The Nebraska Infectious Diseases Society (NIDS) annual meeting is this Friday, August 15th at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, from 8am-5pm. Join us for a day filled with insightful discussions, networking opportunities, and the latest updates in the field of infectious diseases. The 2025 meeting has a One Health theme and will include talks from our veterinary and dental colleagues.
Click the arrow to see the full list of sessions and presenters
| IDSA Leader Keynote: Role of ID physicians for Supporting One Health | Trini Mathew, MD, MPH, FACP, FIDSA. Associate Professor (adjunct) Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine and Wayne State University School of Medicine |
| Emerging Zoonotic Infections | Taylor Yaw, DVM, CertAqV, Dipl. ACZM, Dipl. ABVP (Fish Practice). Vice President of Science and Animal Health, Henry Doorly Zoo |
| Using population genomics of Ixodes scapularis ticks to understand current and future risk of tick-borne diseases in Nebraska | Joseph Fauver, PhD. Assistant Professor UNMC Department of Epidemiology Roberto Cartiñas, PhD, DVM. Professor of Practice, University of Nebraska School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences |
| Antibacterial Resistance in Agriculture and Its Effect on Human Health, an Agricultural State’s Conundrum | J. Dustin Loy, PhD, DVM. Director, Nebraska Veterinary Diagnostic Center |
| Emerging Infections and the Human/Wildlife interface | Marnee Rountree, PhD. Wildlife Health Program Manager, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission & Liz VanWormer, PhD, DVM. Associate Professor of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska One Health Coordinator |
| Oral microbiome and fluoridation and the effects on human health | Jessica Meeske, DDS. Clinical Instructor of Pediatric Dentistry, UNMC College of Dentistry & President of the Nebraska Dental Association |
| Nebraska Measles Update | Syndey Stein, DVM. Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Epidemiologist. |
| State Level Medicaid Review of Antimicrobial Use and Budget Implications | Jacob Kilgore, MD, MPH, FAAP. Associate Professor of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Marshall University, West Virginia |
Trainee Presentations
One of the most anticipated events held during the meeting is the trainee poster session, which continues to grow each year and features fascinating cases and novel research, most of which is led by trainees, residents, and fellows. As usual, the top abstracts in each category will also be presented orally. A huge congratulations to our top abstract winners: Drs. Nicholas Mielke and Natalie Sturd. In addition to these talks, dozens of other fascinating projects will be presented as part of the poster session.
Natalie Sturd, PhD received her PhD from the lab of Dr. Elizabeth Rucks, examining the host-pathogen interactions of Chlamydia trachomatis. She is currently in her 4th year of medical school at UNMC and in her final year of the MD-PhD program and plans to pursue a combined career as a physician-scientist in infectious disease. Dr. Sturd will present her winning clinical vignette abstract: A Case of KS-IRIS in Advanced HIV: Challenges in Managing Visceral Kaposi Sarcoma and Pericardial Effusion.
Nick Mielke, MD is a third-year internal medicine resident at Creighton University whose work focuses on advancing health equity, optimizing vascular access, and leading vaccine-related research at the intersection of clinical medicine and public health. He has contributed to multiple peer-reviewed publications and presented his research at national conferences. Dr. Mielke will present his winning research abstract: Differential Uptake of Zoster and COVID-19 Vaccines in a System without Financial Barriers: A Multivariable Analysis of Race, Demographics, and Provider Factors
Here is a list of our poster presenters. Stay through the end of the meeting to celebrate the winners of the trainee poster competition!
Click this arrow to see the full list.
| Poster ID | Poster Category | Poster Presenter | Poster Title |
| 2 | Case Vignette | Cima, Sophia | Development of Fungal Retinitis in Atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome |
| 3 | Research/QI | Moreno, Samantha | Early Exposure to Infectious Diseases Specialty Among Undergraduate Students with Interests in Healthcare Careers |
| 4 | Research/QI | Works, Duncan | Analysis of a Learning Needs Assessment Survey Outcomes to Inform Development of the Extension for Community Health Outcomes Model for HIV Training in Midwestern Non-Metropolitan Areas |
| 5 | Research/QI | Preusker, Jenna | Analyzing Antibiotic Usage Rates Reported to NHSN by Nebraska Hospitals: Insights by Hospital Size and Rurality |
| 6 | Case Vignette | Baxter, Emily | CMV Strikes Back: A Viral Awakening Post-Transplant |
| 7 | Case Vignette | Shad, Kari | Kaposi Sarcoma and KSHV/HHV8-Associated Multicentric Castleman Disease: A Case Report |
| 8 | Research/QI | Dang, Ashley | Community Acquired Pneumonia and MRSA Nasal Screening Protocol: Appropriately Being Used? |
| 9 | Research/QI | Kilzer, Anna | Biopreparedness Education in US Medical Schools |
| 11 | Case Vignette | Albrecht, Calvin | Smear Tactics: Unusual Presentation of Fever in a Returning Traveler |
| 12 | Case Vignette | Starlin, Makenzie | Hoarseness in Immunocompetent Host – A Rare Etiology |
| 13 | Case Vignette | Hesseltine, Lydia | A Puzzle of the White Matter: Navigating Diagnostic Uncertainty |
| 14 | Research/QI | Chandler, Sarah | Genomic epidemiology informs transmission dynamics of West Nile virus outbreaks in Nebraska |
| 15 | Case Vignette | Speelmon, Charlie | Persistent Diarrhea of Unknown Etiology: Unraveling a Diagnosis Clinicians Should Not Miss |
| 17 | Case Vignette | Meyer, Matthew | Enteric/Typhoid Fever in a returning traveler: an approach to a thorough medical workup |
| 18 | Research/QI | Kusnik, Nicole | Intended and Unintended Consequences of a Blood Culture Bottle Shortage: Changes in Antibiotic Prescribing, Contamination Rates, and Sepsis Measures at a Large Academic Institution |
| 19 | Research/QI | Zwiener, jennifer | Detectable HIV Viral Levels in Pediatric Patients on Injectable Cabotegravir and Rilpivirine |
| 20 | Case Vignette | Becken, Bradford | A Cavity in the Infectious Differential: An Atypical Lesion |
| 21 | Case Vignette | Uhm, Sarah | Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis due to Pasteurella multocida in a Non-Dialysis Patient with Decompensated Cirrhosis |
| 22 | Case Vignette | Youngblood, Olivia | Disseminated Tuberculosis in the Setting of Advanced HIV: A Diagnostic Tightrope |
| 23 | Case Vignette | Klementiev, Alexander | A Tale of Two Histoplasma Prosthetic Joint Infections |
| 24 | Case Vignette | Bristol, Natalie | Unmasking the Hidden Threats: Complications of Lemierre’s Syndrome |
| 25 | Case Vignette | Staab, Ellie | Recurrent Mucosal Leishmaniasis in an Immunocompetent Host Due to Leishmania braziliensis |
| 26 | Case Vignette | Rhyner, Jordan | Hepatitis B virus reactivation following switch to long-acting injectable ART: A cautionary case |
| 27 | Case Vignette | Stevenson, Scott | Sticky Situations: Identification and Management of Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae in Nebraska |
| 28 | Case Vignette | Moody, Joanna | Missed in the Margins: Peritoneal tuberculosis Disguised as Malignancy in Advanced HIV |
| 29 | Case Vignette | Meyers, Hunter | When Milk is Not Taken Out to Pasteur: A Case Report on Brucella in an Otherwise Healthy Child |
| 30 | Case Vignette | Becken, Bradford | Obtaining a Bacteriophage: A Capsid, A Tail, and Reinventing the Wheel |
| 31 | Research/QI | Foral, Pamela A | Evaluation of Allergy to Beta Lactams at a VA Medical Center: An Opportunity to Delabel |
| 32 | Case Vignette | Shalmali Mirajkar | Multifocal Brain Abscesses Secondary to Streptococcus constellatus Following Histoplasmosis-induced Bronchial Fistulas in an Adolescent |
| 33 | Research/QI | Holderjano, Cole | The Papanicolaou Smear, a Novel Frontier for Chlamydial Transcriptomics |
| 35 | Research/QI | Green, Evangeline | Turning Crisis into Opportunity: Blood Culture Stewardship and the National Impact of a Blood Culture Bottle Shortage on Clinical Care |
| 36 | Case Vignette | Clodfelder, Christian | Rich Rolled: A Case of Mistaken Identity |
| 37 | Research/QI | Mack, Jillian | Stewardship Focused Evaluation of Patients Enrolled in an Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy Program Treated with Ceftriaxone for Penicillin-Susceptible Streptococcus spp. Infections |