The 2024 Halcomb Fellowship in Medicine and Engineering has been awarded to Faezah Akbari, a doctoral candidate in the Pigman College of Engineering F. Joseph Halcomb III, M.D Department of Biomedical Engineering. She is the 14th recipient of this fellowship.  

Akbari’s mentor in the Pigman College of Engineering is Guoqiang Yu, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering, and her mentor in the UK College of Medicine is Henrietta S. Bada, M.D., in the Department of Pediatrics. Her project is titled, "An Innovative PS-DSCI for Real-Time Imaging of Neonatal Cerebral Blood Flow and Functional Connectivity," and seeks to develop a novel technology to improve brain imaging in neonatal infants, an advance that will have significant clinical diagnostic value.

The Halcomb Fellowship in Medicine and Engineering consists of an annual stipend of $30,000, with the option of renewal for a second year based upon the research progress of the recipient. The intent of the program is to encourage and support graduate students to conduct research that has a defined path to clinical translation.

In addition to Akbari’s award, Madison Bates, doctoral candidate, was approved for a second year of Halcomb Fellowship funding.  Her project, "Sensor Gloves for Objective and Accurate Assessment of Hand Function in Stroke," offers an innovative approach to produce an effective and objective tool for clinical assessment of hand function that increases the accuracy of recovery tracking in stroke rehabilitation. Bates is mentored by Sridhar Sunderam, associate professor of biomedical engineering.

The Halcomb Fellowship in Medicine and Engineering is an annually awarded fellowship for graduate students in the Pigman College of College of Engineering that aims to prepare recipients for research that not only advances science, but also serves patients and has a positive impact on healthcare. It was established and endowed by F. Joseph Halcomb III, M.D., a 1974 mechanical engineering graduate in 2010.