Students in the Immunology, Pathology & Infectious Disease (IPID) Graduate Studies Program were honored at a recent ceremony for their achievements in 2024-25.
The Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center hosts the IPID program, which is part of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences.
Dr. Joseph Khoury, department chair, gave introductory remarks at the event. He noted that many of the students began at UNMC during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was a time of great uncertainty. Now they’re moving into the next phase of their careers during a different but still uncertain time, he said. When you think about it, there are few times in life when it’s all smooth sailing, he said, urging graduates to draw on the experience and the knowledge they’ve gained to meet the challenges ahead.
Khoury said he knows students’ accomplishments were the product of much hard work. Dr. Rakesh Singh, vice chair of graduate education, said many people, including faculty, mentors, and staff, worked hard as well to make these student accomplishments possible. IPID student representatives Sushmita Adhikari and Tyler Zimmerman surprised Tuire Cechin, graduate program coordinator, with a trophy and gift to thank her for all she does for students.
Award winners included:
• Outstanding Graduate Student Educator Award – Derrick Samuelson, PhD, an assistant professor in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine in UNMC’s Department of Internal Medicine
• Best Oral Presentation – Dylan George
• Best Poster Presentation – Gabrielle Schulze
• Best Presentation at the Graduate Student Research Seminar 2024-25 – Taylor Burke, first place; Madison Love, second place
• Outstanding Performance in PMI 992-Advanced Topics – Taylor Burke, immunology; Reegan Sturgeon, infectious disease
• Best Performance in IPID Comprehensive Examination – Arif Sadi
• Thomas L. McDonald Distinguished Graduate Student Award – Francis Fontanilla, Gabrielle Schulze
• Graduate Studies Assistantships/Fellowships
New UNMC awards – Nichole Brandquist (Advisor: Dr. Tammy Kielian); Aramis Pereira (Advisor: Dr. Martin Conda-Sheridan); Arif Sadi (Advisor: Dr. Stacey Gilk; opted for T32 training program); Taylor Burke (Advisor: Dr. Paul Fey; opted for NIH F30 award)
Supplements for external funding – Taylor Burke, Itidal Reslane (Advisor: Dr. Paul Fey), Gabrielle Schulze (Advisors: Drs. Paul Fey and McKenzie Lehman)
• External Funding
New Funding – Taylor Burke, NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Individual Predoctoral Fellowship (2025-2029), Graduate Student of Distinction, UNMC; Abigail Hall, American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship (2025)
Renewals – Gabrielle Schulze, American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship (2024- 2025); Graduate Student of Distinction, UNMC; Dylan George, GAANN SBMB fellowship for 2022-2024; Valerie Fousek-Schuller, GAANN SBMB fellowship for 2024
• Awards at 12th Biennial Chlamydia Basic Research Society (CBRS) Meeting, Berlin, Germany (March 2025):
Cole Holderjano, poster presentation “Chromosomally Encoded rpoC_10xH: UNMC Dean of Graduate Studies Conference Attendance Award, CBRS-DCW 2025 Trainee Travel Award; Jane E. Raulston Award for Best Poster Presentation by a Graduate Student; Haley Knowles, CBRS-DCW 2025 Trainee Travel Award
Other Awards:
• Taylor Burke, Best Poster Presentation at the International Conference on Gram-Positive Pathogens, 2024; Vice Chancellor of Research/Dr. Larson Young Physician-Scientist Award of Excellence, 2024
• Amanda Fernandes, Outstanding Poster Presenter, Pharmacology & Experimental Neuroscience Symposium, 2024; New Investigator Scholarship, Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2025); Early Career Investigator Travel Award, Scientific Conference of the Society on Neuroimmune Pharmacology (SNIP), 2025
• Sushmita Adhikari, ASM Future Leaders Mentorship Fellowship for 2024-25, Departmental Education and Meritorious Awards Review Committee
• Dylan George, UNMC Dean of Graduate Studies Conference Attendance Award for the American Association of Immunologists (AAI) meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii, May 2025
• Abigail Hall, Excellent Poster Award from Summer Redox Graduate Course, June 2024
• Mason Mandolfo, NSRF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Honorable Mention, 2025
• Ashley Peer, National Institutes of Health NIAAA R13 conference grant for the Alcohol Immunology Research Interest Group, 2025
• Arif Sadi, ASR Trainee Travel Award, American Society for Rickettsiology, July 2024