Lexington, Ky. (July 1, 2020) - Beverly May, Dr.P.H., strives to empower rural communities to address the environmental issues that concern their health. As a family nurse practitioner in Appalachian Kentucky, May witnessed firsthand the environmental health effects caused by coal mining and natural gas drilling in the region.

Click here to read the full article on the NIEHS Partnerships for Environmental Public Health website.

Since being selected as the University of Kentucky’s first Bell Addiction Medicine Scholar, Sarah Tully Marks, MD, has been hard at work creating additional educational opportunities for residents in the department of family and community medicine. In early April, she piloted the first section of a new curriculum aimed at developing residents’ skills, knowledge, and understanding so they can more comprehensively treat future patients with substance use disorders.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 14, 2020) — Dennis E. Doherty, MD, professor emeritus of medicine at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, has recently been named president of one of the world’s largest networks of global experts in science and health.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 14, 2020) — A new study by researchers at the University of Kentucky identifies a novel function of the enzyme spermine synthase (SMS) to facilitate colorectal cancer growth.

SMS is an enzyme that produces spermine from spermidine, which has been shown to be important for cell growth. However, excessive accumulation of spermidine can have harmful effects on cell viability. How cancer cells maintain a relatively high level of spermidine but below the toxic threshold to facilitate tumor growth is not well understood.

Drs. Li and Williams, in collaboration with physicians and faculty from the Department of Communication at the University of Kentucky, published findings from a study on the Interprofessional Teamwork Innovation Model in the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety.

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Jian Fu has been appointed to serve as a member of the NIH Innate Immunity and Inflammation Study Section, for the term beginning July 2020 and ending June 2024. NIH study section members are selected on the basis of their demonstrated competence and achievement in their scientific discipline as evidenced by the quality of research accomplishments, publications in scientific journals, and other significant scientific activities, achievements and honors.
Congratulations to Dr. Alexandra Arenas on a Successful Defense! Dr. Arenas successfully defended her PhD thesis on July 9, 2020. Also, congratulations to her mentor, Dr. Haining Zhu, and her other committee members. A special thanks to the outside examiner, Dr. Henry LeVine.

On Wednesday, July 8 2020 Jonathan 'Mike' Grossheim successfully defended his dissertation and earned his PhD. Congratulations, Dr. Grossheim!

REMODELING IN THE ACTIN CORE OF THE AUDITORY HAIR CELL STEREOCILIA AS A NOVEL COMPONENT OF TEMPORARY NOISE-INDUCED HEARING LOSS