Sidney Whiteheart, Ph.D., professor of molecular and cellular biology, and Thomas Kelly, Ph.D., professor and chair emeritus of the Department of Behavioral Science, are the recipients of the prestigious William R. Willard Dean’s Recognition Award this year.
Named for the college’s founding dean, the William R. Willard Award honors faculty members whose longstanding commitment to medical education exemplifies the mission and values of the College of Medicine.
Sidney Whiteheart
For more than three decades, Whiteheart has made significant contributions to the university as a teacher, mentor and researcher. He and his team helped pioneer the study of platelet “cell biology,” defining its roles in thrombosis and hemostasis, wound healing and innate immunity. His research has contributed to more than 150 publications.
Whiteheart was named the George Schwert Endowed Professor of Biochemistry in 2019 and was recognized among the top 2% of the world’s most-cited researchers by Stanford and Elsevier in 2023.
Whiteheart earned his doctoral degree at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Princeton University. While at Princeton, he contributed to the discovery of SNARE proteins and was the second author of the seminal Nature paper that first presented the “SNARE hypothesis.”
Beyond research, Whiteheart is passionate about trainee development. He has trained graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and undergraduate students from nine countries. He has also received several teaching and mentoring honors, including the UK Alumni Association Great Teacher Award and the College of Medicine Career Mentoring Award.
Whiteheart recognizes the legacy of leadership and service left by Willard.
“Dr. Willard was a visionary who championed family and community medicine locally and nationally,” Whiteheart said. “After listening to his archived interviews, I was struck by his clear thoughts on what needed to be done and how to accomplish it. That combination of vision and action is what draws me most to Dr. Willard and his example of leadership and service.”
Thomas Kelly
Kelly joined the College of Medicine in 1992 as an associate professor of behavioral Science. He earned a Ph.D. in experimental psychology and behavioral science from the University of Minnesota and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Veterans Administration Medical Center, Louisiana State University School of Medicine.
During his more than 30 years of service to the university, Kelly has held joint faculty appointments in the College of Nursing and the departments of psychiatry and psychology. He was named the Robert Straus Endowed Professor in the Department of Behavioral Science in 2003.
Kelly’s career is marked by a rich portfolio of academic and administrative leadership roles, including director of education, training and career development in the Center for Clinical and Translational Science. He has also served as associate director for research in the Center for Drug Abuse Research Translation and the Center for Drug and Alcohol Research; and associate dean of research in the College of Nursing.
Through his extensive work with the Center for Clinical and Translational Science, Kelly was instrumental in developing the certificate, master’s and Ph.D. programs in clinical and translational science. Kelly has served on several committees, including the Joint Implementation Committee that helped establish medical school campuses in Bowling Green and Northern Kentucky.
In addition to academic and administrative leadership, Kelly is deeply committed to nurturing the next generation of scientists and has mentored dozens of doctoral and postdoctoral scholars.
Kelly said he recognizes the creative foresight of the leadership team that established the UK College of Medicine, especially its inaugural dean, Willard.
“I am truly honored and humbled to receive this recognition, particularly given the exceptional impact of past recipients of the award,” Kelly said. “Our environment and community in the UK College of Medicine is special, and this award reflects the opportunity to have worked with amazing colleagues, staff and students over the years.”
Whiteheart and Kelly will be honored during the Faculty Achievement and Award Ceremony on Nov. 13.
