Iowa Neuroscientists Introduce First-Gen Students to Brain Research

PHOTO: TIM SCHOON/UI OFFICE OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION University of Iowa student Bailee Kamerzell wears an EEG cap that monitors electrical activity in the brain by using sensors attached to the scalp.

When first-generation college student Bailee Kamerzell started her undergraduate studies at the University of Iowa in 2023, research wasn’t on her radar.

“I knew that going into psychology, most people assume you’ll be a counselor or therapist, but I wasn’t sure that I wanted to go on that path,” says the sophomore from Sioux City, Iowa, who is working toward bachelor’s degrees in psychology and criminology, law, and justice. “I didn’t know what I would do.”

Fast-forward to the following summer when Kamerzell found herself sitting in the UI’s Psychological and Brain Sciences Building, donning an electroencephalography electrode cap. Other Iowa students surrounded her, preparing the equipment to get a reading on her brain’s electrical activity.

Kamerzell did not have an urgent medical need for this procedure; she was part of a hands-on session at the First Generation Brain Research Workshop, hosted annually by Jan Wessel, associate professor and Ronnie Ketchel Faculty Fellow in the UI Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and the UI Health Care Department of Neurology. She learned about the workshop—designed to introduce first-generation students to research—in a behavioral neuroscience class during her first year as a UI student. “I wasn’t sure if I’d apply because I knew it would take me out of my comfort zone, but I knew it’s what I needed to do to get on the path that was going to lead me where I thought I wanted to go,” says Kamerzell. “And it was amazing. They gave us so many resources and made us feel comfortable about the fact that we didn’t know everything. I made so many connections that I know will last years after I graduate.”

PHOTO: TIM SCHOON/UI OFFICE OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION UI students conduct a neuroscience and psychological research study about exercise and brain health.

An Intensive Four-Day Program

The workshop, which Wessel has offered since 2019, aims to increase first-generation college undergraduates’ participation in basic academic research, specifically the human neurosciences. The UI defines a first-generation student as any student whose parents or guardians have not completed a four-year degree, and in fall 2024, that applied to 1 in 5 undergraduates at Iowa.

PHOTO: TIM SCHOON/UI OFFICE OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION Héctor Sánchez Meléndez, an alum of the First Generation Brain Research Workshop and the UI's neuroscience program, now conducts research at the National Institutes of Health.

The first three days of the workshop provide participants with a high-level overview of three commonly used methods for noninvasive human brain research: electroencephalography (EEG), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). An EEG can be used to help diagnose and monitor such conditions as epilepsy and coma; TMS uses magnetic fields to stimulate the brain’s nerve cells to improve symptoms of major depression; and an fMRI maps brain activity to help doctors plan for surgeries and procedures.

Wessel starts the day with informational lectures, answering three basic questions about that day’s topic: How do you define it? How do we measure it? What can we study?

Wessel then leads the students through practical demonstrations of the brain research tools. Participants learn about the hardware and software involved in the data collection process, receive instruction on how to collect each type of data, and learn how the data helps Iowa neuroscientists in their work.

The workshop’s final day allows the students to meet, network with, and get career advice from researchers in labs across campus. Iowa researchers who use EEG, TMS, and fMRI technology give presentations in the morning; Wessel’s lab members hold a Q&A over lunch; and representatives from the Neuroscience Graduate Program, the Office of Undergraduate Research, 1stGen@Iowa Initiative, and Iowa Sciences Academy speak with students about the resources and opportunities available to them at Iowa throughout the afternoon.

“That always ends up being a mind-blowing part of the workshop,” says Wessel. “It’s all about explaining how to navigate the academic research environment, saying, ‘Here’s how all of this works, and here’s what you can do to be a part of it.’”

PHOTO: TIM SCHOON/UI OFFICE OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION Associate professor Jan Wessel

Understanding First-Gen Issues Firsthand

Wessel, once a first-generation college student himself, says he started the workshop because he knows that such experiences can change a person’s life. As an undergraduate student in Cologne, Germany, Wessel was considering a career in journalism when a psychology professor approached him about joining her lab as a research assistant.

“Imagine if she didn’t do that, and I never found this thing I love?” says Wessel. “I had never met or talked to a scientist. I didn’t know this was a possible career path. I want to ensure that every student has the chance to try this out. And if they don’t become scientists because they don’t like it, that’s fine. But at least it wasn’t because it was just never on their radar.”

“You don't know what you don't know. And many students don't know that these opportunities are there for them.” —Tawny Tibbits

According to the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, fewer first-generation college students conduct research projects with faculty members than continuing-generation college students. Experts say first-generation students often don’t realize that research is even a pathway they can pursue in college.

“You don’t know what you don’t know. And many students don’t know that these opportunities are there for them,” says Tawny Tibbits (09BA, 09BS, 16PhD), director of the UI Office of Undergraduate Research. “Even if they do, they don’t necessarily know how to go about finding a research position or how to do the networking to find it.”

After earning BS and MS degrees in psychology, a PhD in cognitive neurology, and completing a postdoctoral fellowship, Wessel established a National Institutes of Health-funded lab at Iowa in 2015. In the Wessel Cognitive Neurology Lab, he and his colleagues—including undergraduate and graduate students—study the human brain’s ability to control thoughts and actions. To do this, they employ many of the techniques Wessel introduces to students in his First Generation Brain Research Workshop: EEG, TMS, and fMRI.

In 2022, the 1stGen@Iowa Faculty and Staff Collaborative recognized Wessel’s advocacy and support of first-generation students with one of its annual 1stGen@Iowa awards.

Wessel appreciates the efforts made on behalf of first-generation students at Iowa, including the First Gen Hawks program that provides coaching and experiential learning, and the 1stGen@Iowa Initiative that helps faculty and staff support and celebrate first-generation student success.

“I wish any of that would have been available when I was in college,” says Wessel. “Nearly a quarter of our undergraduates are first-generation. I think it’s amazing what this university does for this population.”

PHOTO: TIM SCHOON/UI OFFICE OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION Olivia Kopp, who participated in the First Generation Brain Research Workshop in 2023, went on to work in the UI's Sleep and Behavioral Development Lab, which studies how twitches in infants and toddlers during sleep contribute to their development.

Successful Outcomes

While the First Generation Brain Research Workshop lasts just four days, it is intended to be a springboard to greater opportunity. Providing mentorship and helping students find mentors is one goal that Wessel strives for through his workshop.

“I stress to students that one of the best things you can get out of your college experience is finding somebody who will be in your corner and who will go to bat for you, somebody who’s invested in your career, somebody who you can go to for advice,” says Wessel. “We’re trying to be that for them.”

“I love that through research you can get answers to questions. And I definitely have plenty of questions I want answered.” —Bailee Kamerzell

Following her participation in the 2024 workshop, Kamerzell began working with psychological and brain sciences professor and Ketchel Family Chair Bruce Bartholow in the SCANlab (Social Cognitive and Addiction Neuroscience Lab). The lab seeks to better understand the origin of addiction and provide research for early intervention.

Kamerzell says she thinks her high school self would be shocked to see the work she is doing.

“I never saw myself as someone who would thrive in science, but I’ve proved otherwise,” she says. “I love that through research you can get answers to questions. And I definitely have plenty of questions I want answered.”

PHOTO: TIM SCHOON/UI OFFICE OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION First Generation Brain Research Workshop alum Bailee Kamerzell prepares a subject for study in the Psychological and Brain Sciences Building.

Former workshop participant Olivia Kopp (24BS), who graduated this past December with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, says Wessel’s program gave her the confidence to start applying for research assistant positions—and the knowledge of where to find them.

She has been working since January 2024 in the Sleep and Behavioral Development Lab led by Mark Blumberg, professor and chair of the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. As a research assistant, she seeks to understand how twitches in infants and toddlers during sleep contribute to their development.

“Research has the ability to really open up your mind because you have to think about one question from all different angles,” says Kopp. “That has really helped me in general with my perspective on any sort of topic.”

Another alum of the First Generation Brain Research Workshop is 2021 participant Héctor Sánchez Meléndez (23BS), who in 2019 came to the UI from Puerto Rico with the intention of becoming a doctor.

“I was interested in the brain. I was interested in behavior. So, I thought, you have to be a doctor, right? That was the only thing I knew,” he says. “I hadn’t really been exposed to what it means to be a scientist or how to get there.”

Today, the first-generation student holds a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and performs full-time research at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, through its postbaccalaureate program. He also is applying to graduate schools and eventually hopes to return to Puerto Rico to start a research lab.

Sánchez Meléndez says he found several strong mentors through his participation in the workshop and appreciates how they helped set him up for success.

“I’m very independent, but independent people still need strong mentors and strong people behind them,” he says. “Everything I’ve been able to accomplish is partly because I’ve had people who have been there with me every step of the way. Having strong mentors makes you able to reach your goals without having to struggle as much as if you had to do it yourself.”

Kamerzell says while it can be challenging to be a first-generation student, her experiences at Iowa have led to a lot of personal growth.

“Iowa is an especially great college to go to as a first-generation student because they provide so many opportunities for us,” she says. “My future is anything but limited, and it’s really nice to see that.”