By Carlos Medina
For registered nurse Keliy Fordham, spending the first few days of her life in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) shaped her passion for pediatrics.
Although the UF College of Nursing Ph.D. student and current NICU nurse at UF Health Shands Hospital does not recall these early moments as a baby, her mother’s vivid retelling of the care she received from doctors and nurses inspired Fordham to dedicate her career to helping infants.
Recently, Fordham received a prestigious TL1 grant from the Clinical and Translational Science Institute to investigate a prediction model for identifying babies at risk of developing necrotizing enterocolitis. The condition, which affects premature infants and is more common in Black and Hispanic populations, results in inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract and can lead to tissue death. In severe cases, the condition can be fatal.
“It is a devastating illness,” Fordham said. “Babies who survive are at risk for short gut syndrome, malnutrition, liver dysfunction, and narrowing of the GI tract – issues that affect them all their lives. Right now, there are few ways to predict who is at risk.”
Fordham and the research team hope to mine hundreds of previous electronic health records, using machine learning to find commonalities among babies who develop the illness.
“If we can predict it, we can move forward to preventative strategies and define NICU protocols and guidelines to intervene before you get to the point of no return,” Fordham said.
Fordham will partner with researcher Yao (Grace) Hou in the UF Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering for the study.
“Keliy’s research focuses on a potentially devastating condition affecting nearly 10 to 15% of infants born very preterm,” said College of Nursing Associate Dean for Research and Support Leslie Parker, Ph.D., APRN, NNP-BC, FAAN. “She has developed an innovative project that has the potential to assist clinicians to predict whether or not infants develop necrotizing enterocolitis, based upon data from the babies’ first 14 days of life.”
Parker is also Fordham’s faculty mentor.
“Keliy has been tremendously successful in seeking out unique experiences, which have provided her opportunities to expand her knowledge and experiences during her Ph.D. program,” Parker said.
Since joining the UF College of Nursing Ph.D. program, Fordham – a Sarasota, Florida native – has excelled, earning several scholarships and participating in influential projects. She is interested in exploring the intersection of nursing and technology, specifically how technological advances will affect health care.
To this end, Fordham participated in a SIMUVACTION on AI project earlier this year – an opportunity for a select group of university students from across the world to contribute to the ethical development of AI in health care. The project culminated in a conference in Atlanta, and participants held a mock Global Partnership on AI meeting where they debated, negotiated, and voted on the issue of how to ensure AI does not increase health inequities in the future.
“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.”
Fordham is also part of a UF graduate student team that was recently selected to participate in the 2025 PDC HealthCare Design Challenge next spring. Teams from four other universities will work with different disciplines to help design a real health care facility, and the winning design will be used in the facility’s construction.
“All of these projects center around technology in health care. That is exactly what I was looking for,” Fordham said. “I can use the skills I learned here once I go into the industry, academia, or wherever I will go from here.”
Fordham said the curriculum and the faculty at UF have made a significant impact on her.
“The professors and mentors I have connected with are helpful and provide important guidance,” Fordham said. “You can design and tailor your program to your goals and dissertation.”
The college has inspired her to reach for her dream of establishing a company that designs products, materials, and technology for use in NICUs.
“I also want to teach, but I have a lot of ideas,” Fordham said. “I plan to get my ideas out there.”
