A Hawkeye Shapes his Future as a Doctor
PHOTO: Justin Torner/UI OFFICE OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS
UI senior Tyler Draayer has made the most of his Iowa experiences, from classrooms to the campus community.
Tyler Draayer knew he could count on the University of Iowa to prepare him for a successful medical career. What he didn’t expect was how fully his student experience would shape him — in the classroom, in the lab, with patients, and even onstage with his violin.
Class of 2026
Biology
A native of Lawton, Iowa, with a graduating high school class of only 50 students, Draayer had never been to Iowa City before he enrolled as a biology major and chemistry minor on the pre-med track. Nearly four years later, he’s immersed himself in opportunities that have stretched his skills far beyond the classroom—from mentoring fellow students and working with patients to conducting groundbreaking research.
“What sets a good doctor apart, especially today, is the ability to communicate and teach clearly about medicine,” he says.
Draayer has honed his own teaching skills as a peer mentor in the UI Honors Program, where he helps other students master challenging course material. He’s also gained real-world medical perspectives as a patient care technician in University of Iowa Health Care’s neuroscience unit, a role that has allowed him to refine his bedside manner.
In addition, he contributes to important research as an undergraduate assistant in Karen Cyndari’s lab. The team investigates how the immune system responds within the joint space during infectious and inflammatory arthritis. They examine how osteoarthritis may be linked to degranulating cells, providing major implications for joint space health.
“I had no idea what research was going to be like when I first came here, but I found a lab I absolutely adore,” says Draayer.
Cyndari, who is an assistant professor of emergency medicine in the UI Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, with secondary appointments in immunology and epidemiology, has become an important mentor for Draayer as he prepares to apply to medical school.
“Tyler brings his curiosity and focus to the lab,” she says. “He came to me not just to learn techniques, but to do meaningful work that could one day lead to improved patient outcomes.”
A lifelong violinist, Draayer brings this same level of focus to his Iowa musical performances. In spite of his jam-packed schedule, he still finds time to perform with the Campus Symphony Orchestra, finding it “relaxing and therapeutic.”
He relishes all the ways in which he’s become part of the larger campus community. In fact, Draayer loves the university so much that the first medical school application he plans to submit will be to Iowa. He says the university has been more than a place to study; it has been a place for him to grow.
“Iowa City was a big adjustment, but I didn’t feel like I was stepping onto a different planet,” he says. “Iowa brings together people from everywhere, and it has given me opportunities to discover who I want to be as a doctor.”
