For Keliy Fordham, spending the first few days of her life in a neonatal intensive care unit shaped her passion for pediatrics. Although the UF College of Nursing PhD student doesn’t recall her time in the NICU, her mother’s vivid retelling of the care she received from doctors and nurses inspired Fordham to dedicate her life to helping infants.

Recently, Fordham received a prestigious TL1 grant from the UF Clinical and Translational Science Institute to investigate a prediction model for identifying babies at risk of developing necrotizing enterocolitis. The condition mainly affects premature Black and Hispanic babies and causes inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract, leading to tissue death. In severe cases, the condition is fatal.

“It is a devastating illness. Babies who survive have issues with short-gut syndrome, malnutrition, gall bladder issues, strictures, and narrowing of the GI tract that affect them all their lives. Right now, there is no way to predict who is at risk,” Fordham said.

Fordham and the study team hope to mine hundreds of previous electronic health records using machine learning to find links between babies who develop the illness.

“If we can predict it, we can move forward to preventive strategies and defining NICU protocols and guidelines to intervene before you get to the point of no return,” Fordham said.

Exploring the intersection of nursing and technology is why Fordham, a nurse in the NICU at UF Health Shands, decided to pursue her PhD.

“I am interested in technology and technological advances in health care,” she said.

Since joining the UF Nursing PhD program, the Sarasota native has excelled, earning several scholarships and participating in different projects.

In early 2024, Fordham participated in a Simuvaction on AI project, where the participants were assigned roles on how to ensure that AI doesn’t increase health inequities. The project culminated in a conference in Atlanta, where the participants held a United Nations-style meeting where they debated, negotiated, and voted on the issue.

“I represented Canada. It was a great experience. I never had experience in high-level negotiations where you are trying to protect the interests of a large population,” Fordham said. “It was eye-opening.”

She is also part of a UF graduate student team recently selected to participate in the 2025 PDC HealthCare Design Challenge.

Teams from four other universities will work with different disciplines to help design a real health care facility. The winning design will be used in the construction of the facility.

“All of these projects center around technology in health care. That is exactly what I was looking for,” she said. “The experiences I have had here, once I go into industry, academia, or wherever I will go from here, I can use the skills I learned here.”

Fordham said the curriculum and the faculty at UF have made a significant impact on her.

“The teachers and mentors I have connected with are helpful. They help guide what I do. You can design your program and tailor it to what you want to do. It’s structured, but it’s not cookie-cutter,” she said.

The college has inspired her to reach for her dream of establishing a company that designs products, materials, and technology for use in the NICU.

“I also want to teach, but I have a lot of ideas. I plan to get my ideas out there,” she said.