Taryn Eubank, Pharm.D., BCIDP, research assistant professor at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy (UHCOP), received the 2026 Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (SIDP) Early Career Investigator Award during the MAD-ID and SIDP 2026 Annual Meeting May 16 in Orlando, Fla.
The national award recognizes developing researchers who have demonstrated past accomplishments and strong promise in the broad area of infectious diseases. Recipients are evaluated on research funding, publication record, leadership, teaching, service to the profession, and honors or awards received for their research.
Eubank’s research focuses on Clostridioides difficile, antimicrobial resistance and gut microbiome stewardship practices. Her growing body of work has positioned her as an emerging leader in infectious diseases pharmacotherapy, with projects spanning vancomycin resistance in C. difficile, the role of the gut microbiome in disease severity and diagnostics, and clinical evaluation of new antibiotic therapies.
“Taryn is a bright light in the broad area of infectious diseases pharmacotherapy and already has significant independent research funding, an outstanding publication record that has led to national awards, and a growing number of student mentees,” said Kevin W. Garey, Pharm.D., M.S., FCCP, FASHP, FIDSA, BCIDP, UHCOP professor of pharmacy practice and infectious diseases, Robert L. Boblitt Endowed Professor of Drug Discovery, and chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Translational Research.
Garey said he has watched her research trajectory accelerate from postdoctoral fellow to research-intensive faculty member.
Eubank completed a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a Doctor of Pharmacy degree at Harding University. She went on to complete a PGY1 Pharmacy Practice residency and PGY2 Infectious Diseases residency at Houston Methodist Hospital, followed by a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases-funded T32 fellowship in antimicrobial resistance.
During her fellowship, Eubank joined work on an R01-funded project investigating vancomycin resistance in C. difficile. Drawing from a cohort of more than 600 hospitalized patients, she helped demonstrate that patients infected with vancomycin non-susceptible strains had lower clinical response, with findings published in Clinical Infectious Diseases. The paper later received the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Drug Therapy Research Award.
She also published related work on clinical predictors of vancomycin resistance in Open Forum Infectious Diseases and served as lead author on a phase 2 clinical trial publication in Lancet Microbe evaluating ibezapolstat, an investigational C. difficile-targeted antibiotic. The study examined microbiome changes associated with the treatment and helped support advancement of the therapy into phase 3 studies.
“For an infectious diseases pharmacist to lead an FDA-indication phase 2 clinical trial publication is quite unique and certainly another testament to Taryn’s rising stature as an emerging superstar,” Garey said.
Since joining the UHCOP faculty, Eubank has continued developing an independent research program centered on antimicrobial resistance and the microbiome with funding from SIDP, the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, and the Roderick D. MacDonald Research Foundation.
Eubank has published over 20 peer-reviewed articles, with the majority published since she began her faculty appointment. Her scholarship has drawn national attention while advancing understanding of one of the most challenging health care-associated infections.
In addition to her research program, Eubank contributes to the college’s teaching and mentorship missions. She provides lectures to pharmacy students, coordinates a two-semester graduate research methodology course and developed an antimicrobial stewardship rotation that blends clinical practice and research. She also mentors undergraduate students, helping them build research skills and explore pathways into pharmacy.
“I have been so blessed with awesome mentors who have encouraged and pushed me in my career,” Eubank said. “It is extremely fulfilling and a privilege to give that back to my current graduate and undergraduate students by introducing them to the world of clinical and translational research.”
Eubank is an active member of SIDP, including service on the organization’s Research Committee.
“I will always be Taryn’s mentor, and seeing this second-generation mentoring is especially important to me,” Garey said.