News

22 July 2026
Coral Keepers
Inside our coral spawning success. In the heart of the midwest.
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The Graduate School of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research
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The 2023 class of predoctoral researchers were honored in an inaugural Lab Coat Ceremony after choosing their thesis labs
Members of the 2023 class of predoctoral researchers at the Graduate School of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research recently completed their laboratory rotations and selected their thesis labs.
On June 27, 2024, the predocs gave short presentations on research they conducted during their rotations. Laboratory rotations allow predocs to spend two months in each of three labs during the first year of the Ph.D. program, prior to selecting a lab in which to pursue thesis research.
After the rotation talks, the predocs received their personalized lab coats in a special Lab Coat Ceremony, marking this important milestone. Principal Investigators presented their newest lab members with their lab coats, symbolizing the responsibilities and professionalism expected of scientists, and offered messages of welcome and encouragement for this next phase of the program and the research road ahead.
The 2023 class of the Stowers Graduate School and their thesis labs:
| Predoctoral Researchers | Thesis Advisors |
|---|---|
| Sam Campbell | Julia Zeitlinger |
| Brandon Fagen | SaraH Zanders |
| Paco Guerra Garcia | Siva Sankari |
| Yuri Iwamura | Tatjana Sauka-Spengler |
| Fahad Kamulegeya | Neşet Özel and Julia Zeitlinger |
| Hannah Kimbrough | Randal Halfmann |
| Siddharth Kurne | Tatjana Sauka-Spengler |
| Graciela Monfort Anez | Jennifer Gerton |
| Erika Pinto | Siva Sankari |
| Logan Sabin | Tatjana Piotrowski |
| Kelsey Scott | Tatjana Piotrowski |
| Wenhao Song | Randal Halfmann |
Congratulations to the 2023 class of the Stowers Graduate School!
News

22 July 2026
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22 July 2026
Dive into the biological basics of symbiosis, the close partnerships that allow different organisms to thrive together, and take a closer look at how a Stowers scientist explores the molecular conversations that make these relationships possible.
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What if...?

30 June 2026
The third story in the Institute's 'What If?' series follows Assistant Investigator Arvind Pillai, Ph.D., explores one of biology's deepest unanswered questions: How does evolution create something entirely new? By reconstructing ancient proteins that disappeared hundreds of millions, even billions, of years ago, Pillai's lab is uncovering the principles that gave rise to life's molecular machinery. Those same principles could one day help scientists engineer entirely new proteins capable of delivering drugs and treating disease. Discover how a lifelong fascination with nature's complexity became a scientific pursuit that stretches from Earth's distant past to the future of medicine.
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What if...?
30 April 2026
This edition of the Stowers Institute’s “What if?” series follows Assistant Investigator Kamena Kostova, Ph.D., as she explores how cells detect defective ribosomes—and how uncovering these hidden failures could open new paths to treating cancer, neurodegeneration, and other diseases.
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