LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 17, 2021) ­— In January 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, declaring more than three million slaves living in the Confederate states to be free, unbeknownst to many of those enslaved. It was not until Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, more than two years later, on June 19, 1865, that the last enslaved U.S. populations were informed of the proclamation. 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 14, 2021) – The University of Kentucky’s Center for Health Equity Transformation (CHET) has awarded pilot funding to support two faculty members’ research aimed at identifying, reducing and eliminating health disparities.

Alzheimer’s disease wreaks emotional havoc on patients, who are robbed of their memories, their dignity, and their lives. About 75,000 Kentuckians who are 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s disease. Nationally, there are nearly six million Americans living with Alzheimer’s. Since that number is expected to rise to nearly 14 million by 2050, Alzheimer’s will likely hit closer to home for many.

Memory Sunday is designated nationally as the second Sunday in June. Memory Sunday was established to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s disease and its impact on the African American community, since their risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease is two to three times higher than white Americans.

Em Neiport, MA, is project manager at the College of Medicine and staff co-chair of the LGBTQ* Advisory Committee.

Q: What are your roles at the UK College of Medicine?

A: I’m a project manager in the College of Medicine. The projects I’ve worked on are so varied and have allowed me to see just how expansive academic medicine really is. It’s fascinating! The best part of my role is having a chance to work with so many amazing people in all areas of the college.

University of Kentucky Provost David Blackwell has announced Dr. Charles “Chipper” Griffith III has been named the acting dean of the UK College of Medicine, effective July 1, 2021.

Griffith will serve as acting dean while Dean Bob DiPaola serves as acting provost, from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022. At that time, DiPaola intends to return to the College of Medicine and Griffith will return to his current roles.

A study by several researchers at the University of Kentucky’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging (SBCoA) was recently highlighted in AlzForum. The study focuses on polyamines, the nitrogen-packed aliphatic molecules produced by our own cells and found in the foods we eat. They have been described by some as anti-aging generators.

Meriem Bensalem-Owen, MD, and Brian Gold, PhD, might not have ever had the chance to work on projects together. Dr. Bensalem-Owen is a physician who spends much of her time at the patients’ bedside, reviewing video-EEG monitoring studies, or in clinic treating patients with epilepsy, and Dr. Gold is a researcher who studies age-related brain and cognitive changes in the lab.

But thanks to the University of Kentucky College of Medicine’s Alliance Research Initiative, they have joined forces to better localize, and ultimately treat, epileptic seizures.

In his 40 years at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Michael T. Piascik, PhD, has mentored hundreds of medical students and graduate students while bringing key funding to the college as a researcher to help produce groundbreaking discoveries in pharmacology.

After a long and distinguished career, Dr. Piascik has announced he will retire, effective July 1.

The Department had twelve publications listed in PubMed for the month of May 2021.

1: Zhang Z, Cheng L, Zhang Q, Kong Y, He D, Li K, Rea M, Wang J, Wang R, Liu J, Li Z, Yuan C, Liu E, Fondufe-Mittendorf YN, Li L, Wang C, Liu X, Han T. Co-Targeting Plk1 and DNMT3a in Advanced Prostate Cancer. Adv Sci (Weinh). 2021 May 29:e2101458. doi: 10.1002/advs.202101458. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34051063.