Annual Report Spotlights UK Research Impact on Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 19, 2019) — What impact does University of Kentucky research have on the Commonwealth? The UK Research 2018 Annual Report provides a snapshot of UK’s research: from the opening of the Healthy Kentucky Research Building, to statewide economic impact and national R&D rankings, to innovative federally funded research projects in the six areas that fall under a new program — the Research Priorities Initiative.

“The UK Strategic Plan charged UK Research with investing in existing strengths and areas of growth that benefit and enrich the lives of the citizens of the Commonwealth and beyond,” said Lisa Cassis, vice president for research. “We selected six priority areas that have clear local relevance, in which we are successfully competing for federal funding and we are poised to expand — substance abuse, cancer, diabetes & obesity, cardiovascular diseases (these four areas will have research teams in the new Healthy Kentucky Research Building), energy and neuroscience.”

The Research Priorities Initiative is funded by the Office of the Vice President for Research. Cassis explained, “As part of this initiative, we are using strategic investment funds to seed innovative collaborative research and help investigators secure additional federal funding. More than $2.5 million will be distributed across these priority areas, and this year an additional $1 million will support substance abuse/opioid-related projects because of the great needs within our state.”

Researchers interested in becoming team members on collaborative projects within the Research Priorities Initiative can contact leaders in each area (see www.research.uky.edu/rpi).

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