In the largest grant ever awarded to the University of Kentucky, researchers from UK's Center on Drug and Alcohol Research (CDAR) and across campus — in partnership with the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the Justice and Public Sa

Mark Williams, MD, Chief Quality and Transformation Officer at UK HealthCare and Director of the University of Kentucky Center for Health Services Research, and Jing Li, MD, MS, Associate Director of the UK Center for Health Services Research, presented the findings from Project ACHIEVE at the National Care Transitions Awareness (NCTA) Day Summit, which was held on NCTA Day, April 16.

Alzheimer's disease wreaks emotional havoc on patients, who are robbed of their memories, their dignity, and their lives.  It’s financially devastating as well: care for Alzheimer's patients is predicted to top $1 trillion by about the time children born today are having children of their own.

To date, there have been very few successes in the pursuit of a treatment. But one drug that looks at Alzheimer's Disease (AD) from a different angle is now ready for its first round of testing in humans.

The responsibility of leading the charge to educate a new generation of health care providers, researchers and leaders isn’t something University of Kentucky College of Medicine Dean Robert DiPaola takes lightly.

With the challenges facing health care today, he hopes to position UK as a national leader in solving those issues through multidisciplinary research, transformational education and advanced clinical care.

It's an irrefutable fact that smoking is bad for you. Study after study has proven that smoking increases your risk for cancer, heart disease, diabetes – even blindness.

But dementia? Not so fast. A recent study has demonstrated that smoking is not associated with a higher risk of dementia. 

Athletics teaches discipline, commitment and perseverance. All of those skills are valuable on the court, in the classroom and in life. For first year medical student Rachel Potter, a lot of the discipline and time management she applies to her studies she learned while a member of the University of Kentucky Women’s Basketball team.

After four years of medical school and numerous interviews, University of Kentucky College of Medicine students found out where they will continue their medical education in residency programs. Match Day is a culmination of the hard work and dreams of students on the path to becoming doctors.

Dr. Carol Steltenkamp, professor of pediatrics at the University of Kentucky, has been appointed external chief medical officer for UK HealthCare. In this new role, she represents the voices of clinicians in strategy, outreach and communications. Working on behalf of the Office of the UK Executive Vice President for Health Affairs, she is responsible for developing and maintaining strategic clinical alliances with physicians and health care organizations throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky and beyond.

The University of Kentucky community is celebrating Women’s History Month. Throughout March, UKNow will feature the women — past and present — on whose shoulders we stand and whose hard work has made our achievements possible. With a combination of fierce resolve and deep compassion, UK women have left indelible marks on our university. Join us as we highlight these #WomenOfUK.

During February's celebration of Black History Month, the University of Kentucky College of Medicine’s Faculty of Color Network (FCN), with funding from the College of Medicine Diversity & Inclusion Office led by Dr. Renay Scales, honored two living legends and pioneers of the college.

Five students from the University of Kentucky placed in the UK Global Health Case Competition (GHCC), which rallied both undergraduate and graduate students from various colleges to collaborate on revolutionary research. Together, they worked toward a common goal — solving a global health concern. This year, competitors were tasked with tackling refugee health.

At the intersection of exceptional patient care and remarkable education is the willingness and desire to adapt. The most forward-thinking health care delivery systems embrace interprofessional collaborative practice as a way to improve quality of care. 

The University of Kentucky Department of Family and Community Medicine has embraced transformation of care by providing an early interprofessional clinical experience: the TEAM Clinic model. 

Through a recent five-year, $2.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), University of Kentucky faculty Don Frazier and Brett Spear will partner with faculty from qualified minority-serving institutions across the U.S. and Puerto Rico to help improve diversity in science and health care. 

A meeting in early 2010 sparked Dr. Ima Ebong's passion to advocate for greater minority representation in medical school — a passion that has propelled her to national recognition for her work.

As a longtime pathologist at the University of Kentucky, Dr. Charles Lutz is no stranger to cancer.

Lutz has spent much of his career in the lab, helping patients behind the scenes. At the UK Markey Cancer Center, he works in molecular diagnosis and HLA tissue typing in bone marrow transplantation for leukemia and other cancers. He also helps match patients in end-stage organ failure with an appropriate solid organ transplant for the UK Transplant Center.

As a raft of new treatments for HIV infection have come on the market in the past 20 years, AIDS patients have gotten access to drugs that allow them to live longer.

"These drugs are miracles," said Dr. Richard N. Greenberg, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Kentucky. "Before the advent of anti-retroviral drugs, HIV infection was a death sentence. Now, taken properly, the life span of a person with an HIV infection is practically normal."

UK researcher Sharon Walsh is among other nationally renowned experts who were recently named to the Addiction Policy Forum’s Scientific Advisory Board. The board is made up of experts in of medicine, psychiatry, addiction treatment, research, and public health who will provide strategic guidance and direction for important research and scientific programs. 

Regeneration is one of the most enticing areas of biological research. How are some animals able to regrow body parts? Is it possible that humans could do the same? If scientists could unlock the secrets that confer those animals with this remarkable ability, the knowledge could have profound significance in clinical practice down the road.