10 students selected as 5-Minute Fast Track Research Competition finalists

Photo provided by OUR.
Photo provided by OUR.

LEXINGTON Ky. (Oct. 21, 2024) —The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) announces the sixth annual 5-Minute Fast Track Research Competition finalists. These undergraduates competed in the competition’s preliminary round and were selected as Top 10 finalists to present their research during the final round, 5-7:30 p.m. Oct. 21 in the Healthy Kentucky Research Building’s Seminar Room 150.

Finalists will present their research in five minutes in front of a panel of judges and a live audience using only a single static slide. This challenges students to develop their academic, presentation and research communication skills while also allowing them to showcase their research in a captivating way.

The goal of this competition is to improve undergraduate students’ abilities to communicate their research effectively to a general nonspecialist audience while creating a compelling story about their scholarly work.

Students compete for cash prizes: $750 for first place, $500 for second place and $250 for third place.

2024 Top 10 Finalists

  • Fatimah Alomar, biology and Lewis Honors College junior; Mentor: Anel Jaramillo, Ph.D., in the College of Pharmacy’s Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
  • Katie Christensen, agriculture and medical biotechnology and violin performance and Lewis Honors College junior; Mentor: Kendall Corbin, Ph.D., in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment’s Department of Horticulture
  • Nikitha Dharanipragada, neuroscience and Lewis Honors College senior; Mentor: Robert Helsley, Ph.D., in the College of Medicine’s Department of Internal Medicine
  • Gabriel Portugal, product design and psychology and Lewis Honors College senior; Mentor: Aanya Chugh, College of Design’s School of Interiors
  • Allison Raley, chemical engineering and Lewis Honors College junior; Mentor: Brittany Givens Rassoolkhani, Ph.D., in the Pigman College of Engineering’s Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering
  • Julianne Sharpe, biology and Lewis Honors College junior; Mentor: Gregory Jicha, Ph.D., in the College of Medicine’s Department of Neurology
  • Erica Smith, architecture and Lewis Honors College senior; Mentor: Daniel Vivian, Ph.D., in the College of Design’s Department of Historic Preservation
  • Connor Stuart, neuroscience and Lewis Honors College senior; Mentor: Ann Stowe, Ph.D., in the College of Medicine’s Department of Neurology
  • Bailey Swart, agricultural and medical biotechnology senior; Mentor: Eva Goellner, Ph.D., in the College of Medicine’s Department of Cancer and Toxicology
  • Bhavya Vyas, psychology and neuroscience junior; Mentor: Pooja Sidney, Ph.D., College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Psychology

The 2024 5-Minute Fast Track Research Competition is sponsored by the UK Office of Undergraduate Research. The event is open to the public.

For more information on the competition, visit https://our.uky.edu/5-minute-fast-track.

As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.