Inaugural group of Communications Fellows busy with research, teaching, new initiatives

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Last fall, a talented group of faculty members were selected for the inaugural Auburn University Communication Fellows cohort to explore new and innovative ways to tell their research stories to the world. Fast-forward to present day, and that group of dedicated educators and researchers is thriving and leading by example.

From securing grants, presenting at conferences and publishing articles and books, to leading community engagement events, collaborating on special projects and teaching classes, the 2024-25 cohort has been hard at work making an impact in their respective fields. Here’s a look at what several of the inaugural Fellows have been up to in recent months.

Harrison College of Pharmacy’s Elizabeth Covington has been awarded the Auburn University RSP intramural grant for her project titled “Pharmacist-led transitions of care intervention to address infectious disease tests pending at discharge (TPAD).” She also worked with editors at The Conversation — a news outlet that helps faculty publish first-person articles that are distributed to major media outlets — on an article titled “Are you really allergic to penicillin?”

In addition, Covington has been working on an artificial intelligence-related project to help students rethink patient care. She also has designed several posters for upcoming national meetings, served as a panelist on a Society of Infectious Disease Pharmacists clinical teaching webinar and is planning to submit an extramural grant related to antibiotic prescribing at hospital discharge.

Alicia Powers, director of the Hunger Solutions Institute, has had a busy year working to eliminate food insecurity.

Alicia Powers, managing director of the Hunger Solutions Institute (HSI) in the College of Human Sciences, has had an immensely busy 2025 thus far. Not only did she support HSI’s Double Up Food Bucks Alabama Day in May, but she attended an Add Milk lunch in Arkansas that same month and took part in the Gen Z Food and Hunger Summit in Washington, D.C., in June.

HSI team members represented the PUSH program at the Urban Serving Universities Summer Meeting in Washington, D.C., and the Add Milk one-year celebration in Los Angeles in June, and Powers will attend the Delta Healthy Food Financing Initiative launch later this month. HSI also is currently leading a food system assessment with several of its partners and campus organizations.

In the College of Veterinary Medicine, Drs. Diane Delmain and Shannon Boveland have been busy making an impact in their areas of concentration. Delmain has penned the paper “Species preferences of veterinary professionals: Comparing attitudes, confidence and education regarding dogs and cats” and is in the process of submitting it for publication.

She attended the Purina Institute Global Summit, which focused on increasing awareness and use of advanced technologies in veterinary medicine, including topics such as artificial intelligence, big data, bioinformatics, omics and the Internet of Things and their application to advance nutrition science, pet health and veterinary care. In addition, Delmain will be speaking at the Mountainlands Utah Veterinary Summit in September and will lecture in the dentistry elective course and teach physical diagnosis labs in the fall.

Veterinarians Diane Delmain, left, and Shannon Boveland represented the College of Veterinary Medicine in the inaugural Communications Fellows cohort.

Boveland recently completed an article for the veterinarian journal “Clinician’s Brief” about when to use ophthalmic solutions versus ointments to treat eye conditions in veterinary patients. Boveland also has been interviewed about the article by the journal as a guest on its podcast, which will air in September.

Delmain feels the Fellows program has been a benefit to her role as an instructor.

“My Communication Fellows training has enhanced communication training of our clinical students during their Community Practice (primary care) rotation in the College of Veterinary Medicine,” said Delmain, who will coordinate a feline elective course in the spring.

This year has been action-packed for Communications Fellow Harsimran Baweja from the College of Education. His Doctor of Physical Therapy program in the School of Kinesiology was awarded accreditation to welcome its first cohort this fall. The initial class features 21 students, and Baweja and his team already are accepting applications for the second cohort through the end of September.

Baweja and others in the cohort benefited from the Fellows program’s curriculum through media training exercises, experiences pitching stories to editors and workshops designed to help faculty synthesize their research into compelling deliverables for media and the public, helping the cohort members hone their skills as communicators while adding value to their leadership roles.