Top Researchers
Top Neuroscience Researchers at Iowa State University for 2026
Iowa State University’s recent neuroscience research spans everything from cellular mechanisms and brain injury to neural engineering and mental health. Across a modest but diverse sample of works, researchers are connecting lab-based discovery with clinical questions and new technologies for studying the nervous system.
Below, you’ll find a snapshot of the people contributing to that activity, along with the subfields that show where the strongest momentum is coming from. It offers a quick way to see how neuroscience at Iowa State is extending across biomedical, engineering, and health-focused directions.
Featured Researchers
Zoe Sirotiak
Zoe Sirotiak’s recent work at Iowa State University centers on psychiatry and mental health, neurology, and cellular and molecular neuroscience, with publications on ME/CFS mortality, chronic pain, and concussion.
Activity over the last year: 3 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Mortality in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS): an updated analysis of memorial records (Aug 2025)
- Chronic Pain Prevalence, Characteristics, and Impact in United States Adults With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (Oct 2025)
- Understanding concussion in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: Findings from the 2023 National Health Interview study (Oct 2025)
Marc H. Anderson
Marc H. Anderson at Iowa State University has been publishing across organizational behavior, strategy, and clinical psychology, including papers on moral identity and moral disengagement.
Activity over the last year: 2 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
Thimmasettappa Thippeswamy
Thimmasettappa Thippeswamy’s Iowa State University publications focus on cellular and molecular neuroscience and physiology, with recent studies on neurotoxicity and temporal lobe epilepsy models.
Activity over the last year: 2 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
Nicole N. Hashemi
Nicole N. Hashemi’s recent Iowa State University work sits in biomedical engineering, highlighted by graphene microelectrodes for neural-cell impedance spectroscopy and ionic transistor design.
Activity over the last year: 2 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
Maedeh Ahmadipour
Maedeh Ahmadipour at Iowa State University is working across electrical and electronic engineering, inorganic chemistry, and biomedical engineering, with memristor studies aimed at physical reservoir computing and digit recognition.
Activity over the last year: 2 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
Christina Meyer
Christina Meyer’s Iowa State University research bridges plant science, cellular and molecular neuroscience, and health, toxicology and mutagenesis, including studies of synapse development, neurotoxicity, and epilepsy models.
Activity over the last year: 2 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Regulation of hippocampal excitatory synapse development by the adhesion G-protein coupled receptor brain-specific angiogenesis inhibitor 2 (BAI2/ADGRB2) (May 2025)
- Off-target effects of the NADPH oxidase inhibitor mitoapocynin-encapsulated nanoparticles and free-drug oral treatment in a rat DFP model of neurotoxicity (Jun 2025)
- The Effects of Neuronal Fyn Knockdown in the Hippocampus in the Rat Kainate Model of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (May 2025)
Nikhil Rao
Nikhil Rao’s Iowa State University publications connect computational mechanics and artificial intelligence with neuroscience-linked studies on neurotoxicity and temporal lobe epilepsy models.
Activity over the last year: 2 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
Emily A. Smith
Emily A. Smith’s recent Iowa State University work spans materials chemistry, biophysics, and catalysis, including a photocage study and research on amyloid-beta effects on RAGE signaling.
Activity over the last year: 2 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
What Iowa State University's Neuroscience Community Is Working On
The most common subfields point to a community that is actively balancing basic and applied neuroscience. Cellular and molecular neuroscience appears most often, suggesting sustained interest in mechanisms that shape neural function and injury response. Biomedical engineering also stands out, reflecting work on neural sensing, devices, and biointerfaces. Alongside those, psychiatry and mental health, neurology, and related areas show that the research activity is not limited to the lab bench but also reaches questions of symptoms, disease, and human impact.- Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience - seen across 3 of the featured researchers
- Plant Science - seen across 2 of the featured researchers
- Biomedical Engineering - seen across 2 of the featured researchers
- Psychiatry and Mental health - seen across 1 of the featured researchers
- Neurology - seen across 1 of the featured researchers
Together, these recent papers show a research community working across basic neuroscience, applied engineering, and human health questions. If you want to keep exploring related scholarship, use the results below as a starting point for discovering collaborators, following new themes, or refining your own manuscript and submission workflow with Resub.
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