Madison Doss, a recent graduate of Loras, was selected as one of two recipients of the forty-first annual graduate fellowships granted by the McElroy Trust. Doss graduated from Loras in May 2023 and completed a double major in engineering and neuroscience with a minor in mathematics.
Fellowship recipients were selected from a field of finalists from colleges and universities in Northeast Iowa and received a stipend of $36,000 paid over three years.
The fellowships, established by the McElroy Trustees in 1983, are designed to “encourage a person of accomplishment, intelligence, integrity, and leadership ability to pursue challenging academic careers.” Based upon satisfactory progress toward a Ph.D. degree, the annual stipend of $12,000 may be renewed for an additional two years.
In making the nomination, Loras College President James Collins praised the impressive academic and leadership accomplishments of Doss.
“I was especially struck by how much research engagement she pursued through publications, presentations, and work in the Loras CARES Laboratory. Her current work with NASA will likely yield interesting results, and her strong finish at the Lockheed-Martin Engineering Ethics competition further underscores a promising future. The breadth and depth of her co-curricular participation was impactful and did not impede her extraordinary academic success.”
Interested in the intersection of neurobiology, engineering, and mental health advocacy, Doss will pursue a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering. She has been accepted to the joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University and seeks to continue her education with an eye on research.
“I thought Maddi’s work in the classroom was unparalleled,” shares Keith Thraen-Borowski, Ph.D. As the director of the Cancer Research in Exercise Science Laboratory (CARES Lab) at Loras College, my work focuses on the relationship between physical activity and cancer survivorship, specifically evaluating the feasibility and effectiveness of clinical exercise programs in prognosis and quality of life of individuals with cancer. Accepting Maddi into the lab is a decision that I am consistently thankful for.”
The McElroy Fellowships were established to support students seeking higher education in a non-professional degree area. The Trust was created to benefit “deserving young people”. The Trust benefactor, Ralph J. McElroy, was a pioneer broadcaster who started the Black Hawk Broadcasting Company in 1947. He died in 1965.
