Congratulations to Shravan Kumar Kannan, a doctoral student in Vladimir Badovinac, PhD's research laboratory, who has been awarded the Ballard & Seashore Dissertation Fellowship by the Graduate College for the Spring 2026 semester. The Ada Louise Ballard & Seashore Dissertation Fellowship is awarded to students during their final semester, providing protected and supported time to focus on completing their scholarly research activities and the writing of their dissertation.

The rising use of nuclear power and cancer radiotherapy has increased the likelihood of human exposure to whole-body irradiation (WBI). Since CD4 T cells play central roles in protecting us from infections and promoting autoimmunity, it is critical to understand how WBI influences their maintenance and function. Kannan's thesis research aims to delineate the mechanisms regulating naïve and antigen-specific CD4 T cells after WBI, with the long-term goal of developing targeted therapies for radiation survivors.

Kannan is a member of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Immunology. Since its formation in 1993, the Immunology Graduate Program (IGP) has succeeded in attracting excellent scientists and trainees who are interactive, collaborative, and dedicated to graduate training, education and cutting-edge research in immunology. The IGP is consistently held in high regard by peers at other institutions and was rated in the top ten of public US Immunology programs for global research reputation in the recent 2019 US News and World Reports rankings