The University of Kentucky College of Medicine has received a four-year, nearly $16 million grant from the Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA).

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, buildings across the University of Kentucky’s campus will shine pink beginning 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 23, through Oct. 27.

The University of Kentucky Center of Excellence in Rural Health (UK CERH) recently released their impact report for Appalachian Community Health Days (ACHD).

The following individuals were honored at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine Awards Convocation on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. Winners included those in Bowling Green, Lexington, Morehead, and Northern Kentucky.

Outstanding Graduate Student Award:
Jamila Tucker, MS

Philip Kern, MD, professor of medicine, has served nearly 50 years providing exceptional education and clinical care and conducting groundbreaking research, with 14 of those years dedicated to advancing the mission of the University of Kentucky.

The 13th annual Markesbery Symposium on Aging and Dementia is set for Friday, Nov. 17 and Saturday, Nov. 18. The symposium, hosted by UK’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, is named in honor and memory of the late William R. Markesbery, MD, the founding director of Sanders-Brown.

Every October, the city of Versailles, Kentucky, is adorned in pink. Light poles downtown don bright pink banners — each with the photo of someone diagnosed with breast cancer — patients, survivors and those who lost their lives to the disease. 

Students at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine-Northern Kentucky Campus will now have access to important hands-on skill development experiences with the establishment of its new Development of Clinical Skills (DOCS) Lab.

For the third consecutive year, “INSIGHT into Diversity” magazine has recognized the University of Kentucky College of Medicine for its work toward inclusive excellence.

The University of Kentucky College of Medicine welcomes a familiar face to its neurosurgery faculty next year. Randaline Barnett, MD, will join the college and UK HealthCare as a pediatric neurosurgeon, returning to her alma mater where she “fell in love” with neuroscience and officially became the first doctor in her family.

“My mom was the best mom.”

That's how Mallory Martinez describes her mom, Patti Pfiester, to anyone she meets.

“She was my person. If I needed advice about anything, I could talk to her,” said Martinez. “She was just a constant in my life.” 

Applications are open to students in the University of Kentucky College of Medicine for the fourth cohort of the White Coats for Black Lives fellowships.

University of Kentucky Human Resources Elder Care, in partnership with the UK Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, is hosting several events for Dementia Caregivers Week, Nov. 7-10. The theme for the week is "Embracing the Dementia Caregivers Journey." 

In September, the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center announced that it has been named a National Cancer Institute-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, the highest honor a cancer center can earn from the NCI. There are only 55 NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the country, and Markey is the first and only one in Kentucky.

Sydney Howard, data analyst at the University of Kentucky Center of Excellence in Rural Health (UK CERH), will speak in Washington, D.C., as an invited panelist at “Advancing Rural Health Equity through Partnerships, Data, and Finance,” a hybrid event hosted by the Urban Institute and Partners for Rural Transformation, scheduled for 2-5 p.m., Oct. 18. 

The University of Kentucky College of Medicine is thrilled to announce that after an extensive search, Emily DeFranco, DO, MS, has been selected to serve as the new chair of obstetrics and gynecology.

The University of Kentucky will be home to a new research center focused on tobacco regulations in the Commonwealth named the Appalachian Tobacco Regulatory Science Team (AppalTRuST).

Since graduating from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Ben Mattingly, MD, has climbed the highest peaks on each continent, known as the “Seven Summits.” He has gone scuba diving near the Galapagos Islands. He has ridden dirt bikes in Romania. He has fished in bodies of water across the U.S. and traveled to so many countries, that he has lost count.

Emilia Galperin, PhD, is a professor in the UK College of Medicine Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry and currently vice chair for research and administration. She also serves on several College of Medicine committees, including the Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure Committee.

A group from the University of Kentucky recently returned from several days in San Diego at a global symposium where they educated attendees from 48 different countries about the field of neurogastronomy. Neurogastronomy is a somewhat new study that unites the science and culinary worlds by examining the human brain and behaviors that influence how we experience eating and drinking.