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.