Taeuk Kang, a 2nd year PhD student in epidemiology, has been awarded a $30,000 pilot research grant from the UI’s Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health (GPCAH) for his project entitled, Fungal keratitis in rural Iowa: Agricultural risk, clinical impact, and genomic insights from a 15-year retrospective study. Fungal keratitis is a serious eye infection often caused by direct eye trauma with plant matter.

GPCAH pilot grants are intended to promote innovative outreach and research efforts to prevent agricultural injury and illness. This year, the pilot program is supporting academic researchers, especially new investigators and trainees.  Projects must target agricultural injury and illness prevention to help improve safety and health among agricultural communities in our Midwest region.