The Robert Stroud Advanced Immunology Trainee Seminar is named in honor of Dr. Robert Stroud who served as the first director of the Immunology graduate training program, now in its 49th year, at UAB. Senior Immunology trainees (4th year and above graduate students, GS3 MSTP, and postdoctoral trainees) are invited to apply for this excellent opportunity to present their research to a critical but friendly home crowd by submitting an abstract. This year’s Robert Stroud Advanced Immunology Trainee Seminar will be held on May 27, 2027. The graduate students submitting the top two abstracts will be honored as Robert Stroud Trainees, receiving a $250 cash prize, $750 travel award to support a poster or oral presentation at a scientific meeting or conference, and invitation to have dinner with the external PII seminar speaker of their choice. This past year’s awardees were Susana Cheetham (Randall Lab) and Opeyemi Iwalope (Osuka Lab). *Trainees may only win the Robert Stroud award one time during their graduate training at UAB.
II Research in Progress is a trainee-focused seminar series that aims to provide a platform for senior level trainees (4th year and above graduate students and postdoctoral fellows) to present their IMMUNOLOGY-related research – immunology, microbiology, cancer immunology, immunotherapy, neuroimmunology, innate, adaptive and mucosal immune responses, infectious diseases, autoimmunity, inflammatory-driven diseases, transplantation and more – within the UAB community. Up to 6 graduate student or postdoctoral trainees will be scheduled for II Research in Progress presentations and receive a $500 travel award to support a poster or oral presentation at a scientific meeting or conference. We hope that you will take advantage of this opportunity to prepare for your next oral presentation, dissertation defense, or interview for the next academic position on your career track.
Interested trainees for both opportunities can submit their abstracts (600 word limit not including the required title and author line) below by July 31, 2026.
The Immunology Institute hosts the Robert Stroud Advanced Immunology Trainee Seminar and the II Research-In-Progress series during the Program in Immunology seminar series which is held on Thursdays from 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm in BBRB 170. The format consists of two presentations (25 minutes each with 5 minutes for questions) with a reception to follow. Please complete the form below and submit abstracts by 07/31/2026 to be considered for the 2026-2027 seminar series.
If you do not receive a confirmation email after submission, please send your application directly to Carol Ballinger at caball@uab.edu. Thank you.
Previous Robert Stroud winners:
2025-2026 Susana Cheetham (Randall Lab) and Opeyemi Iwalope (Osuka Lab)
2024-2025 Jung-Shan Hsu (Maynard Lab) and Paran Goel (Welner Lab)
2023-2024 Eddie Williams Owiredu (Lund Lab) and Melissa Jennings (Maynard Lab)
2022-2023 Chris Risley (Lund Lab) and Andrew Schroeder (Hu Lab)
2021-2022 Samuel Blum (Tse Lab) and Dominique Hinshaw (Samant Lab)