Col. Harland Sanders; Gov. John Y. Brown Jr.; John Y. Brown Sr.; UK VP Ray Hornback; and Medical Center Chancellor Peter Bosomworth at the building dedication.

For the past four decades, the University of Kentucky’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging (SBCoA) has been at the forefront of Alzheimer’s disease research, making groundbreaking discoveries that have shaped our understanding of this complex condition. 

Gregory Jicha leaning against a conference room table.

Researchers at the University of Kentucky play an important role in advancing the health, well-being and future of our Commonwealth.  

Much of that work is done with support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). That support allows our researchers to find answers to many of the critical health issues facing Kentuckians.  

David Fardo, sitting at a desk in front of a white board, sorting through paperwork.

Researchers at the University of Kentucky play an important role in advancing the health, well-being, and future of our Commonwealth. 

Much of that work is done with support from the National Institute of Health (NIH), which allows our researchers to find answers to many of the critical health issues facing Kentuckians.  

Linda Van Eldik, PhD sitting in a computer lab.

Researchers at the University of Kentucky play an important role in advancing the health, well-being and future of our Commonwealth.  

Much of that work is done with support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). That support allows our researchers to find answers to many of the critical health issues facing Kentuckians.  

Hilaree Frazier, PhD

The National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC) and the Alzheimer’s Association are pleased to announce the 2025 New Investigator Award winners.

A grid of the photos of UK researchers

The University of Kentucky plays a critical role in advancing the health, well-being and future of the Commonwealth through impactful research.  

As Kentucky’s flagship, land-grant institution, UK focuses its resources, expertise and key partnerships to address the challenges facing our state to improve the quality of life for Kentuckians. 

The 2025-26 University Research Professors gathered together for a group photo.

On Friday, the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees approved 18 University Research Professors for the 2025-26 academic year. Established by the Board of Trustees in 1976, the professorships program recognizes excellence across the full spectrum of research at UK.

A doctor wearing a white coat and a stethoscope, holding a model of a brain.

The University of Kentucky Public Relations and Strategic Communications Office provides a weekly health column available for use and reprint by news media.

Ryan Shahidehpour, PhD, stands facing camera in white coat, with arms crossed, in front of research lab bench

For many scientists, the research journey begins in a classroom or behind a microscope. For Ryan Shahidehpour, PhD, it began in a boxing ring. 

Darlingtina K. Esiaka, PhD

Darlingtina K. Esiaka, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Behavioral Science in the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, has been awarded a fellowship by the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program (CADFP) to travel to Nigeria to work with the Research Center for Ageing Cognition and Psychological Health at Nnamdi Azikiwe University.

A picture of a white brain, with the hands of a clock overlapping it. The background is evenly split between stars at night and clouds in the day.

Scientists have long recognized the brain’s need for energy, but groundbreaking research from the University of Kentucky’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging has now illuminated how the brain’s energy utilization significantly influences our sleep patterns. 

Ryan Shahidehpour

My name is Ryan Shahidehpour, and as a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Pete Nelson, MD, PhD, in the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, I investigate pathological changes that drive neurodegenerative diseases associated with aging in the human brain.

silly socks

Down syndrome is the most commonly diagnosed chromosomal condition in the United States. Each year, approximately 6,000 babies are born with Down syndrome, meaning it affects about one in every 700 births. This genetic condition results from the presence of an extra copy of chromosome 21, known as trisomy 21, which impacts physical and cognitive development to varying degrees.

Linda Van Eldik sitting in a computer lab, leaning against a table.

The University of Kentucky Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging is celebrating 40 years of groundbreaking research in the fight against dementia.

Elika Moallem

My name is Elika Moallem, and I am a third-year graduate student in the department of neuroscience, working under the mentorship of Adam Bachstetter, PhD. My research focuses on the interrelationship between traumatic brain injury (TBI) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD), particularly how metabolic dysfunction after TBI contributes to neurodegeneration.

Behind the blue logo, a microphone seeming to wear a set of headphones, beside the text "behind the blue" University of Kentucky

The University of Kentucky Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging is celebrating 40 years of research and community impact. The center is world-renowned for its significant contributions to the field through the decades.

Kentucky Edition
Shannon, Kristen, and Lance

The University of Kentucky College of Medicine continues to solidify its reputation as a hub for groundbreaking biomedical research. In December, the UK CNS-Met (central nervous system-metabolism) Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE), a program funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), hosted its inaugural research symposium. 

Pete Nelson and Greg Jicha

Researchers at the University of Kentucky’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging are at the forefront of advancing dementia research with groundbreaking work on a condition known as LATE, or “limbic predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy.” 

Greg Jicha, MD, PhD, director of clinical trials at UK’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, conducts an exam.

Researchers at the University of Kentucky (UK) are part of a groundbreaking clinical trial exploring the use of medical marijuana in managing symptoms of late-stage dementia.