UF veterinary Ph.D. student wins EPI poster competition

Version 1 — Brief

University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine Ph.D. student and veterinarian Nimra Khalid took first place in the Emerging Pathogens Institute’s 2026 graduate poster competition, earning recognition for research on a potential antibiotic alternative. According to UF, Khalid’s collaborative study in assistant professor Aria Eshraghi’s lab examined how tolfenpyrad, a widely used pesticide, disrupts bacterial energy production in Francisella novicida, a model organism closely related to the tularemia pathogen F. tularensis. UF said the work points to a possible new antimicrobial mechanism that differs from traditional antibiotic classes. (epi.ufl.edu)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the story is less about a campus award and more about the antimicrobial-resistance problem driving the research. Khalid’s work sits squarely in the search for nontraditional therapies that could bypass existing resistance pathways, an issue with clear relevance to both animal and public health. UF’s account also underscores the veterinary pipeline behind that work: Khalid came to the Ph.D. program after practicing in Pakistan and seeing heavy antibiotic use firsthand, then joined a lab focused on microbial virulence and antibiotic alternatives. (epi.ufl.edu)

What to watch: Watch for whether the UF team publishes fuller mechanistic or preclinical data on tolfenpyrad’s antimicrobial activity, including safety, spectrum, and resistance implications. (epi.ufl.edu)