Dr. Elizabeth Heeg '01
Professor of Biology
Education:
Ph.D., Northwestern University
B.A., Northwestern College
712-707-7009
elizabeth.heeg@nwciowa.edu
Dr. Heeg completed her Ph.D. in the department of BMBCB (biochemistry, molecular biology and cell biology) at Northwestern University. She has published several articles in journals such as Current Biology and Developmental Biology.
As a graduate student, Elizabeth received training grants from the National Institutes of Health for her research. She was also a teaching assistant at Northwestern University, earning the 2003 Teaching Assistant of the Year Award. Her dedication to education continues and she was recognized as Northwestern College's Teaching Excellence Award winner in 2010.
As a member of the National Association of Advisors for the Pre-Health professions (NAAHP) and having advised pre-med majors for over 15 years, Dr. Heeg has paired with AptarePrep to create an affordable MCAT preparation software. This software is unique to other prep materials that are commercially available in that it gives students feedback on their progress and readiness to take the actual MCAT. AptarePrep is designed to build student confidence through a practice-based learning software system. Northwestern College pre-medical students are able to access this software for free when working with Dr. Heeg. To learn more about AptarePrep, use the following link www.aptareprep.com
Other research that Dr. Heeg is working on or has participated in includes 1) utilizing PCR to identify phage cluster members early on in the SEAPHAGES process, 2) collaboration with the University of Iowa to investigate methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections in northwest Iowa. The study was being funded by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; 3) examining the presence of MRSA in athlete and non-athlete populations on campus; 4) examining water metabolism in two rat lines that have been selectively bred for low renin and high renin activity; and 5) utilizing PCR as a Possible Means for Sex Determination of Eastern Redcedar (*Juniperus virginiana*).
Presentations
Invited speaker, "A Glimpse at My Fall 2024 Sabbatical Research," Fall NWC Board of Trustees meeting, Northwestern College, Orange City, IA. October 2, 2025.
Poster presenter, "Genetic Screen to Understand Phage Gene Function," Celebration of Research, Northwestern College, Orange City, IA, April 2025.
Invited speaker, "Understanding the MCAT," Virtual Education Workshop Online, A.T. Still University. Kirksville, MO. Fall 2024.
Poster presenter, "mRNA Production of Gene 50 in JacoRen57", Iowa Academy of Sciences, Cedar Falls, IA, April 2023.
Poster presenter, "mRNA Production of Gene 50 in JacoRen57", Celebration of Research, Northwestern College, Orange City, IA, April 20 2023.
Invited speaker, "NWC Science and Faith Distinctives," Fall STEM recruitment day, Northwestern College, Orange City, IA. Fall 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023.
Poster presenter, "Concept Design for Optical Tweezers to be used in DNA Research," Celebration of Learning, Northwestern College, Orange City, IA, April 2022.
Poster presenter, "Investigating the Putative RecA-Like Recombinase Gene," Celebration of Learning, Northwestern College, Orange City, IA, Spring 2022.
Invited speaker, "Understanding the MCAT," Virtual Education Workshop. Online, A.T. Still University. Kirksville, MO. February 17, 2022.
Invited Speaker, "Examining Gender as a Scientific Construct," Women's Leadership Session. Northwestern College, Orange City, IA. January 13, 2022.
Poster presenter, "Exploring a Transcriptional Regulatory Region in Mycobacteriophage JacoRen57," Celebration of Learning, Northwestern College, Orange City, IA, Spring 2021.
Poster presenter, "Exploring a Transcriptional Regulatory Region in Mycobacteriophage JacoRen57," Celebration of Learning, Northwestern College, Orange City, IA, Spring 2020.
Conference speaker, "Understanding the MCAT," Heartland PreMed Conference. A.T. Still University. Kirksville, MO. September 7, 2019.
Conference speaker, "Understanding the MCAT," Heartland PreMed Conference. A.T. Still University. Kirksville, MO. September 8, 2018.
Invited Speaker, Fall Faculty Workshop: Diversity Matters, Northwestern College, Orange City, IA. August 16, 2018.
Experiential Workshop Leader, NW Iowa Cultural GRiT Conference, Northwestern College, Orange City, IA., 2017 and 2018.
Invited Speaker, "Preparing for the MCAT", Loras College, Dubuque, IA. March 7, 2018.
Invited Speaker, "Preparing for the MCAT", Dakota Wesleyan University, Mitchell, SD. February 2, 2018.
Poster Presenter, "Identifying Rare Phage Clusters," Iowa Academy of Sciences, Buena Vista University, Storm Lake, IA. April 20, 2018.
Poster Presenter, "Mutating eNOS", Iowa Academy of Sciences, Buena Vista University, Storm Lake, IA. April 20, 2018.
Invited Speaker, "Preparing for the MCAT", Luther College, Decorah, IA. February 2, 2017.
Invited Speaker, "Preparing for the MCAT", Dordt College, Sioux Center, IA. November 9, 2017.
Conference Speaker, "To Prep or Not to Prep." Central Association of Advisors for the Health Professions Meeting. Des Moines, IA. April 21, 2017.
Speaker, "Recognizing and Reconciling: Examining a true story of exploitation done in the name of science," Day of Learning in Community, Northwestern College, Orange City, IA. Spring 2016.
Poster Presenter, "Examining MRSA on NWC's campus," Iowa Academy of Sciences Conference, Fort Dodge, IA. Spring 2014.
Poster Presenter, "Diagnosing and Evaluating the presence of MRSA on a Northwest Iowa College Campus," Iowa Academy of Sciences Conference, Spring 2013.
First Year Seminar Panelist, Discussing The Ghost Map, Northwestern College, Orange City, IA, November 2012 & 2013.
Fall Orientation Speaker, Northwestern College, Orange City, IA, Fall 2012.
Commencement Address Speaker, Northwestern College Spring Commencement, Orange City, IA, Spring 2011.
One Night Honors Seminar Lecturer, "A Lesson in Knitting," Northwestern College, Orange City, IA, Spring 2011.
Keynote Address Speaker, Northwestern College Scholarship Luncheons, Orange City, IA, Spring 2011.
Poster Presenter, "A Laboratory Exercise in Subcloning and Ligating," National Association of Biology Teachers Professional Development Conference, Minneapolis, MN. Fall 2010.
Poster Presenter, "An Ongoing Study of Water Metabolism by High and Low Renin Rats," Iowa Physiology Society, Des Moines, IA. Fall 2010.
Keynote Address Speaker, Northwestern College Praise and Worship, Orange City, IA, Fall 2010.
Poster Presenter, "PCR Analysis as a Possible Means for Sex Determination of Eastern Redcedar (Juniperus virginiana)." Northwestern College Board meeting, Orange City, IA. Spring 2009.
Poster Presenter, "PCR Analysis as a Possible Means for Sex Determination of Eastern Redcedar (Juniperus virginiana)," Iowa Academy of Sciences, Iowa City, IA. April 2009.
Poster Presenter, "Water Metabolism by High and Low Renin Rats", Northwestern College Board meeting, Orange City, IA. Spring 2008. Chapel Speaker, Northwestern College Chapel Program, Orange City, IA, Spring 2008.
Publications
Heeg, Elizabeth Y. Review of Beyond DNA: How Epigenetics is Transforming our Understanding of Evolution by Benjamin Oldroyd, The Reformed Journal, December 11, 2024.
Heeg, Elizabeth Y. Review of Not Just for the Boys Why We Need More Women in Science by Athene Donald, The Reformed Journal, October 4, 2023.
Almail, A., Heeg, E., Noordewier, B., and Tolsma, S.S. Exploring a Transcriptional Regulatory Region in Mycobacteriophage JacoRen57. Iowa Academy of Science Annual Meeting (virtual), NWC Celebration of Research and Annual SEA-PHAGES Symposium, 2021.
Heeg, E.Y., Carlson, K., Furlong, L., Noordewier, B., Tolsma, S., Garlena, R.A., Russell, D.A., Pope, W.H., JacobsSera, D. and Hatfull, G.F. Mycobacterium phage Phineas, Complete Genome. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/MK820639, 2019.
Sybesma Tolsma, Sara, Heeg, Elizabeth, and Furlong, Laura. The Wide, Wild World of Sex, Perspectives, 32:5, 6- 10, September 2017.
Heeg, Elizabeth Y. Review of The End of Sex and The Future of Human Reproduction by Henry T. Greely, Perspectives, 68:4, 267, December 2016.
Heeg, Elizabeth Y. Review of Sex Itself: The Search for Male and Female in the Human Genome by Sarah S. Richardson, Perspectives, 67:2, 155, January 2015.
Heeg-Truesdell, E, and LaBonne, C (2007). Wnt Signaling in Embryonic Development: Multiple roles for Wnt signaling in the development of the vertebrate neural crest. Paul M. Wasserman [ed.], Advances in Developmental Biology, San Diego, California: Elsevier, Pgs. 203-222.
Heeg-Truesdell, E, and LaBonne, C (2006) Neural induction in Xenopus requires Wnt-beta-catenin signaling. Developmental Biology 298(1):71-86.
Heeg-Truesdell, E, and LaBonne, C (2006) Wnt Signaling: A Shaggy Dogma Tale. Current Biology 16(2):62-64.
Heeg-Truesdell and LaBonne, C. (2004). A slug, a fox, a pair of sox: transcriptional responses to neural crest inducing signals. Birth Defects Res C Embryo Today 72(2):124-139. Review.
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).
American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB).
Association for Biology Laboratory Education (ABL).
Central Association of Advisors for the Health Professions (CAAHP).
International Association for the Promotion of Christian Higher Education.
Iowa Academy of Science (IAS).
National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT).
National Association for Advisors of Pre Health students (NAAHP).
Sabbatical Award, Northwestern College, 2024
Teaching Excellence Finalist, Northwestern College, 2024
Teaching Excellence Finalist, Northwestern College, 2023
Northwestern Scholarship Grant, 2022
Equipping the Next Generation of Christian Evolutionary Biologists and Paleobiologists Selected conference attendee, Calvin College, MI. June 21-29, 2014 and June 28-July 3, 2015
Teaching Excellence Award, Northwestern College, 2010
Northwestern Scholarship Grant, 2009
Vocare Advising Grant, Northwestern College, 2009
Summer Research Grant, Northwestern College, 2007
CMBD (Cellular and Molecular Basis of Disease) NIH Training Grant, Northwestern University, 2003-2005
Teaching Assistant Fellows Program Award, Northwestern University, 2003
Teaching Assistant of the Year, Northwestern University, 2003