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As Vice President for Research, I am frequently asked, “What is it like to be a researcher at UK?” Well, to be honest, I have only known one research environment as a faculty member performing academic research for the past 27 years, and that environment is UK. While this might be construed as making me shortsighted, I believe that one of the primary reasons I have remained at UK throughout my academic career is the collaborative nature of research. 

Targeting IκB kinase β in Adipocyte Lineage Cells for Treatment of Obesity and Metabolic Dysfunctions

University of Kentucky’s Dr.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 17, 2016) - The University of Kentucky Gill Heart Institute has named Helen Hobbs, MD, and Barry Coller, MD as the recipients of the 2016 Gill Award in recognition of their lifelong achievements in the study of cardiovascular biology and disease.

The University of Kentucky College of Medicine recently hosted the eighth annual Postdoctoral Poster Presentation Session where three students received top honors for significant research in diverse medical science subjects. Nineteen posters from the basic and clinical sciences were presented in the atrium of the Biomedical Biological Sciences Research Building in December. The program is designed as a training exercise to prepare postdoctoral students for presenting research at conferences.

Congratulations to Moriel Vandsburger, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Saha Cardiovascular Research Center and Department of Physiology in the College of Medicine at the University of Kentucky.  He was recently named a “Researcher to Watch” by The Lane Report, a Kentucky regional business and economic magazine.

Read the magazine article by clicking here.

Every day throughout 2015, University of Kentucky physiologist Ken Campbell laced up his running shoes and took off for a 5-kilometer run, regardless of his schedule, plans or location.

Regular running routes were plotted through his neighborhood and around the university’s campus. When traveling on business, he explored new territories and scenery on his runs. He also logged many miles running next to students on treadmills at the Johnson Center. Nothing stopped Campbell from completing a "5K a day." 

Members of the Gill Heart Institute and Saha Cardiovascular Research Center recently published their research on the effect of renovascular disease in patients with CKD (chronic kidney disease) in Angiology, Journal of Vascular Diseases.

Every year the American Heart Association hosts a myriad of researchers in the field of cardiovascular health and disease prevention in its annual Scientific Sessions. For four days (November 7-11) Orlando, Florida was home to the gathering of brilliant ideas, which were shared in poster and oral presentations, and among friends and colleagues throughout the Sessions. Several faculty members from the Saha Cardiovascular Research Center were in attendance, as presenters of their research, and moderators for the Scientific Sessions related to their field.

For University of Kentucky Vice President for Research Lisa Cassis the drive to conduct meaningful research is personal.

 “You don’t go into it for the money, you go into it because you want to help people,” Cassis said.

Dr. Moriel Vandsburger, and his PhD candidate student, Ms. Tori Stromp, have published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance. Research was conducted here at the University of Kentucky alongside current and past members of the Saha Cardiovascular Research Center. Below is a conclusion of their study. (Click here to access the full article.)

Flanked by Gov. Steve Beshear and legislative leaders, University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto Friday announced the beginning of work on a research facility unique in the country — a building dedicated to addressing health challenges and disparities in Kentucky.

The Saha Cardiovascular Research Center would like to introduce two new faculty members:

Kids skin their knees playing outside. People prick their fingers with needles trying to sew a button back onto a shirt. Others cut themselves while chopping vegetables. Platelets prevent these minor injuries from being fatal. When people think of blood, they may think of red blood cells that help carry oxygen, or white blood cells which protect the body against infection. But our blood also contains small, colorless cells known as platelets which serve a critical role in blood clotting.

The 18th Annual Gill Heart Association Saha Cardiovascular Research Day was a huge success, thanks to some wonderful presentations from our trainees,
staff, and featured speakers! This year, judging posters proved to be difficult, as we had many wonderful presenters with great research. The following are our winners for this year’s Poster Presentations:

Staff

2nd Place, $250- Adrien Mann

1st Place, $500- Travis Sexton

The Saha Cardiovascular Research Center, and Gill Heart Institute, saw a huge turnout for their 18th Annual, Cardiovascular Research Day. During dinner, we had the esteemed pleasure to present four Saha Awards. The awardees demonstrated creativity, dedication, and knowledge in areas of cardiovascular research, prevention, and patient-education. The 2015 recipients are as follows:

University of Kentucky medical student and doctoral candidate Scott Thalman, who is developing novel imaging techniques for identifying early risk factors for sudden cardiac death, received the Halcomb Fellowship for researchers in medicine and engineering. The fellowship supports a graduate student in the University of Kentucky Colleges of Engineering and Medicine who is involved in interdisciplinary research in the field of biomedical engineering. Now a biomedical engineering student, Thalman studied solid-state physics at Brigham Young University before entering the joint medical degree

Assistant, Associate or Full Professor Positions Now Available

Saha Cardiovascular Research Center

University of Kentucky

Lexington, KY 

The American Heart Association’s Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology (ATVB) will award Nancy Webb, a professor of pharmacology and nutritional sciences at the University of Kentucky, with its 2015 AHA Special Recognition Award in Arteriosclerosis. The ATVB council supports basic, translational and clinical research concerned with diseases of the blood vessels. The council annually bestows the Special Recognition Award to a member who has contributed significantly to the scientific council over time and enhanced this field of the profession.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (September 8, 2015) – The University of Kentucky has been awarded research grants totaling over $400,000 by the American Heart Association.

These grants will fund research within the University of Kentucky College of Medicine Saha Cardiovascular Research Center .

The grants are: