News

CHET Core Faculty Member Melinda Ickes, PhD, professor in the University of Kentucky College of Education, has been appointed to the James W. and Diane V. Stuckert Professorship in Service Learning. The professorship recognizes faculty whose work demonstrates a strong commitment to collaborative, service-oriented approaches to education, research, and community impact. 

Congratulations to Cohort 6 members of the Students Participating as AMbassadors for Research in Kentucky (SPARK) program who successfully presented their research projects at the 21st Annual Center for Clinical and Translational Science Spring Conference, AI: Bridging Clinical Care: Innovation, Research, and Technology on March 31, 2026 in Lexington, Kentucky.

CHET proudly congratulates core faculty chair, Laneshia Conner, PhD, MSW, CSW, and core faculty member, Shemeka Thorpe, PhD, who were both recently promoted to the rank of associate professor with tenure. Their achievements reflect continued excellence in research, mentorship, teaching, and service.  

Shyanika Rose, PhD, MA, acting director for the Center for Health, Engagement and Transformation (CHET), was honored with the Research Mentor Award in Clinical and Translational Science at the 21st annual Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) Spring Conference on March 31, 2026. 

Please join us in celebrating CHET core faculty member Danelle Stevens-Watkins, PhD, professor of educational, school, and counseling psychology in the UK College of Education. She was selected as a  2026-2027 University Research Professor.

Cohort 4 Students Participating as Ambassadors for Research in Kentucky (SPARK) alumna Carey Beth Smith served as a keynote panelist at the 2026 Kentucky Youth Tobacco Control Conference: Beyond the Smoke on Feb. 17  in Frankfort, Ky.

In 2020, Lovoria B. Williams, PhD, RN, CHET Core faculty member and professor in the University of Kentucky College of Nursing, received an R01 grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) to test a cluster-randomized Diabetes Prevention Program for high-risk adults in central Kentucky churches.

The Center for Health, Engagement, and Transformation (CHET) is thrilled to announce the addition of Laneshia Conner, PhD, MSW, CSW as Core Faculty Chair, effective February 9, 2026. Dr. Conner, an assistant professor in the UK College of Social Work, has served as a Core Faculty member with CHET since 2022 and has been passionate about further contributing to CHET’s mission. 

Two University of Kentucky College of Medicine students, Carlie Arlinghaus and Riya Patel, have been chosen for the Health Disparities Research Training (HDRT) Fellowship.

CHET associate director of dissemination and outreach, Carrie Oser, PhD, and CHET primary faculty member, Justin X. Moore, PhD, were both 2025 recipients of mentorship awards from the UK College of Medicine Office of Research.

The University of Kentucky’s public policy internship program, WilDCats at the Capitol, has selected Cohort 6 SPARKler Amy Moctezuma Perez as one of seven undergraduate students to intern in Washington, DC.  

Congratulations to CHET primary faculty member and associate professor of behavioral science Laurie McLouth, PhD, on being appointed co-leader of the Markey Cancer Center Cancer Prevention and Control (CP) Research Program. 

The University of Kentucky Achieving Success in Community-Engaged Research to elimiNate Disparities (UK ASCEND) is welcoming its third cohort of Scholars. These four Scholars, selected through a competitive application and review process, will begin the two-year program on February 1, 2026.

Congratulations to Elizabeth Rhodus, PhD, MS, OTR/L,  CHET primary faculty member, assistant professor of behavioral science, and faculty within the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, on her recent feature in the media. Dr.

Congratulations to CHET core faculty member Shemeka Thorpe, PhD, for receiving two national awards recognizing her research and scholarship. Dr. Thorpe was presented with the 2025 Lester A.

Congratulations to CHET primary faculty and assistant professor of behavioral science, Delvon Mattingly, PhD, who recently received a $40,000 American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant. Dr.

Congratulations to CHET Associate Director Carrie Oser, PhD, one of five College of Medicine faculty members selected to participate in the 2025-2026 UK Chairs Academy. The academy is the University of Kentucky’s homegrown leadership development program that guides faculty in considering leadership career paths and develops academic directors and prospective chairs. 

Congratulations to CHET Core Faculty member Laneshia Conner, PhD, who received the 2025 Lyman T. Johnson Torch of Excellence Award.  

CHET is pleased to announce recruitment for the 7th cohort of the Students Participating as Ambassadors for Research in Kentucky (SPARK) program. SPARK is a dynamic collaboration between the Center for Health, Engagement, and Transformation (CHET), Aetna Better Health of Kentucky, and other university and philanthropic partners.

By Jenny Wells-Hosley 

Carrie Oser, PhD, professor and vice chair of the department of behavioral science, has been selected as one of only two recipients of the 2025 Southeastern Conference (SEC) Academic Leadership Development Program (ALDP) Alumni Fellowship Award.