As a former college basketball player, March has always been exciting for Rachel Potter. This year, as she prepares to graduate from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, the month holds even more significance.

Instead of March Madness, Potter’s focus is on Match Day, an annual celebration recognizing medical students across the country as they simultaneously learn which residency program they “matched into” and will pursue.

Potter is excited to reach this pivotal career milestone, which she compares to college basketball’s Selection Sunday.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 17, 2022) ­– When J.R. Bell, MD, an assistant professor of urology at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, describes the da Vinci SP Surgical System, you get the sense that this is the pinnacle of surgical technology. This machine, with its single arm, gives surgeons the ability to perform complex surgical procedures through a single, inch-long incision.

The motivation driving the work of Pete Nelson, M.D., Ph.D., is personal. His grandmother, Sylvia Becker, died with Alzheimer's disease, and he says his mother then grew terrified of developing the disease.

“It gives me purpose in life to attack that,” Nelson said. As an experimental neuropathologist at the University of Kentucky’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, he is guided by that motivation. “It is most every researcher’s dream to help identify and classify a disease, and then to go on and help beat it.”

The Gill Awards, given each year through the generous support of the Gill Foundation of Texas, honor individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of cardiovascular medicine, both through research and clinical care. The awards are based on nominations and assessment by a committee of prominent cardiovascular researchers from across the nation.   

As a former college basketball player, March has always been exciting for Rachel Potter. This year, as she prepares to graduate from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, the month holds even more significance.

Instead of March Madness, Potter’s focus is on Match Day, an annual celebration recognizing medical students across the country as they simultaneously learn which residency program they “matched into” and will pursue.

Potter is excited to reach this pivotal career milestone, which she compares to college basketball’s Selection Sunday.

Scott Mair, MD, is a professor of orthopaedic surgery at the UK College of Medicine. He is also one of the physicians who cares for players on the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team. In the spirit of March Madness, Dr. Mair answered questions about what a typical day as a team physician looks like, memories he has gathered over the years, and how this role impacts how he teaches residents and fellows.

Q: As team physician, what are your roles with the basketball team?

Housed in the UK College of Medicine Department of Toxicology and Cancer Biology is a new professional master’s degree program that is the only one of its kind in the state of Kentucky, and the fifth of its kind in the country.

And due to its unique educational experience and strong curriculum, this new program is seeing a jump in its number of students.

LEXINGTON, Ky (March 11, 2022) — COVID-19 brought to the forefront the challenges of mental health around the world. During the Feb. 26, 2022 Global Mental Health Hack-A-Thon, University of Kentucky students and the Kentucky community proposed solutions to this global health challenge.

EXINGTON, Ky. (March 11, 2022) — A small black lump, about an inch or so in width, rests­ on the bottom of a sealed plastic container. It doesn’t look like much ­­– in fact, it doesn’t look like anything. But this little black lump has untold potential, full of secrets for the researchers at Kentucky Research Alliance for Lung Disease (K-RALD) to discover about the pandemic that has ravaged the world for more than two years.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 10, 2022) — The University of Kentucky’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging has been around for nearly half a century. In that time, they have built an international reputation for best-in-class research into a disease that kills more people every year than breast and prostate cancer combined – Alzheimer’s disease. There are several components to the ongoing research at Sanders-Brown, one is exploring ways to detect Alzheimer’s earlier in a person’s life.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 10, 2022) - University of Kentucky Women’s Basketball Coach Kyra Elzy is passionate about Alzheimer’s disease research because of her close relationships with her grandmother, Mary Elzy, and her college basketball coach.

As a four-year letter winner at Tennessee, Elzy was a member of two national championship teams in 1997 and 1998 and a national runner-up squad in 2000, all under the legendary Pat Summitt. Her beloved coach died in 2016 at the age of 64 following a battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Sylvia Ofei, MD, MPH, is an assistant professor of pediatrics and a gastroenterologist in the division of gastroenterology, hepatology, and nutrition. She also serves as the medical director for patient experience at Kentucky Children’s Hospital. For National Nutrition Month in March, Dr. Ofei shares more about the important role nutrition plays in her practice, as well as some helpful tips for incorporating nutrition into your daily routine.

Q: How does nutrition play a part in your job as a physician?

Shulin Zhang, MD, PhD, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, began his career as a clinical molecular geneticist when the famous Human Genome Project was in its final stages. A 23-year international research effort, the project was revolutionary as it determined the full DNA sequence of the human genome.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 8, 2022) — Women’s History Month, and International Women’s Day on March 8, serve as annual reminders and worldwide celebrations of women’s economic, cultural, social and professional achievements throughout history and today.  

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 8, 2022) — Facing a cancer diagnosis under normal circumstances can be devastating. Facing a cancer diagnosis in the era of COVID, for many, is an isolating and traumatic experience beyond what any of us can imagine.

Lexington resident Mary Miller remembers sitting in shock after hearing those three dreaded words – ‘You have cancer.’

“It is so scary and, in my case, so unexpected,” Miller said. Her symptoms were mild and manageable – anemia and some shortness of breath. Overall, she felt healthy.

During Women's History Month, the UK College of Medicine is highlighting the significant contributions from women in medicine across the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 7, 2022) — In this “UK at the Half,” Mark Evers, M.D.,director of the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center, talks about the growth of Markey and plans for a new cancer care facility that was recently kickstarted by a $10 million philanthropic gift from Central Bank.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 4, 2022) — Although most cases of Lyme disease can be cured with a two-to-four-week course of antibiotics, some patients still experience lingering, debilitating effects of the disease months after they finish treatment.

We want these young men to believe in themselves and say, ‘I can be a doctor.’”

Lexington, Ky., native Roszalyn Akins is passionate about helping students reach their potential. With 40-plus years as an educator and civic leader, she has found tremendous success when she encourages students to believe in themselves.