FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 17, 2000 CONTACT: Lisa Lacher, (515) 271-3119 or 277-6883 Cody Koch, (515) 271-274-5951 USA TODAY NAMES DRAKE SENIOR CODY KOCH TO SECOND ALL-USA COLLEGE ACADEMIC TEAM Cody Koch, a resident of Johnston and a senior at Drake University, today was named to the Second Team of USA Today's All-USA College Academic Team. He was among 20 students selected for the Second Team and 828 students nominated by their colleges and universities for the newspaper's academic teams. USA Today also named 20 students to the First Team and 20 students to the Third Team. The students were chosen as representatives of all outstanding undergraduates for their grades, awards and activities, leadership and ability to use their academic skills outside the classroom. Koch, who will graduate in May with both his bachelor's degree with a biology major and with his master's degree in public administration, is the son of Alan and Cathy Koch of 5918 Aspen Circle, Johnston. He plans to attend the Mayo Medical School in Rochester, Minn., where he was one of 42 students admitted from a field of 3,100 applicants. "Cody is very bright, but there are a lot of bright people out there," said Dr. Moses Rodriguez, director of Mayo's M.D./Ph.D. program. "He is a unique person, with a real commitment to both science and to patient care. He's very well balanced." USA Today noted that Koch has a 4.0 grade-point average and has conducted research on antibodies' binding sites aimed at multiple sclerosis treatments. The newspaper also reported that he played varsity football, served as student body vice president, and founded and chaired a health policy task force. Koch attends Drake on a National Alumni Scholarship, which covers full tuition and room and board. As a first-year student, he began conducting research with Drake pharmacy professor Nita Pandit and chemistry professor Maria Bohorquez. "They have been excellent mentors who have taken the time to teach me about research rather than mindlessly carry out experiments at their direction," he said. Under the guidance of the two professors, Koch had two peer review research articles published. He also landed prestigious biomedical research internships at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston as well as at Mayo.