Research Appreciation Day returns in person, uniting North Texas student researchers

By: Alexandria Ortiz ◆ April 30, 2026

photo from above rad set upUNT 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