News

By Vice President for Research Lisa Cassis Thursday

In May, it was my distinct pleasure to present Matthew Gentry with a University Research Professorship award. He was one of 16 faculty, selected by their own colleges, who have demonstrated excellence in scholarship and creative work that addresses scientific, social, cultural and economic challenges in our region and around the world.

A peek at Matthew Gentry's professional profile reveals a long list of honors and awards.

A National Science Foundation Faculty Career Development Award.A National Institutes of Health Pathway to Independence Award.A University of Kentucky Research Professorship Award.Three U.S. Patents.A five-year, $8.5 million National Institutes of Health grant to pursue a cure for Lafora disease.

Wait. Lafora disease? From a lab that also studies biofuels?

Katy Brewer, a doctoral student in the University of Kentucky Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, was chosen as one of 100 doctoral students in the United States and Canada to receive a $15,000 Scholar Award from the P.E.O. Sisterhood. She was sponsored by Chapter C of Lexington, Kentucky. Brewer was a National Merit Finalist and a Patterson Scholarship recipient and graduated summa cum laude from UK in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in biology. She is now pursuing a doctorate in Matthew Gentry's lab at UK.

University of Kentucky College of Medicine Professor Matthew Gentry will direct a team international scientists recently awarded a five-year, $8.5 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to pursue a cure for Lafora’s disease. The International Epilepsy Cure Center based at the UK College of Medicine’s Department of Molecular Medicine and Biochemistry represents a collaborative effort to advance translational research and improve the diagnosis and treatment of Lafora’s disease, with the ultimate goal of finding a cure.

From Zika to Ebola, the emerging viruses of the 21st century pose a threat to populations throughout the world as silent invaders of the human body. While viruses infect most people multiple times a year with varying degrees of severity and symptoms, no two viruses function in exactly the same way.

University of Kentucky College of Medicine Professor Rebecca Dutch has been named President-Elect for the American Society for Virology (ASV). The American Society of Virology, comprised of over 3,000 members from around the globe, was founded in 1981 to provide a forum for discussion and collaboration for investigators of human, animal, insect, plant, fungal and bacterial viruses. ASV sponsors a large annual meeting, promotes communication about virology research to the broader community, and represents virologists on national and international scientific councils.

The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) awarded Haining Zhu, a professor in the University of Kentucky Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, a three-year, $300,000 grant to study the underlying mechanisms of ALS. In an effort to accelerate treatments and cures for neuromuscular diseases, the MDA distributed $10 million in grants this summer to scientists conducting significant research on muscular dystrophy, ALS and other muscle-debilitating diseases. Zhu’s research seeks to understand the mutations of the Fused in Sarcoma (FUS) gene, which is a known cause of ALS.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) recently awarded a $750,000 grant to University of Kentucky researcher Fredrick Onono to study the potential link between obesity and breast cancer. Obese women are four times more likely to develop treatment-resistant breast cancer, but the exact mechanism for this observation is still largely a mystery.

The University of Kentucky Board of Trustees today approved University Research Professorships for 2015-16 for four faculty members. The professorships carry a $40,000 award to support research.

The University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society hosted their fourth annual "Meet the Researchers Day" last Thursday.

What if a failed leukemia drug could reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease? A team at the University of Kentucky recently led an effort to investigate this hypothesis. Their results were published today in the journal, Human Molecular Genetics. The UK researchers, led by Steve Estus at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, study a genetic variant in a gene called CD33 that reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The Estus group recently published findings suggesting that this variant promotes production of a truncated form of the CD33 protein that lacks a putative functional domain.

University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto believes it is time "to make death a beggar in Kentucky.” It’s the idea that through world-class research across an array of disciplines, and a commitment to working as partners with communities across the state, some of the most stubborn health challenges and statistics that plague Kentucky can be successfully attacked. On Tuesday, the state General Assembly and Gov.

Scientists at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine have determined how an enzyme essential for energy metabolism functions, solving a mystery eluding molecular biologists for decades. Matthew Gentry, Ph.D, and Craig Vander Kooi, Ph.D, associate professors of molecular and cellular biochemistry, and researcher Madushi Raththagala, Ph.D, recently discovered the role of the enzyme laforin in modifying human glycogen and thereby preventing neurodegeneration.

Two independent groups of researchers led by Sidney "Wally" Whiteheart, PhD, at the University of Kentucky, and Dr. Charles Lowenstein, at the University of Rochester, have published important studies exploring the role that a gene called STXBP5 plays in the development of cardiovascular disease. According to Whiteheart, previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) identified a gene called STXBP5 as a factor that regulates a protein called Von Willebrand factor (VWF). VWF is an important contributor to normal blood clotting.

A team of investigators has made a thought-provoking discovery about a type of cholesterol previously believed to be a "bad guy" in the development of heart disease and other conditions. Jason Meyer, a University of Kentucky M.D.-Ph.D.

The University of Kentucky's Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) on the Molecular Basis of Human Disease was recently awarded a third phase of National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for a program to develop its research community and center dedicated to human disease. With this new $1.25 million annual grant, UK's COBRE will build upon achievements of a research development program that initially received NIH support in 2004.

University of Kentucky associate professor Dr. Matthew Gentry, a biochemist who studies the very basic makeup of living things, can count very few "Eureka!" moments in his scientific career.

Dr. Matthew Gentry, associate professor of molecular and cellular biochemistry, has been named the recipient of the prestigious Thomas Maciag Award from the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Research Resources. Dr. Gentry received this honor in recognition of his many research accomplishments focused on understanding glucan phosphatases in neurological disease and in plant biofuels research.

Scientists at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine have gained a new understanding of an enzyme essential for breaking down plant starch, a process used in agriculture, manufacturing and biotechnology. Dr. Matthew Gentry and Dr. Craig Vander Kooi, associate professors of molecular and cellular biochemistry at the University of Kentucky, and graduate student David Meekins, have decoded the natural process plants use to break down starch.

The University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society hosted their third annual "Meet the Researchers Day" on Tuesday.