In 2014, Kelly R. Reveles, Pharm.D., PhD, BCPS, BCIDP, began her academic career as a tenure-track assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy. Although it was early in her career, she already had an extensive history with ACCP, serving as a member-at-large on both the National Student Network and National Resident advisory committees. Several factors influenced Reveles’ decision to apply for an ACCP Foundation (formerly ACCP Research Institute) Futures Grant, including her need for external funding, the trusted reputation of ACCP, and the grant’s requirement for a mentor.

One-on-one mentoring is among the most effective strategies to develop the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values of a researcher. The value of such mentoring is optimized when the mentor can provide regular feedback regarding an individual’s performance. Therefore, Futures Grant applicants must identify a mentor from their institution with whom they will work. Reveles was mentored by Dr. Christopher R. Frei. Now, Reveles serves as a mentor within the UT Austin College of Pharmacy honors research program and engages students in research through the Pharm.D. to PhD program.

Reveles is a tenured associate professor at the UT Austin College of Pharmacy and an adjunct associate professor at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio School of Medicine. Her current research focuses on harnessing the microbiome to improve infectious diseases and healthy aging. Her pathway to focusing on the microbiome began with her Futures Grant, where she studied the pharmacoepidemiology and health outcomes of Clostridioides difficile infections in veterans. She went on to design, test, and implement effective clinical strategies to reduce the incidence and improve the outcomes of health care–associated infections. Her research focused on the prevention and treatment of C difficile infections and innovative methods to improve the translation of clinical research findings into practice. She received a 5-year, $3.4 million NIH/National Institute on Aging R01 grant award to evaluate the impact of fecal microbiota transplantation on healthy aging in a marmoset model.

Reveles attributes the Futures Grant–funded project as key to the early establishment of her research career.

We’ve continued to build on the early infrastructure we built from the Futures Grant over time. That data source has been used for numerous other projects and publications. We’ve been able to use data from that grant as preliminary data to support subsequent grant applications to foundations, other professional organizations, and the National Institutes of Health.

Reveles earned a Pharm.D. degree from UT Austin and UT Health Science Center at San Antonio in 2010. She then completed a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional PhD degree in translational science in 2014. Reveles is an active member of ACCP and the Infectious Diseases Practice and Research Network. She has received multiple awards for her role as faculty, preceptor, and author.

Futures Grants are supported through donations to the ACCP Foundation. Donate here to help the ACCP Foundation continue supporting the development of research skills among student, trainee, and early-career ACCP members.