Elaf Ghoneim working in a UK laboratory under a hood ventilator.

Recent University of Kentucky graduate Elaf Ghoneim was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky. Her family, originally from Libya, established a tight-knit, community-oriented home that emphasized the importance of service and advocacy.

Jessica Burris

A new University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center study highlights the success of the largest-ever quality improvement initiative to focus on the critically important issue of smoking among cancer patients.  

Linda J. Van Eldik working in her laboratory

The University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Director Linda Van Eldik, PhD, hopes to shed light on how specific brain cells may contribute to the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, paving the way for potential new therapeutic approaches.

Xia Liu working at a lab computer.

University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Centerresearchers identified a protein that could be key to developing new treatments for triple-negative breast cancer. 

Dr. Katie Twist

Katie Twist, MD, has been named the new assistant dean for preclinical education in the University of Kentucky College of Medicine Office of Medical Education.

Thomas Waid headshot

Thomas Waid, MD, professor of medicine, received the Jack Trevey Award for Community Service at the Lexington Medical Society (LMS) Dinner Social at the Signature Club. Dr. Waid is a past LMS president and executive board chair. 

picture of Dr. Courtney Perry

Dr. Courtney Perry, assistant professor of internal medicine, who is also associated with the Appalachian Center and whose research is focused on health outcomes and disparities in Appalachia, has been awarded the Qorus Pfizer Health Equity Award.

The Barnstable Brown family present the 2024 Gala’s $1 million donation to Dr. Simon Fisher, director of the Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center.

The Barnstable Brown Gala, the premier Kentucky Derby party, announced that it has donated $1 million to the University of Kentucky Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center, from proceeds of its 2024 Gala.

A graphic illustration of neurons firing in the brain.

Researchers at the University of Kentucky were part of a team that discovered a key protein in the brain that can regulate motivation for reward in mice.

David Fardo looking through paperwork on his desk.

Work by several researchers within the University of Kentucky’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging was recently published in the prestigious journal Nature Genetics. 

Darwin Conwell, MD, running a 5K

Darwin Conwell, MD, joined the University of Kentucky in 2022 as a professor and the Jack M. Gill Endowed Chair in Internal Medicine. Since then, he’s become a recognizable fixture of the UK College of Medicine and UK HealthCare. 

Sean Regnier, PhD, presents his research poster to NIH Director Monica Bertagno

When Sean Regnier, PhD, started working with people with intellectual and development disabilities (IDD) 10 years ago, he noticed a high rate of cigarette smoking among his clients.

“From a clinical standpoint, I was interested in figuring out how I could help my clients quit smoking,” he said.

Murphy Byrd with a petri dish in the Ann Stowe laboratory.

Fourteen University of Kentucky students spent the summer expanding their research skills through the Commonwealth Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) Fellowship program, sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate Research and the 

Nancy Brown presenting a talk on "A Century of Impact" to an auditorium of people.

Cardiovascular disease is a pressing health challenge in Kentucky. It’s one the University of Kentucky and the American Heart Association (AHA) have been working to address for decades.

Since 1949, the AHA has provided more than $41 million through 469 research grants to the University of Kentucky, with 15 grants totaling more than $3.2 million currently active. 

Carolyn Lauckner and Mikhail Koffarnus, sitting at a table together and laughing

In August 2020, the University of Kentucky College of Medicine Office of Research launched 18 Alliance Research Initiative teams from each of the five research priority areas — substance use disorder, cardiovascular, diabetes and obesity, neuroscience, and can

A blue cancer ribbon next to text that reads, "September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month"

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

A graphic of an abdominal aorta with stent-grafting.

A group of researchers at the University of Kentucky have found a mechanism that would explain why men develop more aortic aneurysms than women.

Zena Chahine

Zena Chahine, MD, became a doctor because she wanted to help patients during their most vulnerable moments. When you get to provide care to someone who needs it, she said “it’s a special kind of gratitude.”

Project co-leader Timothy Mullett, M.D. standing on a walkway and leaning against a railing.

A groundbreaking lung cancer screening project co-led by the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center and the University of Colorado (CU) Cancer Center is set to expand its reach, thanks to a $6.8 million grant from the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation, an independent charitable organization.  

Two blond women working at laptops in a conference room.

The UK College of Medicine is dedicated to educating the next generation of compassionate, highly skilled physicians and scientists, with special emphasis on training more physicians here and retaining them for service in Kentucky.