This past weekend, thousands of UI students were joined by faculty, staff, and families as they celebrated their educational milestone at commencement ceremonies around campus.

E. Dale Abel, director of the Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center at the University of Iowa, has been awarded two separate grants totaling $4 million from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute to study the connection between diabetes, obesity, and heart failure.

Future doctor Brian Wall is thankful for all the opportunities he’s had to learn more about his hometown, Iowa City, and the school he loves. He’s been involved in student organizations and community groups, all while double majoring in health and human physiology and Spanish.

A record number of UI students and alumni have received Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards this year thanks to hard work among faculty and staff and a growing number of resources for students across campus.

Eric Taylor, assistant professor of biochemistry at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, was recently awarded a five-year, $1.87 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study biological mechanisms used by the liver to make glucose.

Peter Gruber, chair and DEO of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery with University of Iowa Health Care, was recently elected a member of the American Surgical Association.

The UI-led study, one of the largest and most systematic examinations of care for very premature infants, found that hospitals with sophisticated neonatal units varied widely in their approach to 22-week-olds, ranging from a few that offer no active medical treatment to a handful that assertively treat most cases.

About 5,100 University of Iowa students will mark educational milestones as they receive their degrees at spring 2015 commencement ceremonies. Ceremonies begin Thursday, May 14, with the College of Pharmacy commencement and end Friday, June 5, with the College of Dentistry. All other ceremonies will be held May 15-16.

Several individuals previously featured in our "Student Experience" series are graduating this month. We reached out to them to find out what plans they have after graduation.

The spring 2015 UI Carver College of Medicine commencement ceremony will be streamed live from "Iowa Now." Streaming will begin shortly before the ceremony begins Friday, May 15, at 6:30 p.m. Archival video will replace the live stream shortly after the ceremony concludes.

University of Iowa students, faculty, staff, and alumni received some of the institution’s highest honors Tuesday, May 5, at the 98th anniversary of the Finkbine Dinner for Representative Student Leaders.

University of Iowa researchers Matthew Rysavy, a senior medical student, and Edward Bell, professor of pediatrics in the Stead Family Department of Pediatrics, studied the cases of nearly 5,000 infants born before 27 weeks gestation at 24 academic hospitals participating in the Neonatal Research Network between 2006 and 2011.