*25 presentation awards won by lab trainees since 2017 

1.Graduate Student Travel Award, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, WV, 2008
2.Pfizer Global Research and Development Scholarship Award: Keystone Symposia on Diabetes Mellitus, Insulin Action, and Resistance (A6), Breckenridge, CO; January 22–27, 2008
3.Top 10 Abstracts for Oral Presentations – 2008 E. J. Van Liere Convocation and Research Day, West Virginia University, 2008
4.Best Poster Award: 2008 E. J. Van Liere Convocation and Research Day, West Virginia University, WV
5.Best Poster Award: 2008 FASEB Summer Conferences: Molecular Mechanisms Involved in the Nutrient Control of Cellular Function, Carefree, Arizona; July 20–25, 2008
6.Keystone Scholarship: Pathogenesis of Diabetes: Emerging Insights into Molecular Mechanisms (J8), Santa Fe, NM; Jan 29- Feb 3, 2012
7.One of the top abstracts at the conference. Young Investigator Travel Grant Award to American Diabetes Association 2017, San Diego, CA
8.UAB Honors College Experimental Fellowship Program, Mentor (with Trung Huynh), 2017
9.Oral presentation award (3rd place), 2017 Midwest Islet Club conference, Mentor (with Trung Huynh)
10.Oral Award 2nd Place: UAB Fall Expo, Mentor (with Trung Huynh), 2017
11.Oral Award 2nd Place: UAB Summer Expo, Mentor (with Trung Huynh), 2017
12.Southeastern Medical Scientist Symposium Travel Grant @Emory (Funded by NIH/NIGM), Mentor (with Trung Huynh), 2017
13.Oral Award 2nd Place: UAB Fall Expo, Mentor (with Trung Huynh), 2017
14.Diabetes Research Center’s American Diabetes Association Travel Award, Mentor (with Dr. Rajesh Gupta), 2017
15.Goldwater Institutional Nominee, Mentor (with Trung Huynh), 2018
16.Poster 1st Place: Darwin Day UAB, Mentor (with Trung Huynh), 2018
17.ADA Postdoctoral fellowship award, Mentor (with Dr. Rajesh Gupta), 2018
18.Oral Award 1st Place: 17th Annual UA Honors Systems Research Conference, Mentor (with Trung Huynh), 2018
19.Top scoring abstract-Winner of the 2019 Eliezer S. Award for Best Diabetes Research, UAB Diabetes Day, Mentor (with Dr. Rajesh Gupta), 2019
20.Diabetes Research Center’s American Diabetes Association Travel Award, Mentor (with Dr. Rajesh Gupta), 2019
21.Oral presentation award (1st place), 2019 Midwest Islet Club conference, Mentor (with Dr. Rajesh Gupta), 2019
22.Bhatnagar, et al., Scientific Reports. 2019 Jul 12;9(1):10119 manuscript was featured as one of the three notable papers to originate from the UAB Diabetes Research Center
23.Selected as a leadership participant for the Department of Medicine, UAB, 2019
24.Nominated for the Pittman Scholar award for research achievements by the Department of Medicine, UAB, 2019
25.UAB Pittman Scholar award for academic achievements made by young faculty, 2019
26.3-Minute Thesis Talk 1st place: American Diabetes Association, Virtual; June 25-29, 2021 (with Haifa Alsharif)
27.UAB Extraordinary Postdoc 1st year award (with Dr. Md Mostafizur Rahman), 2021
28.Poster 1st Place: CORD Summer Science Program; July 30th, 2021 (with Navya Gullapalli), 2021
29.Diabetes Research Center’s American Diabetes Association Travel Award, Mentor (with Dr. Md Mostafizur Rahman), 2022
30.Selected for the Mid-level faculty from the UAB DOM for the LEAD Program Program purpose: To build on-going faculty leadership capability, help retain key faculty, and ensure sustainable faculty success, 2022.
31.Presidential Honors Fellowship award (with Navya Gullapalli), 2023
32.Presidential Honors Fellowship award (with Dhrithi Tummala), 2023
33.Diabetes Research Center’s American Diabetes Association Travel Award, Mentor (with Dr. Md Mostafizur Rahman), 2023
34.Best oral presentation, the Graduate Biomedical Sciences Symposium, UAB (with Haifa Alsharif), 2023
35.Recipient of the Samuel B. Barker Award for Excellence in Research by a Graduate Student. University of Alabama at Birmingham. This prestigious award is given to one master and one doctoral level student each spring, who are expected to graduate the same year (with Haifa Alsharif), 2024
36.Student Mentorship Award: Graduate Biomedical Sciences, UAB (with Haifa Alsharif), 2024
37.Best overall oral presentation, 15th Annual Boshell Research Day, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama (with Haifa Alsharif), 2024