Tony Cyr is a 2006 graduate of the ISU department of Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology. During his undergraduate studies, he worked in the laboratory of Dr. Reuben Peters, where he studied methods for engineering E. coli to produce complex diterpene molecules for chemical study. He was Rob Stupka’s lab partner for the BBMB capstone laboratory class in the fall of 2005, when Rob’s life was tragically cut short. Along with fellow students Adam Krupikca, Jordan Witmer, and Claire Kreuesel, Tony worked to establish the first Stupka Undergraduate Research Symposium in the Spring of 2006. After graduation from ISU, Tony pursued a combined MD/PhD degree at the University of Iowa, in the laboratories of Dr. Rick Domann and Dr. Ron Weigel. There, he studied the contributions of oxidative metabolism to epigenetic signaling processes, as well as the role of AP-2 transcription factors in the pathogenesis of breast cancer. In 2014, he successfully matched into the general surgery residency program at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, where he continues to pursue surgical training. He currently is engaged in a three-year dedicated research period in the laboratory of Dr. Brian Zuckerbraun, and is studying the contributions of mitochondrial metabolism and metabolomic flux to the pathogenesis of immunosuppression in the post-trauma period. Upon finishing his clinical training, he anticipates fellowship training, then pursuing a career balancing basic science work with clinical practice in trauma and acute care surgery.