The NASA Iowa Space Grant Consortium (ISGC) awarded a research scholarship to Anna Braun, a third-year student pharmacist in Drake University’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (CPHS). Braun is one of 20 students in Iowa to receive this competitive scholarship for the 2023-24 academic year and is receiving it for the third consecutive year in a row. Each scholarship carries an award of $5,000 to be split between two academic semesters.
The ISGC Research Scholarship recipients are required to be in a STEM program that supports NASA’s mission, have a minimum 3.0 GPA, and complete a year-long research project. Awardees are also required to present their research at the ISGC Student Research Symposium in 2024.
Braun will be mentored in her research by Pramod Mahajan, professor of pharmaceutical sciences. Her project is titled Doxorubicin Enhances B-Raf Degradation in Human Cancer Cells.
The CPHS fosters a culture of research among undergraduate and graduate students. With a faculty of diverse specialties and a strong passion for mentoring, the College affords many opportunities for students to get involved in research. Students can begin research as early as their first year at Drake and it can be lab-based or related to direct patient care. These projects often lead to student co-authors for abstracts and other publications, and students often showcase their work at campus, regional, and national meetings and conferences.
Past ISGC Research Scholarship recipients:
- 2022-2023: Anna Braun and Ali Goldensoph
- 2021-2022: Anna Parr, Anna Braun, and Ali Goldensoph
- 2018-2019: Katie Vollmer, McKenzie Temperly, and Caroline Jones
- 2017-2018: Allison Golbach, Amanda Hoerres, and Michael Ohman