The Backstory
Reading the press releases about some big grant awarded or about a Science paper just published, you might think to yourself, "How do they do such cool work? How did she get to be such a rockstar?"
A while back I was talking with Ann Robinson about the great stories she writes describing research successes, and we started talking about the backstory. Where did those successes come from? What were the paths taken that didn't work, and how did the one that did work come about?
In this newsletter, we bring you the first in a series of articles highlighting CALS researchers and their journeys to funding and enlightenment. The article describes the work, then describes the trials, tribulations, false starts, and resources that led to sweet success!
To every success, there’s a backstory.
Welcome to 2023, Rockstars!
Carolyn Lawrence-Dill
Associate Dean
Research & Discovery
If at first you don’t succeed: Award-winning researcher perseveres through funding challenges
January 13th, 2023
by Ann Y. Robinson
Joshua Selsby, professor of animal science at Iowa State University, studies the mechanisms of muscle disease and injury. Last year, he was recognized with the Mid-Career Achievement in Research Award from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, based on an impressive record that includes more than 70 publications.
One of his primary research interests is the progressive, fatal disorder Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The most common muscular dystrophy in children, DMD is caused by a deficiency of an important cellular building block, the protein dystrophin. Without dystrophin, muscles are not able to function or repair themselves properly. They weaken over time until the whole body is affected. DMD mostly affects boys – about one out of every 5,000 boys is born with the disease.
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| Carolyn Lawrence-Dill (me) I’m the Associate Dean for Research & Discovery. | Ásrún Kristmundsdóttir leads research development and the CARES Team. | Darwin Campbell is the CALS research Data Analyst. | Ann Robinson is a writer for CALS, focused on research and research impacts. |
Download the January 2023 Newsletter (pdf)
CALS Office of Research & Discovery
139 Curtiss Hall, Iowa State University | Ames, Iowa 50011
515-294-8842 | research.cals@iastate.edu