News

The University of Kentucky is tackling many of Kentucky’s toughest health issues through research aimed at making documented, measured progress.

Among the many ongoing examples of UK’s faculty researchers focusing their skills to combat a major health challenge is Jennifer Havens, professor of behavioral science in the UK College of Medicine and a faculty member in the Center on Drug and Alcohol Research.

At the University of Kentucky, multiple innovative biospecimen resources are available to assist research. A video produced by the UK Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) highlights the biospecimen resources offered by the CCTS, the UK Markey Cancer Center, the UK Gill Heart Institute, and the Alzheimer’s Disease Center at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging.

University of Kentucky Professor of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Nancy Webb, Ph.D., has been honored by the American Heart Association with the Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology (ATVB) Distinguished Achievement Award.

The ATVB Council engages scientists and clinicians working to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of heart disease. This annual accolade recognizes a member who has made major contributions to the council and substantial professional contributions to the field.

Cancer-control researchers at the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center and  The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) aim to increase colorectal cancer screening and follow-up care among underserved individuals in Appalachia through a $5.7 million grant from the National Cancer Institute.

The University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging will hold the 9th Annual Markesbery Symposium on Aging and Dementia on Wednesday, Nov. 6.  The scientific session opens with check-in and registration at 8:15 am in Karpf Auditorium, Pavilion A, UK Chandler Hospital 1000 S. Limestone. Speaker presentations begin at 9:30 a.m. and end at noon.

Judged poster session and boxed lunch will be held from 12:15 – 2:30 p.m. in the atrium of the Biomedical/Biological Sciences Research Building (BBSRB) 741 S. Limestone.

This Saturday student researchers in the Markey Cancer Center’s Appalachian Career Training in Oncology (ACTION) program will be recognized on Kroger field. The ACTION program reveals how the University of Kentucky, as a research-intensive university, can help students see what’s possible in their own careers and inspire them to impact their communities.

For two years, University of Kentucky researcher April Young and her team have been onsite in Eastern Kentucky working with community members to assess and gather information on substance use in rural communities for a project known as Kentucky Communities and Researchers Engaging to Halt the Opioid Epidemic, or CARE2HOPE.

Flanked by national leaders in the fight to reduce deaths from opioid use – including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar – the University of Kentucky Monday officially launched the HEALing (Helping End Addiction Long-term) Communities Study – Kentucky.

The University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging has received a five-year, $2.8 million grant to underwrite preclinical efficacy studies of a potential new treatment for dementia. 

The drug candidate, called MW150, targets dysregulated brain inflammation driven by a stress-activated protein called p38aMAPK. The research is novel in that it is exploring efficacy in treating more than one form of dementia at the same time. 

Alzheimer's disease wreaks emotional havoc on patients, who are robbed of their memories, their dignity, and their lives. It’s financially devastating as well: care for Alzheimer's patients is predicted to top $1 trillion by the time children born today are having children of their own.

The University of Kentucky recently received an $8.8 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, to establish a Clinical Research Center as part of the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN) to support research on quality addiction treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) in criminal justice settings nationwide.

A new study by researchers in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences and College of Medicine is featured in Nature Communications this week.

A unique partnership between an engineer and a scientist at the University of Kentucky has produced data that is challenging prevailing wisdom about a potentially life-threatening parasite's behavior and revealing possible targets for treatment.

The University of Kentucky recently received an $8.8 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, to establish a Clinical Research Center as part of the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN) to support research on quality addiction treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) in criminal justice settings nationwide.

Decades of research and treatment advances have helped extend the lives of many people living with HIV, but while these patients live longer, their risk of developing dangerous blood clots increases as much as tenfold. Blood clots – also known as thrombi – can wreak havoc on the body, causing events such as debilitating strokes and heart attacks.

Researchers at the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center have made a breakthrough discovery that solves a mystery long forgotten by science and have identified a potentially novel avenue in pre-clinical models to treat non-small cell lung cancers.

To date, the underlying causes of inflammation in obesity and Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have been poorly understood, which has hampered efforts to develop treatments to prevent complications from a disease that is the third leading cause of death in the United States.

But new research at the University of Kentucky shows that changes to mitochondria — the powerhouse of cells — drive chronic inflammation from cells exposed to certain types of fats, shattering the prevailing assumption that glucose was the culprit.

The University of Kentucky Center of Excellence in Rural Health (CERH) has released the agenda for the fifth annual Appalachian Research Day: Come Sit on the Porch.  The one-day event, which shares results of health research conducted with communities in Appalachia, will be held Wednesday, Sept. 18 at the First Federal Center in Hazard. Registration for the event closes on Sept. 12. 

From the Vice President for Research
Thank you for your vital work to support the UK Research enterprise. We hope this monthly newsletter becomes your source for numbers, highlights, news and people who are making an impact. Please share with your colleagues, and you can opt out through the link at the bottom.

Lisa Cassis, Ph.D.
Vice President for Research

Myrte Nudd is effervescent and chatty as she talks about her schedule. She teaches seniors at the Lexington Senior Center how to use their new cell phones, tablets and laptops, helps out when her church needs food for post-Mass receptions, travels to her grandson's high school graduation and to far-flung places such as western Canada, Europe, New York and even Russia. And by the way, she needs to go now because she's promised to take her twin 16-year old granddaughters on their annual shopping trip.