Students interested in pursuing undergraduate research have opportunities work alongside award-winning professors to gain hands-on skills that prepare them for their future careers or advanced degrees.
Research
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Nanovaccine Institute
Our students have the opportunity to assist leading researchers, including Dr. Donald Sakaguchi in the Nanovaccine Institute here at Iowa State. This experience helps you develop a deep understanding of neurobiology and learn how to apply this knowledge to research and scientific illustration.
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Human Anatomy Lab
The College of Veterinary Medicine is home to the Human Anatomy Lab on campus, with opportunities for undergraduate research and learning. Cadaver donors, provided through a partnership with the University of Iowa Donor Program, allow hands-on research and study. In 2022, BPMI hosted Do it Like da Vinci Drawing in the Human Gross Anatomy and Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy Labs with BPMI at Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine for the Association of Medical Illustrators Conference, where students worked alongside professionals drawing from dissections and specimens.
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Visualizing Scientific Research
There is a tremendous range of amazing science research to engage in and visualize at ISU. Here, a student has partnered with researchers working in the Archontoulis Lab to visualize and illustrate cutting edge corn crop production and physiology. Another common location to find Scientific Illustration and Visualization students conducting research or hold internships is at the Ada Hayden Herbarium.
I had a much stronger grasp of the research process by the end of the semester (taking BIOL 4990), making the experience incredibly valuable.
Amazing internships
Internships are another great way to conduct research side-by-side with award-winning researchers. Students work with scientists as their clients in all facets of science at Iowa State University and create visual materials such as, interactive apps, animations, illustrations, 3D printed models, murals, and more for science publications, public outreach and teaching materials, research proposals, and a range of deliverables. The products of these internships convey the crux of cutting-edge science research occurring on campus. One of our students recently interned in the Archontoulis Lab in the Department of Agronomy where they worked on researching and illustrating corn plant productivity, showcasing ground-breaking techniques that could change the corn industry dramatically. With a variety of different areas on campus, the opportunities for research and internships are endless! Students also work off-campus, year-round, to conduct their internship experience. Past internships have been held at science museums including the Field Museum, medical illustration studios, NASA, and health clinics. The ways in which scientific visualization and illustration communicates science through art are endless.