Nine Wartburg College students participated in the annual Iowa Illinois Nebraska STEM Partnership for Innovation in Research and Education (IINspire) conference at Iowa State University in Ames.

Student participants were Emma Hickman, Jalen Stovall, Lauryn Tate, Mia Lopez, Prince Abey, Tina Inegbese, Zackary Anderson, Zee Naba and Zion Taylor

Students and faculty engaged in a weekend of insightful discussions and presentations. IINspire is a National Science Foundation-supported regional alliance comprising 16 neighboring institutions committed to broadening the participation of U.S. students from racial and ethnic groups traditionally underrepresented in the STEM fields.

Lopez, a junior in biology, presented her summer research poster “Polymer-based Gene/Drug Delivery Nanoplatforms for Pancreatic Cancer.”

Four faculty members volunteered as judges for the conference while LeAnn Faidley, Wartburg’s IINspire program director and engineering professor, moderated the sessions.