Research Appreciation Day returns in person, uniting North Texas student researchers
UNT Health Fort Worth’s Division of Research and Innovation hosted its annual Research
Appreciation Day on April 17, bringing 699 students, faculty and research partners
together for the event’s first in-person gathering since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Students from UNT Health, the University of North Texas, UNT Dallas and Texas Christian University presented research posters and shared findings across biomedical sciences, clinical research, public health and emerging areas such as artificial intelligence.
“This year’s Research Appreciation Day was a tremendous success and a powerful example of what can be achieved when students, faculty and staff come together to share ideas and celebrate discovery,” said Dimitrios Karamichos, Ph.D.,vice president of UNT Health Research and Graduate Studies. “We intentionally expanded the event to include our North Texas partners, strengthening collaboration and celebrating discovery across our regional research community. We are already looking ahead to next year’s Research Appreciation Day and expect it will continue to grow in both participation and impact.”
More than 50 awards were presented, recognizing outstanding student research across UNT Health’s colleges and partner institutions. The winning entries were as follows:
College of Biomedical and Translational Sciences
Jonna Smith
Department of Physiology & Anatomy (Integrative Physiology Award)
Second Place Poster
Viet Dinh
Department of Physiology & Anatomy (Integrative Physiology Award)
First Place Poster
Indya Thompson
Department of Physiology & Anatomy (Structural Anatomy & Rehabilitation Sciences)
Second Place Poster
Carter Unger
Department of Physiology & Anatomy (Structural Anatomy & Rehabilitation Sciences)
First Place Poster
Harley Branch
Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Genetics (Biochemistry & Cancer Biology)
Second Place Poster
Ammar Kapic
Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Genetics (Biochemistry & Cancer Biology)
First Place Poster
Wendy Chen
Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Genetics (Cell Biology, Immunology & Microbiology)
Second Place Poster
Tamara Hoteit
Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Genetics (Cell Biology, Immunology & Microbiology)
First Place Poster
Katherine Lanoue
Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Genetics (Genetics)
Second Place Poster
Elizabeth Kowalczyk
Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Genetics (Genetics)
First Place Poster
Claire Caballero
Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience
Second Place Poster
Nina Donkor
Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience
First Place Poster
Randy Afrane
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences & Pharmacotherapy
Second Place Poster
Ying Qin
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences & Pharmacotherapy
First Place Poster
Rajiv Rangan
North Texas Eye Research Institute – Graduate Student
Second Place Poster
Calvin Brooks
North Texas Eye Research Institute – Graduate Student
First Place Poster
Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine
Nicole Everitt
2026 Medical Student Government Association
Best in First Year Class
Fatima Rehman
2026 Medical Student Government Association
Best in Second Year Class
Rebecca Walker
2026 Medical Student Government Association
Best in Third Year Class
Isra Haq
2026 Medical Student Government Association
Best in Fourth Year Class
McKinley Severson
2026 Honors Student Research Award
McKinley Severson
2026 Student Research Award
Second Place Poster
Fatima Rehman
2026 Student Research Award
First Place Poster
Isra Haq
2026 Student Research Award
Best Case Study
Mariam Madinawala
2026 Pediatric Case Study Award
Alex Hall
2026 Pediatric Research Award
Fatima Rehman
2026 Women’s Health Research Award
Anaiza Irani
2026 OMM-I.M. Korr, Ph.D. Memorial Research Award
College of Pharmacy
Betel Haileyes
Clinical/Outcomes/Education Research Award
Second Place Poster
Ezichi Nwaneli
Clinical/Outcomes/Education Research Award
First Place Poster
Ying Qin
Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Award
Third Place Poster
Nina Donkar
Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Award
Second Place Poster
Randy Afrane
Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Award
First Place Poster
College of Public Health
Brittany Krenek-Schneider
Research Award
Third Place Poster
Ricardo Carrera del Valle
Research Award
Second Place Poster
Ibshar Khandakar
Research Award
First Place Poster
Ricardo Carrera del Valle
Community Engaged Research Award
College of Nursing
Hollin Macklin
Evidence-Based Practice & Research Innovation Award
Second Place Poster
Elizabeth Brown
Evidence-Based Practice & Research Innovation Award
First Place Poster
Texas Center For Patient Safety
Asadullah Mirza
Excellence in Patient Safety Research Award
Third Place Poster
Caitlyn Parker
Excellence in Patient Safety Research Award
Second Place Poster
Brittany Krenek-Schneider
Excellence in Patient Safety Research Award
First Place Poster
Division of Research and Innovation Awards
Ying Qin, College of Biomedical and Translational Sciences
Basic Biomedical Science Research Award
Fatima Rehman, Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine
Translational Biomedical Science Research Award
Nicole Everitt, Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine
Clinical Science Award
Anaiza Irani, Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine
Health Professions Education & Workforce Development Award
Christine Opara, College of Public Health
Population & Community Health Award
Charishma Jonnadula, UNT
Biomedical Engineering & Technology Award
Elizabeth Brown, College of Nursing
Implementation Science Award
Pinkal Patel, College of Biomedical and Translational Sciences
Postdoctoral Research Award
Randy Afrane, College of Biomedical and Translational Sciences
RAD Innovation Award