A group of University of Kentucky medical students who call themselves the "Sonokittens" have distinguished themselves as the world's savviest student sonographers with a win at the first-ever World Cup of Ultrasound Competition. The UK College of Medicine students who share a special interest in bedside ultrasound competed in the ultimate skills test at the World Congress of Ultrasound in Medical Education, Oct. 10-12 in Portland, Oregon.

The Alzheimer’s Association has awarded a $100,000 New Investigator Research Grant to Jose Abisambra, assistant professor at the University of Kentucky's Sanders-Brown Center on Aging (SBCoA), to study a brain protein that becomes abnormally modified in the course of developing Alzheimer's disease. The New Investigator Research Grant program is part of the Alzheimer’s Association’s effort to increase the number of scientists conducting Alzheimer’s research by supporting early-career development that will lay the groundwork for future research grants.

After obtaining an undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University, landing a graduate research position at Georgia Tech, and designing jet engine acoustics as a consultant for the Federal Aviation Administration and NASA, Ben Havrilesko decided to plot a new career course.

Wearing light blue scrubs and toting medical science texts across campus, the first-year medical student is today immersed in the mechanics of the human body. When asked about life before medical school, Havrilesko clarifies some misconceptions about his former role as an aeronautical engineer 

Recently, the University of Kentucky family lost an exceptional physician, pioneer and transformational leader for our institution and medical enterprise. Peter Bosomworth, M.D., was 84 when he died Saturday morning, leaving an indelible mark on the University and our mission of quality education, research, health care and service to the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Dr. Bosomworth was part of the tradition of leadership and quality care that has defined the UK medical center for more than 40 years.

After Cony Puac delivered her daughter Evany, birthing attendants placed the newborn in her arms and cleared the room.  

The UK HealthCare Gill Heart Institute's Cardiac Rehabilitation Program has received recertification from the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR). This certification recognizes the UK program for its commitment to improving cardiovascular outcomes and quality of life by enhancing standards of care. Cardiac rehabilitation programs are designed to help people with cardiovascular events recover more quickly, improve their quality of life and decrease future event rates.

In her research, Sarah D'Orazio, associate professor in the University of Kentucky Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, investigates why some people get sicker than others after ingesting the foodborne bacterial pathogen Listeria monocytogenes.

The Sanders-Brown Center on Aging at the University of Kentucky will hold its fourth annual Markesbery Symposium on Aging and Dementia on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 21-22. The Markesbery Symposium is named in honor of the late Dr. William R. Markesbery, founder and long-time director of the UK Sanders-Brown Center on Aging and an internationally renowned expert on aging and dementia. More than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease (AD) today and millions more are affected by their role as family member, friend or caregiver to those with memory loss.

We've strayed far from the Dr. Marcus Welby persona -- in popular television, at least. But even Dr. Gregory House, the irascible main character in the Fox television drama, has moments of compassion. 

In real life, compassion is still very much an important part of a physician's practice. And there is perhaps no clearer example of a physician's need for compassion than in the treatment of headaches. 

Off the top of her head, Kaylee Brown can think of 10 girls at her high school who are pregnant. One of them is her younger brother's age, and he's only 14. But when asked about her priorities, 16-year-old Kaylee doesn't mention dating or boys. Wearing a swing purse and a denim shirt during an appointment with Dr. Hatim Omar at the University of Kentucky Adolescent Care Clinic, Brown talks about assuming a leadership role with her Future Farmers of America chapter, playing on her high school volleyball team and making good grades in her advanced-level classes.

There is a phone call Point of Care Ultrasound Director and Assistant Emergency Medicine Program Director Dr. Matthew Dawson will never forget. 

While he was a medical resident in Utah, his father Stewart Dawson, then the chaplain for theLexington Fire Department, called to ask him about a bispectral index monitor – more commonly called a BIS monitor.    

Two independent groups of researchers led by Sidney "Wally" Whiteheart, PhD, at the University of Kentucky, and Dr. Charles Lowenstein, at the University of Rochester, have published important studies exploring the role that a gene called STXBP5 plays in the development of cardiovascular disease. According to Whiteheart, previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) identified a gene called STXBP5 as a factor that regulates a protein called Von Willebrand factor (VWF). VWF is an important contributor to normal blood clotting.

The UK College of Medicine has launched a new systems-based curriculum that integrates basic science and clinical concepts early in medical school through interactive instructional methods. Want to know what our medical students are saying about these new curricular enhancements? Watch this brief video.

A new study by University of Kentucky researchers has identified a novel molecule named Arylquin 1 as a potent inducer of Par-4 secretion from normal cells. Par-4 is a protein that acts as a tumor suppressor, killing cancer cells while leaving normal cells unharmed. Normal cells secrete small amounts of Par-4 on their own, but this amount is not enough to kill cancer cells.

Did you know that you can help others by participating in research? Health-focused research affects every aspect of our lives, from the medications we take to the health of our environment. Researchers are working hard to identify new treatments and strategies to improve the health of our communities, but research needs healthy volunteers and volunteers with medical conditions in order to succeed.

In the waiting room at the UK HealthCare's Pulmonary Rehabilitation Clinic sits a large binder labelled "Success Stories." Inside are pages and pages of testimony from patients who discovered a renewed quality of life as a result of their experience. "I can walk through the mall with my grandkids again," reads one. "Most important thing I've ever done," declares another. But certain words appear repeatedly throughout: encouragement, support, compassion, welcoming.

The University of Kentucky Center for Health Services Research (CHSR), which serves as a connector, catalyst and creator at UK and UK HealthCare, announces the launch of its new website and seeks membership applicants for its efforts in applying research to optimize health care delivery. The CHSR is focused on creating, testing, and scaling next-generation health services research solutions to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of health delivery within Kentucky and beyond.

A team of investigators has made a thought-provoking discovery about a type of cholesterol previously believed to be a "bad guy" in the development of heart disease and other conditions. Jason Meyer, a University of Kentucky M.D.-Ph.D.

Hardin Memorial Health celebrated a new affiliation between its Cancer Care Center and the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center, the state's first and only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center. "The Markey affiliate agreement provides a great opportunity for professional education and training for our staff and physicians," said Hardin Memorial Health President Dennis Johnson.

The University of Kentucky's Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) on the Molecular Basis of Human Disease was recently awarded a third phase of National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for a program to develop its research community and center dedicated to human disease. With this new $1.25 million annual grant, UK's COBRE will build upon achievements of a research development program that initially received NIH support in 2004.