Ashley Cooney, Ph.D., didn’t just attend the University of Iowa — she built her entire academic and professional life here. From undergraduate student to postdoctoral scholar, and now a faculty member and 2024–2025 Iowa Innovation Leadership Fellow, Cooney’s journey proves that sometimes staying in one place can lead to remarkable growth.

“I was specifically drawn to Iowa because it was an institution where I felt like I could stand out and feel supported in my journey,” Cooney said. “It has all the resources of a major university, but in a city that feels manageable and affordable.”

As an undergrad, Cooney knew she wanted to pursue medicine, but what truly sparked her passion was learning how therapies are actually developed. That curiosity drove her to pursue graduate studies, focusing on gene therapy for genetic lung diseases, especially cystic fibrosis. Her research at Iowa allowed her to translate science into action, and one of her discoveries has led to a provisional patent.

What stood out most to Cooney was Iowa’s unique environment. She emphasized the benefits of a large university with ample research opportunities and tight-knit class sizes that supported her learning. In addition, Iowa City’s affordability and low-traffic lifestyle made the demanding workload feel more manageable.

Her experience as an Iowa Innovation Leadership Fellow pushed her even further. The program helped her shift from reacting to ideas to actively searching for innovation everywhere. “What the fellowship taught me is to innovate everything in your path. If there’s a hurdle, find a creative way around it,” she said. “That might mean streamlining a process at your desk or finding new ways to approach problems in the lab.”

This mindset—combined with support from Iowa’s Cystic Fibrosis Lung Biology Group, a nationally recognized research group—helped her sharpen her research, connect with national collaborators, and gain the tools needed to move discoveries forward.

Cooney's dedication to science extends beyond the lab. She’s also a mom of three boys, ages 8, 5, and 3. Balancing motherhood with a research career hasn’t been easy, but she credits time-blocking, prioritization, and post-bedtime productivity for helping her manage it all. 

“There’s not much downtime,” she laughed, “but I try to be present at home and efficient at work. And if I need to open my laptop after they go to bed, I do.”

Now a faculty member, Cooney has chosen to stay at Iowa—a decision she admits goes against the grain in academia, where moving institutions is often encouraged.

“I had people tell me I’d have to leave to succeed,” she said. “But I stayed because I believed in what I was doing here. It worked out because I stayed focused and made sure I stood out.”

Her advice to students considering research or science careers is clear and confident: “Start early, stay curious, and find a lab that inspires you. If something doesn’t feel right, keep looking. There’s always someone out there who can help guide you.”

Cooney hopes her story shows that building a successful career at one institution is possible—and that the University of Iowa offers everything students need to thrive, lead, and innovate.

The above story was written by Unviersity of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication student Klaudia Lukaszczyk as part of the Chemurgy 2.0 project. Through Chemurgy 2.0, students in the Content Marketing class were tasked to make the field more visible, relatable, and exciting. The goal was to spark student interest and ultimately help retain emerging talent in Iowa after graduation. Learn more about their work here.