News

The Department had seven publications listed in PubMed for the month of March 2021.

1: Bondada V, Gal J, Mashburn C, Rodgers DW, Larochelle KE, Croall DE, Geddes JW. The C2 domain of calpain 5 contributes to enzyme activation and membrane localization. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Cell Res. 2021 Mar 31:119019. doi: 10.1016/j.bbamcr.2021.119019. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33811937.

The University of Kentucky College of Medicine would like to recognize and congratulate its departments that made it in the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research (BRIMR) 2020 rankings.

BRIMR rankings, released each year, are reflective of top National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding to U.S. medical schools and rank institutions based on specialty. Rankings are derived from data compiled and released by the NIH shortly after the federal fiscal year closes.

Highlights of the rankings:

The Department had seven publications listed in PubMed for the month of February 2021.

1: Hubbard WB, Banerjee M, Vekaria H, Prakhya KS, Joshi S, Wang QJ, Saatman KE, Whiteheart SW, Sullivan PG. Differential Leukocyte and Platelet Profiles in Distinct Models of Traumatic Brain Injury. Cells. 2021 Feb 26;10(3):500. doi: 10.3390/cells10030500. PMID: 33652745.

Brain metabolism is the process by which the brain converts nutrients into energy and small molecule signals. When there are breakdowns in brain metabolism, this can lead to serious neurological diseases including epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and traumatic brain injury. These breakdowns even have been linked to diabetes.  

The Department had eleven publications listed in PubMed for the month of January 2021.

1: Stanback AE, Conroy LR, Young LEA, Hawkinson TR, Markussen KH, Clarke HA, Allison DB, Sun RC. Regional N-glycan and lipid analysis from tissues using MALDI-mass spectrometry imaging. STAR Protoc. 2021 Jan 29;2(1):100304. doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2021.100304. PMID: 33554139; PMCID: PMC7848795.

In early 2020, shortly after SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19, was first detected in Wuhan, China, the public learned of the virus’s devastating consequences and the dangers of its spread. But much remained unknown regarding how to combat it.

Ten months ago, a team of UK researchers joined forces to learn more about the virus that was causing a global pandemic. Since the team’s creation, it has made record progress in enhanced research, the launch of clinical trials, and the development of clinical care approaches for patients.

The Department had eight publications listed in PubMed for the month of December 2020.

1: Arenas A, Kuang L, Zhang J, Kingren MS, Zhu H. FUS regulates autophagy by mediating the transcription of genes critical to the autophagosome formation. J Neurochem. 2020 Dec 22. doi: 10.1111/jnc.15281. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33354770.

The Department had seven publications listed in PubMed for the month of November 2020.

1: Guo W, Li K, Sun B, Xu D, Tong L, Yin H, Liao Y, Song H, Wang T, Jing B, Hu M, Liu S, Kuang Y, Ling J, Li Q, Wu Y, Wang Q, Yao F, Zhou BP, Lin SH, Deng J. Dysregulated Glutamate Transporter SLC1A1 Propels Cystine Uptake via Xc- for Glutathione Synthesis in Lung Cancer. Cancer Res. 2020 Nov 23:canres.0617.2020. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-20-0617. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33229341.

The Department had seven publications listed in PubMed for the month of October 2020.

1: Thamban Chandrika N, Dennis EK, Brubaker KR, Kwiatkowski S, Watt DS, Garneau-Tsodikova S. Broad-Spectrum Antifungal Agents: Fluorinated Aryl- and Heteroaryl-Substituted Hydrazones. ChemMedChem. 2020 Oct 16. doi: 10.1002/cmdc.202000626. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33063957.

The Department had ten publications listed in PubMed for the month of September 2020.

1: Kinder JT, Moncman CL, Barrett C, Jin H, Kallewaard N, Dutch RE. Respiratory Syncytial Virus and Human Metapneumovirus Infections in Three-Dimensional Human Airway Tissues Expose an Interesting Dichotomy in Viral Replication, Spread, and Inhibition by Neutralizing Antibodies. J Virol. 2020 Sep 29;94(20):e01068-20. doi: 10.1128/JVI.01068-20. PMID: 32759319.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 17, 2020) — A new University of Kentucky College of Medicine study may provide answers for why so many COVID-19 patients experience thrombosis, or the formation of blood clots that obstruct blood flow through the circulatory system.

The Department had ten publications listed in PubMed for the month of August 2020.

1: Smeltzer S, Quadri Z, Miller A, Zamudio F, Hunter J, Stewart NJF, Saji S, Lee DC, Chaput D, Selenica MB. Hypusination of Eif5a regulates cytoplasmic TDP-43 aggregation and accumulation in a stress-induced cellular model. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis. 2020 Aug 31:165939. doi: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2020.165939. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 32882370.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 26, 2020) – The National Science Foundation recently awarded a three-year, $1,163,869 grant to the University of Kentucky to develop new state-of-the-art metabolomics data analysis tools that will derive new data, knowledge and interpretation from the active metabolic state of organisms and ecosystems with broad biological and biomedical applications.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 18, 2020) — The University of Kentucky Society of Postdoctoral Scholars (SOPS) hosted their first Research Pitch Competition where 19 postdocs and fellows showcased their research with one-minute elevator pitches.

The Department had nine publications listed in PubMed for the month of July 2020.

1: Arenas A, Chen J, Kuang L, Barnett KR, Kasarskis EJ, Gal J, Zhu H. Lysine acetylation regulates the RNA binding, subcellular localization and inclusion formation of FUS. Hum Mol Genet. 2020 Jul 21:ddaa159. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddaa159. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 32691043.

2: Eleazer R, Fondufe-Mittendorf YN. The multifaceted role of PARP1 in RNA biogenesis. Wiley Interdiscip Rev RNA. 2020 Jul 12:e12607. doi: 10.1002/wrna.1617. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 32656996.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 27, 2020) — The Kentucky Network for Innovation and Commercialization (KYNETIC), funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is excited to announce that five of the seven projects recently awarded $50,000 to bring their innovations toward product development are from the University of Kentucky.

These projects include:

Throughout the summer the University of Kentucky College of Medicine has been part of a University-wide pilot program aiming to help boost resumes and build important skills for both UK and non-UK students.

The Summer Badge Program is not your average summer school. The program provides an opportunity for learners to complete courses and earn digital badges, regardless of their current major, with the badges certifying competency in a specific skill.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 22, 2020) — Early this spring, University of Kentucky virologist Rebecca Dutch answered some of our initial questions about COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease. We asked her to take another look at the coronavirus pandemic.

The Department had seven publications listed in PubMed for the month of June 2020.