University of Kentucky virologist Rebecca Dutch normally studies the steps of infection for viruses like human metapneumovirus, but she's been looking at the novel coronavirus these days. The chair of UK’s Department of Molecular & Cellular Biochemistry is leading the College of Medicine’s COVID-19 Unified Research Experts (CURE) Alliance team, which brings together faculty expertise from multiple disciplines across the university to focus on advising COVID-19 patient care and clinical trials based on emerging research. Today, she answers some of our questions about COVID-19.

Timothy Ainger, PhD, had just completed a 10-hour clinic day when he pulled out his cellphone to check his messages. There were 74 in total, which was pretty typical because he was involved in group chats with his pals, as well as a Fantasy Football league. However, amid those messages were 14 notifications from his wife, Jan.

Researchers and faculty from multiple disciplines across the University of Kentucky are coming together as part of the global effort to treat, understand and eradicate COVID-19.

The COVID-19 Unified Research Experts (CURE) Alliance team, a new workgroup within UK’s College of Medicine, is bringing together UK experts from across the campus to focus on advising COVID-19 patient care and clinical trials based on emerging research and potential treatment options.

BOWLING GREEN CAMPUS STUDENTS COLLECT ITEMS FOR SENIOR CITIZENS

It was after a recent call to her grandfather when Claire Ottman realized just how vulnerable senior citizens were, not only to COVID-19, but also to the consequences of social isolation. She said some of the only times her grandfather got out of the house during the day were when friends picked him up to take him to the grocery store, lunch with his friends, and to church.

Six of the University of Kentucky’s passionate and accomplished educators were recently surprised by student nominators and the UK Alumni Association as 2020 Great Teacher Award recipients.

Dr. Emily Cunningham is one of this year’s Great Teacher recipients.

Cunningham is an associate professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology in the UK College of Medicine.

After a national search, Carl Lewis Backer, MD, has been named the new chief of pediatric cardiothoracic surgery at Kentucky Children’s Hospital (KCH), effective May 18. His primary appointment will be at Cincinnati Children’s, but he will be based in Lexington.

What makes a good teacher a great one? University of Kentucky students were eager to share their opinions about the best teacher in their lives, nominating them for one of the most esteemed awards on campus. The UK Alumni Association 2020 Great Teacher Award was recently bestowed upon six University of Kentucky educators. Initiated in 1961, UK’s Great Teacher Award is the longest-running UK award recognizing teaching. In order to receive the award, educators must first be nominated by a student.

Three providers with UK HealthCare have been inducted as fellows by the American College of Critical Care Medicine.

Asha Shenoi, Ashley Montgomery-Yates and Alex Flannery have been named fellows in the American College of Critical Care Medicine, honoring their contributions to the field of critical care in the areas of professionalism, collaborative, multi-professional practice, scholarly activity, program development and leadership.

A collaboration among three University of Kentucky colleges has resulted in an innovative new online program. Students and health professionals looking to further their education in food as it relates to health can now earn a graduate certificate in applied nutrition and culinary medicine.

Next week, the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and the Department of Chemistry in the UK College of Arts and Sciences will host renowned biochemist Dr. Rafael Radi for two special events on campus.

As a young student who was proficient in science, Dr. Eseosa Ighodaro, always saw herself pursuing a career in medicine. But it wasn’t until applying to medical school that she discovered there was another path she wanted to follow.

University of Kentucky College of Medicine researcher Ann Stowe describes her career path as nontraditional. After earning a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, Stowe decided to pursue graduate study in biomedical research instead of art history.

Today, the associate professor in UK’s Department of Neurology studies how the brain recovers from stroke. The same passion for creativity that attracted Stowe to studying the arts is what drives her in the laboratory.

William W. Stoops, PhD, professor within the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, has been elected as president of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD), the longest standing group in the U.S. dedicated to addressing issues of drug dependence and abuse.

Being unable to walk and unable to provide for his family is not the American dream Gregorie Mbuyi imagined when moving his family to Kentucky from the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2015.

“I was feeling shocked,” explained Mbuyi with the help of a translator.

Shocked because the pain and discomfort he initially likened to heartburn were aggressively spreading through his abdomen and down his right leg – he lived like this for about two years. The husband and father of five losing the ability to walk on his own, eventually also lost his ability to work.

Becoming a medical student, from any walk of life, is an unprecedented change. There is a need to understand the particular culture of medical school, and a need for an individual to help students with that task.

The University of Kentucky College of Medicine prides itself in educating future physicians and scientists with the goal of providing innovative research and excellent patient care to the Commonwealth. Meeting that goal requires the acknowledgement that diverse perspectives provide better outcomes.

Today, University of Kentucky officials provided updates on the recently launched Kentucky Viral Hepatitis Treatment Project (KeY Treat), a three-year, $15 million study co-funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) with the ultimate goal of eradicating the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in Perry County, Kentucky.

The University of Kentucky College of Medicine’s Department of Family and Community Medicine’s Primary Care Training Enhancement (PCTE) grant team was recently selected to receive the Outstanding Educational Program Award by the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research (APTR). This award honors an innovative program, department, or academic institution for their involvement in advancing undergraduate or graduate medical education in prevention and public health which furthers students’ interest in the discipline. 

Dr. Sarah Tully Marks, assistant professor and the associate residency program director in the University of Kentucky Department of Community and Family Medicine, has been selected as UK’s first Bell Addiction Medicine Scholar. This scholar program is a part of the Bell Alcohol and Addiction Endowed Chair efforts aimed at building physician education and training experiences for treating patients with substance use disorders.

An international group of experts led by Dr. Peter Nelson, a neuropathologist at the University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, is being recognized as one of the top science stories of 2019 by Discover Magazine.

Researchers at the University of Kentucky’s College of Medicine have found that a class of antibiotics called aminoglycosides could be a promising treatment for frontotemporal dementia.

Results of their proof of concept study, which was a collaborative effort between UK’s Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry and the University of California San Francisco’s Department of Pathology, were recently published in the journal, Human Molecular Genetics.