Speakers & Guests

Acting Vice President for Research, University of Kentucky

Dr. Ilhem Messaoudi was appointed Acting Vice President for Research at the University of Kentucky in September 2024. 

As Acting Vice President for Research, she leads the university’s research enterprise, overseeing the development of research proposals, administration of grants and contracts, human subjects protection, 14 multidisciplinary research centers and institutes, and eight service core facilities. She provides leadership for university’s eight Research Priority Areas focused on addressing Kentucky’s most pressing challenges.

Dr. Messaoudi serves as principal investigator on several, multi-million-dollar federal grants, with research focusing on the dysregulation of immunity by substance use disorder, age and obesity. Her research has expanded to maternal health, fetal development and the role of the immune system in childhood development. She has published more than 150 scholarly articles and is the recipient of several national research awards.

Jess Bills | Arts and Sciences | Biology

All eyes on the spiny mouse: an emerging model for retinal regeneration

Dr. Jess Bills is a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Biology in the College of Arts and Science at the University of Kentucky. She earned her PhD at the University of Kentucky in 2024 under the mentorship of Dr. Ann Morris. Her work focuses on CNS regeneration using the retina and the optic nerve in the spiny mouse as a model. Her postdoctoral work is funded by the ARPA-H THEA initiative, a multi-institutional grant aiming to build the foundation for the first successful human eye transplant. Dr. Bills is very passionate about vision research and the goal of treating retinal degenerative diseases. Outside of the lab, she enjoys cooking, crafting and hanging out with her wife and cats.

Rachel Washburn | Arts and Sciences | Kentucky Geological Survey

Into the Void We Go: Kentucky Caves and the Search for New Drugs

Dr. Rachel Washburn, a combat veteran and former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer, who now leads the CHAOS Lab (Center for geoHealth and Applied Omics Studies) at the Kentucky Geological Survey as a Postdoctoral Fellow with the support from University of Kentucky's Office of the Vice President for Research. Mentored by Drs. Michael M. McGlue and Kevin Tidgewell, her research explores the intersection of minerals, microbes, and medicine, focusing on groundwater contaminants, microbial ecology, and the geological influences on bioactive compound production. By integrating bioinformatics, molecular networking, and geospatial data, she is pioneering a new framework for understanding health from the ground up. Beyond the lab, Dr. Washburn is a passionate science communicator who engages the public through outreach, social media, and citizen science, making complex topics accessible and emphasizing that science is for everyone.

Jennifer Xu | Health Sciences | Athletic Training and Clinical Nutrition

Movement is Medicine: The Next Steps in Treating Heel Pain

Jen Xu is a postdoctoral scholar in the Sports Medicine Research Institute in the Department of Athletic Training & Clinical Nutrition, in the College of Health Sciences at UK. As an athletic trainer, she is passionate about her research that is focused on developing effective rehabilitation interventions for foot and ankle disorders. These disorders cause pain and limit physical activity, which can result in detrimental long-term effects on general health and well-being. Currently, Jen is working on several multi-million dollar studies funded by the Department of Defense and Air Force Research Laboratory; she is collecting data, performing interventions, and publishing research. Jen graduated in May of 2025 from the University of Virginia’s School of Education and Human Development with a PhD in Kinesiology and Sports Medicine. She focused on assessment and rehabilitation for the intrinsic foot muscles, which are important in foot function and even general health. Jen previously obtained her M.S. in Health and Human Movement from Utah State University in 2020, and her B.S. in Athletic Training from the University of Pittsburgh in 2017.

Juan Feng | Agriculture, Food and Environment | Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering 

Fungi-mediated bioleaching

Dr. Juan Feng is a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering at the University of Kentucky. She earned her Ph.D. in Food Science and Technology from Chiang Mai University, Thailand, under the mentorship of Dr. Noppol Leksawasdi, where her research focused on fermentation, mathematical modeling, and the valorization of agricultural waste into value-added products such as ethanol, xylitol, and phenylacetylcarbinol. Her current research in Dr. Shi’s lab aims to remove/recover minerals and sulfur from biomass using fungal-mediated bioleaching process. By integrating microbial biotechnology, fermentation engineering, and biorefinery concepts, Dr. Feng’s research helps to develop circular bioprocesses that convert low-value waste materials into renewable fuels, biochemicals, and critical materials.

Bhamiti Sharma | Engineering | Center for Applied Energy Research

Synthetic Graphites from Coal Extracts for Li-Ion Batteries

Dr. Bhamiti Sharma is a Postdoctoral Research Scholar at the Center for Applied Energy Research, University of Kentucky, where she studies lithium-ion and lithium-metal batteries with a focus on electrochemical characterization, diagnostics, and post-mortem analysis. She studies the mechanisms driving battery performance, safety, and degradation to inform the design of better energy storage systems. She has led collaborative projects with industry partners and national laboratories, including General Motors, PIDC, ElectraMet, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, contributing to peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations. Trained as a physicist, she earned her Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky and previously conducted nanoscience research at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Outside the lab, she enjoys yoga, pilates, outdoor activities, and cooking.

Daniëlle Coenen | Medicine | Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry

Small cells go big: from a simple cut to a complicated skin wound

Dr. Daniëlle Coenen is a postdoctoral research scholar at the University of Kentucky at the department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry (Lexington, KY, USA). She studied a bachelor and master Biomedical Sciences at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. She received an ERASMUS scholarship to perform her final master's internship abroad in Badalona, Spain. In September 2016, she started as a PhD student at the Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht (CARIM) at the department of Biochemistry (Maastricht, the Netherlands) under supervision of Dr. Judith M.E.M. Cosemans and Dr. Rory R. Koenen. In June 2021, she defended her thesis titled 'Unravelling platelet function in inflammation and thrombosis - secretory pathways and vascular interactions'. In April 2021, she started in the laboratory of Prof. Dr. Sidney W. Whiteheart where her main research projects, which were funded by an AHA postdoctoral fellowship, aim to characterize platelet endocytosis and exocytosis in wound healing and aortic aneurysm.

Fernando Mosquera Jaramillo | Agriculture, Food and Environment | Veterinary Science

How to prevent high-performance-related injury

Fernando Mosquera Jaramillo is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Gluck Equine Research Center at the University of Kentucky, where he investigates strategies to prevent catastrophic fractures in Thoroughbred horses. He earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 2017 from the University of Los Llanos (Colombia). During his final year, he completed an academic exchange at the University of São Paulo (Brazil), conducting research on transrectal ozone therapy in horses. From 2017 to 2019, Fernando pursued a master’s degree focused on liver biopsies in horses, while also working at the Center Equine Dentistry (COE) at CAEP FMVZ-USP. There, he was responsible for clinical care and hospitalization of equine patients. Between 2016 and 2022, he was actively involved in the clinical routine at the FMVZ-USP Equine Hospital (HOVET), complementing his postgraduate training. From 2020 to 2024, he completed a PhD focused on computed tomography (CT) imaging of all four limbs in Thoroughbred horses. As part of this work, he undertook an academic exchange at the University of Melbourne (Australia) from 2022 to 2024.

Mubashir Hussain | Engineering | Biomedical Engineering

Dye-Free Time-Resolved Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging for Blood Flow Assessment in Rat Skin Flaps

Mubashir Hussain is a postdoctoral scholar at the Biomedical Optics Lab at the University of Kentucky. He has a background in electrical engineering and a PhD in biomedical engineering, focusing on developing optical instruments. His current research aims to improve non-invasive monitoring of tissue blood flow, particularly in surgeries like mastectomies and breast reconstruction. Using time-resolved laser speckle contrast imaging (TR-LSCI), he tracks blood flow in tissues without the need for dyes or contact sensors. Applied to a rat model, TR-LSCI accurately distinguishes healthy tissue from necrotic (dead) tissue by measuring changes in blood flow across different flap types. This non-invasive, dye-free technique offers a promising alternative to traditional methods, with the potential for better surgical decision-making and improved patient outcomes.

Felicity Hills | Arts and Sciences | Physics & Astronomy

Precision Magnetometry: (Nearly) Everything is Magnetic, So What Do We Do About It?

Dr. Felicity B. Hills is a postdoctoral fellow in the Physics and Astronomy Department at the University of Kentucky, who works on precision magnetometry for the Los Alamos National Laboratory Neutron Electric Dipole Moment (LANL nEDM) experiment and the Nab experiment at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Her work on magnetic field measurements, magnetometer characterization, and magnetic field simulations will be used to estimate the overall uncertainties of these experiments, which are sensitive to new physics beyond the Standard Model. In addition to her work in the lab, she is passionate science communicator who is both a University of Michigan Museum of Natural History Science Communication Fellow and the public choice winner of the 2025 Science Careers and Opportunities in Policy and Education (SCOPE) New Media course.

Mahdi Eskandarian Boroujeni | Medicine | Microbiology, Immunology, & Molecular Genetics 

From Viruses to Obesity: How Pregnancy Stressors Rewire the Placenta’s Immune System

Mahdi Eskandarian Boroujeni is a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, & Molecular Genetics at the University of Kentucky. He earned a master’s degree in applied Genetics before pursuing a Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics at the National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB), where he focused on developing gene and cell therapy approaches for neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. His doctoral work highlighted the critical role of neuroinflammation, inspiring his postdoctoral research at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, where he investigated how transcriptional changes, epigenetic modifications, and chromatin interactions regulate inflammation. Building on this expertise, he joined Dr. Messaoudi's Lab as a computational biologist to study the cellular and molecular mechanisms driving immune responses. He has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles in international journals and holds a patent.

Vivek Pandey | Medicine | Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

Neural Jumpstart: Restoring Autonomic Function After SCI

Dr. Pandey is a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Kentucky, where he explores how neuromodulation, such as spinal cord stimulation, can improve motor function, metabolism, and cardiovascular health in people with spinal cord injury. To understand the underlying mechanisms, he conducts preclinical studies in rodent models, bridging basic science with clinical application. Trained as a molecular biologist, his research has spanned diabetes, heart disease, and neurodegeneration, with publications in leading journals like Diabetologia and Endocrinology. Outside the lab, Vivek enjoys writing poetry, traveling, and playing cricket and badminton.

Dohyo Jeong | Medicine| Internal Medicine

When Overdoses Happen but Help Is Far Away

Dohyo Jeong is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Kentucky. His research focuses on identifying regional disparities in healthcare outcomes and analyzing the spillover effects of social determinants of health, with a strong emphasis on opioid-related health crises. He is currently engaged in two major projects: Rapid Actionable Data for Opioid Response in Kentucky (RADOR-KY), which analyzes the spatial patterns of EMS responses to suspected opioid overdose patients, and geoPIPE: Geospatial Pipeline for Enhancing Open Data for Substance Use Disorders Research, which examines the spatial distribution and interactions of fatal overdose patterns in relation to social determinants of health and public health policies. Dr. Jeong earned his Ph.D. in Public Policy and Political Economy from the University of Texas at Dallas. His interdisciplinary background in public health, policy evaluation, machine learning, econometrics, and GIS informs his data-driven approach to understanding and addressing health disparities. His work emphasizes spatial machine learning and Bayesian analysis to assess the causal and spillover impacts of policy interventions, contributing to a deeper understanding of geographic variation in healthcare outcomes and guiding strategies for more equitable and efficient health systems.

Abhilash Prabhat | Medicine | Physiology

Heartfelt Timing: Eat Right on Time

Abhilash Prabhat is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Physiology, College of Medicine at the University of Kentucky. Abhilash earned his undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees in Zoology from the University of Delhi, India. His work focused on zebra finch behavior and reproduction. Abhilash joined Prof. Brian Delisle’s lab as a postdoc at the Department of Physiology in August 2022. Since then, he has worked on understanding the role of environmental factors such as food and light timings in regulating the daily rhythm of cardiac electrophysiology, body temperature, and activity in different metabolic mouse models. Abhilash has authored over two dozen peer-reviewed international articles, presented at dozens of national and international conferences, and won various society and regional awards. Currently, Abhilash is the leading principal investigator in the Pathway to Independence Grant from the Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center at the University of Kentucky. Outside of the lab, Abhilash enjoys movies, music, and lots of food.

Jarrad Gollihue

Jarrad Gollihue is Researcher and Development Master Distiller for RD1 Spirits. In this science-heavy position, he oversees RD1’s wood-finishing operations and experiments with novel woods to create distinct, whiskey-tasting experiences. At the RD1 Distillery in Lexington, Gollihue educates consumers on bourbon distillation, agriculture and flavor chemistry.  A Kentucky native, Gollihue earned his bachelor’s degree in Horticulture Sciences and doctoral degree in integrated plant and soil sciences, both from the University of Kentucky’s Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. 

Jasmine Woods

Dr. Jasmine Woods is a scientist at Procter & Gamble, where she works on the Personal Health Care Analytical team, supporting digestive wellness innovation. She earned her Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences under the mentorship of Dr. Steven Van Lanen and completed her postdoctoral training in Dr. Stefka Spassieva’s lab. Her technical expertise includes chromatography, bacterial expression, natural products, protein engineering, and neurobiological techniques. Dr. Woods is excited to share insights on navigating the transition from academia to industry and how she has leveraged her scientific training to create real-world impact in consumer health.

Mary Wallace

Mary Wallace is a Research Scientist at Lepidext Inc., an early-stage biotechnology company based in Lexington, KY, developing virus-based biopesticides for sustainable pest control. A Kentucky native, Mary completed her PhD and postdoctoral training in Entomology at the University of Kentucky, where her research focused on applying molecular tools to manage forest insect pests.

She joined Lepidext in 2024 and now leads R&D efforts spanning molecular biology, field trials, and product development, while also contributing to grant writing, commercialization strategy, and stakeholder engagement. Mary remains actively engaged in Kentucky’s growing startup ecosystem and is passionate about translating academic research into real-world solutions. Having recently transitioned from academia to industry, she enjoys sharing her experience and supporting other scientists exploring diverse career paths.

Shravani Prakhya

Shravani Prakhya is a Senior Technical Account Manager at GenScript, where she provides strategic account management and high-level technical support across molecular biology, peptides, mRNA, and CRISPR services. Before joining GenScript, she was a graduate student and postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky, in the Whiteheart Lab. Her research explored the role of platelet mitochondrial metabolism in hemostasis and thrombosis. Originally from India, she holds an Integrated Master of Science in Systems Biology from the University of Hyderabad.

Soroosh Torabi

Soroosh Torabi, Ph.D., is a research associate at the NSF Pandemic Environmental Surveillance Center for Assessing Pathogen Emergence (NSF ESCAPE) in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of Kentucky. His work focuses on developing molecular and cellular diagnostics for global health. He also mentors early-stage startups through the Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship.