 minutes before the...
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