As an assistant professor of biology at Doane University, Dane Bowder, PhD, sees all three of his passions come together in a career trifecta.
There he is able to pursue his virology research, mentor undergraduate students in the lab and teach the next generation.
“Teaching, mentoring and research are very important to me,” said Dr. Bowder, who is the newest member of the INBRE steering committee.
Dr. Bowder replaces Brett Schofield, PhD, who left Doane earlier this year, as the campus coordinator.
It’s a perfect fit for Dr. Bowder, who has come full circle to teach at his alma mater where he initially enrolled as a pre-med student.
“I was dead set on going to medical school when I entered college,” Dr. Bowder said. “Then I enrolled in a microbiology course where I encountered various lab techniques and found out I was good at it.”
His interest in microbes and working in a research lab grew from there and soon Dr. Bowder was enrolling in every micro-related course offered, along with courses on infectious diseases, environmental microbiology and viral diseases.
Today he shares his research with seven undergraduate students, two of whom are INBRE Scholars.
Currently Dr. Bowder has projects focused on viral restriction factors and the role they play in Herpes Simplex I; and a project focused on bacteriophage susceptibility and antibiotic resistance in Staphylococcus epidermis isolates from human skin.
“My research aligns well with the INBRE program in that it allows students to pursue biomedical research,” Dr. Bowder said.
The INBRE program, he said, creates a contagious culture of research that not only spills over into the lab but the classroom as well.
“The INBRE Scholars come back to Doane after their summer research experience and have this excitement that really is so totally infectious that it gets everyone else excited about their own research,” Dr. Bowder said.
“There is a level of prestige associated with the program that motivates the students,” he said.