Travel Award Winners
This page highlights recipients of CURE-KY Travel Awards, which support early faculty and trainees in presenting their infectious disease research at national and international conferences. These awards help promote professional development, foster collaboration, and broaden the visibility of CURE-KY research within the global scientific community. We are proud to showcase the achievements of our travel awardees.
Gracie Eicher and Caroline Hawk with Dr. Ken Fields at dinner while attending the Biennial Meeting for the Chlamydia Basic Research Society (CBRS).
Gracie Eicher presenting her poster titled, "Revealing novel functions of putative cytotoxins in Chlamydia" at CBRS.
Caroline Hawk presents work from the Fields Lab at CBRS.
Madison Blanton and Hami Hemati attend the Alcohol-Induced End Organ Diseases Gordon Research Conference.
Madison Blanton presents her scientific poster at the Alcohol-Induced End Organ Diseases Gordon Research Conference.
Hunter Curry and Nicole Slain received award funds to travel to the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Vienna, Austria.
Nicole Slain presents her poster titled, "Cefepime vs. Carbapenems for AmpC-Producing Enterobacterales Bacteremia from Deep-Seated Sources: Phenotypic Focus" at ESCMID.
Hunter Curry and Nicole Slain represent the UKY College of Pharmacy at the ESCMID.
Jimmy Xue networks with colleagues at dinner during the 48th Annual Shock Society Conference.
Jimmy Xue receives valuable feedback from experts and colleagues during the 48th Annual Shock Society Conference.
Qian Wang presents her poster titled, "High Cholesterol Diet Induces Metabolic Reprogramming That Protects Against Septic Death" at the 48th Shock Society Conference.
Qian Wang wins an award for her abstract submission at the 48th Shock Society Conference.
Katie Olney attends the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (SIDP) Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) Conference with other CURE-KY members and peers.
Bibek Lamichhane and Ajran Kabir attend the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP), 2025 Annual Meeting.
Bibek Lamichhane with his scientific poster titled, "Next-generation probiotics as novel strategy to control food-borne Campylobacter jejuni infections."
Ajran Kabir with his scientific poster titled, "One Health Perspective on Salmonella Mbandaka: Unveiling Transmission Dynamics Between Equines, Food, and Humans."
Elizabeth May delivering an oral presentation at IDWeek, October 19–22, 2025.
Kenneth Schlabach with his poster titled, “Clinical Characteristics of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia Infections in Liver Disease,” at the Infectious Diseases Society of America’s IDWeek, October 19–22, 2025.
Nada Abdelkader with her scientific poster titled, “Phage Therapy is a Promising Approach against Multidrug-Resistant Salmonella,” at the Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases (CRWAD), January 17–20, 2026.
Rosbelly Rios Rodriguez delivering an oral presentation at the Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases (CRWAD), January 17–20, 2026.
Rebecca Hutchinson with her scientific poster titled, “Transcriptomic Profiling of Equine Myometrium Identifies Immune Networks Underlying Placentitis-Induced Activation,” at CRWAD, January 17–20, 2026.
Christine Wu with her scientific poster titled, “Clinical outcomes in Gram-negative bacteraemia: a retrospective comparison of 1/2 vs 2/2 positive blood culture sets,” at ESCMID, April 17–21, 2026.
| Name | College | Conference | Conference Location | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caroline Hawk | Medicine | Biennial Meeting for the Chlamydia Basic Research Society (CBRS) | Berlin, Germany | March 23-27, 2025 |
| Gracie Eicher | Medicine | Biennial Meeting for the Chlamydia Basic Research Society (CBRS) | Berlin, Germany | March 23-27, 2025 |
| Chase Heim | Medicine | International RSV Symposium | Iguazu Falls, Brazil | March 12-15, 2025 |
| Hami Hemati | Medicine | Alcohol-Induced End Organ Diseases Gordon Research Conference | Ventura, CA | March 16-21, 2025 |
| Madison Blanton | Medicine | Alcohol-Induced End Organ Diseases Gordon Research Conference | Ventura, CA | March 16-21, 2025 |
| Hunter Curry | Pharmacy | European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases | Vienna, Austria | April 11-15, 2025 |
| Nicole Slain | Pharmacy | European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases | Vienna, Austria | April 11-15, 2025 |
| Heather True | Pharmacy | American Society for Reproductive Immunology | St. Paul, MN | May 17-21, 2025 |
| Qian Wang | Medicine | 48th Shock Society Conference | Boston, MA | May 31 - June 3, 2025 |
| Jimmy Xue | Medicine | 48th Shock Society Conference | Boston, MA | May 31 - June 3, 2025 |
| Katherine Olney | Pharmacy | Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (SIDP) Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) Conference | Madison, WI | June 2, 2025 |
| Ajran Kabir | Agriculture, Food and Environment | International Association for Food Protection (IAFP), 2025 Annual Meeting | Cleveland, OH | July 27-30, 2025 |
| Bibek Lamichhane | Agriculture, Food and Environment | International Association for Food Protection (IAFP), 2025 Annual Meeting | Cleveland, OH | July 27-30, 2025 |
| Maisha Rahman | Public Health | Infectious Diseases Society of America’s ID Week | Atlanta, GA | October 19-22, 2025 |
| Elizabeth May | Pharmacy | Infectious Diseases Society of America’s ID Week | Atlanta, GA | October 19-22, 2025 |
| Kenneth Schlabach | Pharmacy | Infectious Diseases Society of America’s ID Week | Atlanta, GA | October 19-22, 2025 |
| Nada Abdelkader | Agriculture, Food and Environment | Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases (CRWAD) | Chicago, IL | January 17-20, 2026 |
| Rosbelly Rios Rodriguez | Agriculture, Food and Environment | Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases (CRWAD) | Chicago, IL | January 17-20, 2026 |
| Rebecca Hutchinson | Agriculture, Food and Environment | Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases (CRWAD) | Chicago, IL | January 17-20, 2026 |
| Oladapo Oladipo | Medicine | 2026 Gordon Research Conference on Immunometabolism in Health and Disease | Portland, ME | June 14-19, 2026 |
| Christine Wu | Pharmacy | European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) | Munich, Germany | April 17-21, 2026 |
| Xinyi Wang | Medicine | Digestive Disease Week 2026 | Chicago, IL | May 2-5, 2026 |
| Faith Fursman | Pharmacy | 42nd International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE) Annual Meeting | Milan, Italy | August 29 - September 2, 2026 |