| September 2025 |
| Kristi was inducted into the National Academy of Inventors, Iowa Chapter. |
| August 2025 |
| Katie presented on her thesis project entitled, 'Repurposing progestins to advance hormone therapy for endometrial cancer' at the HCCC Research Seminar Series. Nice work, Katie! |
| July 2025 |
| Shreya and Lilly did a great job with their poster and oral presentations at the end of summer CROI presentation session. Nice work! |
| July 2025 |
| We'd like to welcome our new post-bac, Erin, to the lab! |
| June 2025 |
| Congrats to Abby for passing her comprehensive exam! |
| June 2025 |
| Katie gave an oral presentation at the HCCC retreat. Nice work! |
| May 2025 |
| We'd like to welcome Lilly, an undergraduate from Wartburg participating in UIowa's CROI summer program, to the lab. |
| May 2025 |
| Katie shared an oral presentation and a poster at the Keystone Organoid Meeting in Whistler, BC in May 2025, and earned a scholarship! Congratulations, Katie! |
| April 2025 |
| Help us celebrate Abby's graduation from her Iowa Innovation Fellowship! Congratulations, Abby! |
| April 2025 |
| Congratulations to Hiruni and Shreya - they both received summer fellowships for the Independent Creative Research by Undergraduates (ICRU) program here at UIowa! |
| April 2025 |
| Each year, the Office of Undergraduate Research selects 20 projects for presentation at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines. This year, Hiruni showcased her work, Identifying Challenges in Establishing Cancer Research Resources in Iowa, to state legislators. Read more about Hiruni's experience with the Research in the Capitol (RIC) program here! |
| February 2025 |
| Kristi, in partnership with Rahul Singh, Professor in the Department of Computer Science, has been awarded a pilot grant for their project titled 'Image-based Phenotypic Analysis and Reasoning with Organoids: Integrating Advances in Computing and Biomedicine.' |
| February 2025 |
| Check out our new paper, Enhancing Progestin Therapy with a Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 Agonist for the Conservative Management of Endometrial Cancer! |
| November 2024 |
| Dr. Thiel, along with Co-PI Dr. Pessôa-Pereira, were awarded the Oberley Seed Grant Program at the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center for their project , Tracing Mechanisms of Tumor Microenvironment-Mediated Chemoresistance in Ovarian Cancer |
| October 2024 |
| Kristi, Abby, and Katie attended the Steroid Hormones and Receptors Conference this year, where Katie presented her poster titled, Modeling Response to Progestin Therapy in Patient-Derived Organoid Models of Endometrial Cancer. |
| October 2024 |
| Katie is a finalist in the Three Minute Thesis Competition and will compete in the finals this November! She successfully presented her research in under three minutes to advance to this stage. Great job, Katie! |
| August 2024 |
| Meet our new undergraduate researcher, Shreya! |
| July 2024 |
| Hiruni presented her research, Preclinical Models of Gynecologic Cancer from Diverse Populations, at the CROI/FLASH summer research session. Great work! |
| July 2024 |
| We would like to welcome our new research scientist, Dr. Danielle Pessôa-Pereira, to the lab! |
| July 2024 |
| Congratulations to Abby! She was recently awarded the T32 training grant for predoctoral training in the pharmacological sciences. |
| July 2024 |
| Sonia has completed her Fellowship in the Thiel Lab. We will miss you, Sonia, and wish you the best of luck! |
| June 2024 |
| Katie presented her poster, Modeling response to progestin therapy in patient-derived organoid models of endometrial cancer, at the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center Conference. Great job, Katie! |
| June 2024 |
| Hiruni Sumanasiri is a HCCC Cancer Research Opportunities at Iowa (CROI) Summer 2024 Undergraduate Fellow |
| May 2024 |
| Congratulations to Katie for passing her comprehensive exam, Progrestins as anti-cancer agents and immunomodulators! Katie is officially the first PhD Candidate in the Thiel Lab! |
| May 2024 |
| Connect with Kristi at the 2024 WAGO Annual Meeting in June! |
| April 2024 |
| Congratulations to Hiruni! She tied for 2nd place in the 2024 Microbiology Undergraduate Poster Symposium. Keep up the great work! |
| February 2024 |
| We'd like to officially welcome our second graduate student, Abby, to the Thiel Lab! |
| January 2024 |
| Exciting news! Today marks the completion of shooting our JoVE video showcasing our work on Multiplexed Live-Cell Imaging for Drug Responses in Patient-Derived Organoid Models of Cancer. Stay tuned for the video! |
| January 2024 |
| Check out Hiruni's feature in the UIowa "Dare to Discover" campaign, in which she dares to pursue personalized cancer treatments! Hiruni is an integral part of our lab and our efforts to deliver personalized and precision treatments to each individual patient affected by ovarian and endometrial cancers. Starting in our lab right out of high school, she's been a driving force in our quest for personalized patient care. Spot her "Dare to Discover" banner around campus! Additionally, revisit Kristi's 2016 Dare to Discover feature, where she boldly "Dared to Treat Cancer." Learn more about Kristi's campaign here. |
| November 2023 |
| Discover Kristi's inspiring career journey and innovative insights as she shares her experiences on Vanderbilt's Beyond the Lab podcast, highlighting key milestones and the brilliant ideas that shaped her success. |
| November 2023 |
| The Thiel lab attended the 2023 AACR Endometrial Cancer Meeting in Boston. Katie and Sonia shared their most recent research findings at the poster session. Nice work! |
| September 2023 |
| Check out our new publication, Global expression analysis of endometrial cancer cells in response to progesterone identifies new therapeutic targets |
| August 2023 |
| Congratulations to Katie for her selection as a distinguished fellow in UI Ventures' Iowa Innovation Leadership Program, an exclusive initiative inviting exceptional graduate students and medical trainees to collaborate with industry experts, venture capitalists, and UI leaders, paving the way for groundbreaking advancements in healthcare innovation and technology commercialization throughout the academic year. With access to top-tier resources, mentorship from successful entrepreneurs, and the opportunity to shape the med-tech landscape, Katie and her fellow Fellows are poised to drive transformative change in the Iowa Med-tech Innovation ecosystem, contributing invaluable insights and solutions to unmet healthcare needs. |
| August 1st, 2023 |
| The Thiel lab was awarded a DOD Translational Team Science Award to study hormone therapy in endometrial cancer. This $2.5M award is a collaborative project with Miles Pufall in the Department of Biochemistry, the University of New Mexico (Kim Leslie), the University of Utah (Jay Gertz) and the University of Kansas (Christy Hagan). |
| August 1st, 2023 |
| The Thiel lab received a University of Iowa Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center DEI Pilot Grant to create preclinical models of gynecologic cancer from underrepresented populations. |
| August 1st, 2023 |
| Today, we celebrated Jess' new post-bac position at the University of Pennsylvania. Jess, we are so grateful for your hard work in the lab as an undergraduate researcher, and we wish you luck! |
| July 26th, 2023 |
| Hiruni did a great job with her poster presentation at the Summer Undergraduate Research Festival! |
| July 25th, 2023 |
| Hiruni presented her work at SCURPI this year. Great work! |
| July 1st, 2023 |
| Dr. Sofia (Sonia) Gabrilovich, a Gynecologic Oncology Fellow at the University of Iowa, joined the Thiel lab to complete her research year. |
| May 2023 |
| We'd like to officially welcome our first graduate student, Katie, to the Thiel Lab! |
| January 2023 |
| We'd like to welcome our new post-bac, Emily! Welcome to the lab! |
| November 2nd, 2022 |
| Jess did a great job presenting at the 2022 Fall Undergraduate Research Festival! |
| August 2022 |
| Haley is leaving the lab in pursuit of medical school -- Haley, congratulations, and thank you so much for all your efforts while you were in lab! |
| June 2022 |
| The Thiel Lab was started! |