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Henrietta Lacks’s “HeLa” cells continue to influence scientific discovery even after her death from cancer in 1951. These cells have been used to study cancer growth, learn more about viruses, and study drug effects on the body. They even helped develop the polio vaccine.

The UK College of Medicine’s Women in Medicine and Science (WIMS) will host its sixth annual Visiting Professor Program, also known as “WIMS Day,” this fall as a virtual program. The event will serve as an opportunity for faculty, staff, and learners to network, develop their career skills, and learn about the strides women have made in medicine and science.

Rosalind Ritchie, MD, is a professor in the University of Kentucky College of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology and was recently named chair of the college’s Faculty of Color Network, an organization with a vision of being undeniable, uncompromising, and unstoppable in pursuing diversity and inclusion. She enrolled in the first class of UK’s Women’s Executive Leadership Development Program and is the medical director of UK Chandler Hospital’s Center for Advanced Surgery.

When flipping through almost any medical textbook or research publication, one will find that paragraphs of text are typically broken up with elaborate graphics illustrating the complex scientific processes and information.

These graphics are the work of medical illustrators, professional artists with advanced training in both science and visual communication. The University of Kentucky College of Medicine has two, Thomas Dolan and Matthew Hazzard, who are instrumental in their ability to enhance medical instruction, patient education, and research within the college.

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.

The University of Kentucky’s six health colleges and UK HealthCare hosted a unified event on Friday afternoon to recognize racism as a public health crisis and show commitment to social justice. Faculty, staff, and learners met in the Jacobs Science Building courtyard to stand safely in solidarity as they listened, learned, and later knelt together for 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence to honor the memory of Black lives lost to racist violence. Stephanie White, MD, MS, associate dean for diversity and inclusion at the College of Medicine, emceed the event.

As a young student who was proficient in science, Dr. Eseosa Ighodaro, always saw herself pursuing a career in medicine. But it wasn’t until applying to medical school that she discovered there was another path she wanted to follow.

William W. Stoops, PhD, professor within the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, has been elected as president of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD), the longest standing group in the U.S. dedicated to addressing issues of drug dependence and abuse.

The University of Kentucky College of Medicine hosted its first annual Faculty of Color Network gala on Friday, Oct. 18. The gala, themed Undeniable, Uncompromising, Unstoppable: Celebrating Diversity in Medicine and the Community, was held at The Campbell House in Lexington, Ky.