News

Charles “Chipper” Griffith’s workday uniform switched from scrubs to office wear when he graduated residency and joined the University of Kentucky College of Medicine faculty in 1994. Shortly after, he began making a statement with loud, colorful ties. 

Northern Kentucky has always been home for Dillon Powell, a fourth-year medical student at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. Raised in Independence, Ky, he attended Simon Kenton High School and Thomas More University. When the College of Medicine opened its Northern Kentucky Campus in 2019, he knew that was where he wanted to go for medical school. 

The University of Kentucky College of Medicine is pleased to announce that April Hatcher, PhD, has been named assistant dean for foundational sciences. Dr. Hatcher will assume this new role beginning April 1, 2024. 

March is designated as Women’s History Month. To celebrate, we are highlighting women who have made history here at the College of Medicine. Their contributions are diverse, spanning significant research breakthroughs to exemplary patient care and education. 

Jerika Durham is a PhD candidate in the department of toxicology and cancer biology. Durham, who grew up in eastern Kentucky, is not only the first person in her family to pursue such a degree, but the first to attend college at all. 

First-year medical student Chloe Obert is disciplined. She enjoys structure and does not shy away from a challenge. It is why becoming a doctor was a natural career path. But Obert’s road to medicine was nontraditional. When searching for the right undergraduate degree, she felt called to another passion – ballet.

Cheavar Blair, PhD, completed his doctorate in physiology at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in 2017. In 2022, he was recruited back to the department as an assistant professor in the research title series.

We are pleased to announce that CHET is partnering with the mHealth Application Modernization and Mobilization Alliance (MAMMA) to fund two $25,000 grants focused on mHealth projects that help to improve health equity.

The Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics (APGO) recognized Rachel Saunders, MD, as a 2023 APGO Humanism in Teaching Award recipient. Saunders is an associate professor in The UK College of Medicine Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 

Carl Watson, MD, made history as the first Black graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. He earned his doctorate in 1964 as a member of the college’s first graduating class, and his impact in medicine continued through a decades-long career as an obstetrician and gynecologist. 

“English or Español?” Second-year medical student Whitney Weinschenk said asking that simple question elicited sighs of relief from some attendees during a recent community baby shower in Florence, Ky. 

Hollie Swanson, PhD, is a professor in the department of pharmacology and nutritional sciences. She also serves as the director of graduate studies for integrated biomedical sciences and as graduate faculty in nutritional sciences. 

The University of Kentucky will mark a decade of raising awareness and continuing its effort to warn women about the dangers of heart disease with the annual Healthy Hearts for Women Symposium.

As the new director for the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI), Pilar Prather, PhD, strives to build bridges and strengthen a “culture of support” at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine.

From Dec. 8-10, 2023, the UK College of Medicine had the honor of hosting the SNMA Region X Medical Education Conference. 

The UK College of Medicine Department of Behavioral Science launched its White Coats for Black Lives Fellowship in 2021 to enhance medical students’ understanding of health disparities, political and social inequalities, and health care inequities experienced by Black Americans. 

In 2021, diversity and inclusion ambassadors launched an outreach program in collaboration with Frederick Douglass High School’s (FDHS) biosciences academy, an idea conceptualized by Ima Ebong, MD, MS, associate professor and ambassador for the neurology department.

A ceremonial groundbreaking was held Friday for the largest academic building in the history of the University of Kentucky.

The following individuals were honored at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine Awards Convocation on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. Winners included those in Bowling Green, Lexington, Morehead, and Northern Kentucky.

Outstanding Graduate Student Award:
Jamila Tucker, MS

For the third consecutive year, “INSIGHT into Diversity” magazine has recognized the University of Kentucky College of Medicine for its work toward inclusive excellence.