More than 200 people attended the Fourth Annual Appalachian Research Day on April 18 in Hazard, Ky.

Better delivery of medications to treat opioid use disorder (OUD) is key to addressing the opioid crisis and helping the 2.6 million Americans affected by the disease.

While FDA-approved medications are effective for treating persons with OUD, including buprenorphine, methadone and naltrexone, each has its own unique barriers that impact patient access to care. 

The University of Kentucky Brain Restoration Center team performed the first-ever Deep Brain Stimulation surgery for a Parkinson’s disease

Jamie Ward, Undergraduate Medical Education Coordinator for UK Department of Surgery, was invited to deliver a keynote address to other coordinators and administrators during the Association for Surgical Education’s annual conference in Austin, Texas. She spoke about maintaining good work-life balance while still being a dedicated employee.

When Dr. J. Thomas Murphy moved to the United States in 2002 to practice medicine as an anesthesiologist, he'd never even heard of the opioid drug Vicodin. Originally from Canada, Murphy completed his medical education and training at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia before moving to Saudi Arabia to work as a cardiac anesthesiologist. When he came to the University of Kentucky, he saw the impacts of the opioid epidemic time and again in the cardiac operating room and would eventually feel called to join the fight.

The University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center recently held its ninth annual Markey Cancer Center Research Day, highlighting the work of UK students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty from the past year.

Research Day provides an opportunity for investigators to showcase their work and also view the work of their colleagues across the campus. Markey researchers are housed all across the University, spanning eight colleges and 28 departments.

Jean Edward, PhD, RN, was awarded $15,000 from the College of Nursing Pilot Research Program to fund her study titled “Examining availability of health system and community-based programs aimed at promoting health insurance literacy and informed healthcare decision making among rural, Appalachian consumers.” Surveys, key informant interviews and focus groups will be collected from providers and information intermediaries, such as community health workers and other outreach workers, serving Appalachian communities.

The Laboratory of Dr. Lisa Cassis within the University of Kentucky (UK) School of Medicine in the Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences is seeking to fill a Postdoctoral Research Scientist position in the area of vascular biology.