By Lindsay Travis 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 25, 2024) — A team of researchers at the University of Kentucky and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital is exploring the science behind how spiny mice can regenerate lost tissue and using what they learn to trigger regeneration in other types of mice. These advances may one day benefit into humans.

Whereas adult laboratory mice heal injuries with scar tissue, spiny mice can regrow lost skin and regenerate musculoskeletal tissues in their body.  

Ashley W. Seifert, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Biology in the UK College of Arts and Sciences, and his research group have

By Steve Shaffer, Vendela Norris, and Jenny Wells-Hosley

Video produced by UK Public Relations and Strategic Communications and Marketing and Brand Strategy. To view captions for this video, push play and click on the CC icon in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. If using a mobile device, click on the "thought bubble" in the same area.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 13, 2023) — For graduating senior Devin Thompson, the University of Kentucky educational experience began long before his freshman year.

As a middle schooler in 2014, the

By Haven L. Patrick 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 30, 2023) — The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research recently announced the 15 undergraduate winners of the 59th annual Oswald Research and Creativity awards. Chad Risko, faculty director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, and Research Ambassadors congratulated the winners and distribute the awards.

Established in 1964 by then-President John Oswald, the Oswald Research and Creativity Competition encourages undergraduate research and creative activities across all fields of study.

Categories are:

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- To get a National Institutes of Health research internship, college students need to look through a website and find an investigator to take them on. University of Kentucky junior Lilly Bauer did just that — she spent the summer of 2023 working in the lab of Carole Bewley in Maryland.  

"I've always heard of the National Institutes of Health, and I know it’s a very. big deal in the science community," said Bauer, a junior biology major in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences. “The cool thing I liked about the NIH internship is that you reach out to the principal investigators yourself. You’re on your own to get accepted. I am really interested in microbiology, so I looked under microbiology

By Lindsay Travis 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 3, 2023) — From bettering life here on Earth to exploring what living off this planet could be like, Beckman Scholars at the University of Kentucky are advancing their branches of science through the prestigious program. 

The UK Beckman Scholars Program is named Scholars United by Chemistry: Cultivating Excellence through Science Stewardship. The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation funds 15 months of mentored research for two UK undergraduate students in chemistry, biological sciences and associated interdisciplinary combinations.

SUCCESS is an extensive multidisciplinary program that revolves around chemistry as

Angela Grace Jones graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2020 with a double major in chemistry and biology. She is a graduate student in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at Duke University. This interview is part of a series conducted by the department called, “UK Chemistry Alumni: Where Are They Now?” This interview was coordinated by Arthur Cammers.

Arthur Cammers: Tell us about what it was like to double major in Chemistry and Biology for those students who are considering it. Was it challenging? Where you are now in your career, are both perspectives pertinent?

Angela Jones: It wasn’t the easiest thing to do, but the two majors connect together very well. From a practical point of view, a lot of my chemistry classes counted as biology electives and vice versa. From a scientific standpoint, I

By A Fish  

LEXINGTON, Ky –  University of  Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences’ Ambassador Halle Harned is majoring in biology on the pre-med track with the goal of becoming a cardiothoracic surgeon. Her mother went to UK, and she has several family members here who “bleed Blue.” Her background, her family’s health, and her high school experiences led her to pursue her goal.  

“I've always wanted to do medicine,” Harned said. “I was adopted from China, and I had a lot of health concerns as a child, which led me to go into medicine. The cardiothoracic aspect emerged when I took biomedical classes during my high school career. I also took anatomy and physiology, and I gravitated toward medicine.  

“Then it really hit home because my dad's side of the family has many heart concerns, and one of his older

By Jesi Jones-Bowman 

LEXINGTON Ky. (Oct. 25, 2023) — The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research has announced the fifth annual 5-Minute Fast Track student research competition finalists. These undergraduates competed in the competition’s preliminary round and were selected as Top 10 finalists. They presented their research Oct. 26 on campus. 

Abigail Knoy, a senior Lewis Honors College member and neuroscience major in UK's College of Arts and Sciences, won first place. Knoy's mentor is Myunghee Kim, Ph.D., Pigman College of Engineering

By Whitney Hale

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 4, 2023) — Isha Chauhan, a biology major in the University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences and Lewis Honors College student from La Grange, Kentucky, will receive one of 68 Astronaut Scholarships this year and has and completed a DAAD RISE research internship in Germany.

“These awards have given me the opportunity to connect with diverse groups of people and develop cross-cultural relationships,” Chauhan said. “I am so thankful to have received the chance to explore my future career through these unique experiences.”

As an Astronaut Scholar, Chauhan will receive up to $15,000 from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.. The scholarship is presented annually to outstanding college students majoring

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Sarah Tishkoff, the David and Lyn Silfen University Professor in Genetics and Biology at the University of Pennsylvania, will deliver the annual Thomas Hunt Morgan Lectures at the University of Kentucky. 

The first lecture, “African Integrative Genomics: Implications for Health and Disease,” will be at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, in room 116 at the Thomas Hunt Morgan Biological Sciences Building on the UK campus. The second, “Human Evolution and Adaptation in Africa,” will be at 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 6, in the W.T. Young Library Auditorium. The events are free and open to the public.  

In addition, a reception for alumni will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, at the Thomas Hunt Morgan House, 210 N. Broadway in Lexington.

By Jesi Jones-Bowman 

The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) at the University of Kentucky has selected 26 outstanding undergraduates for the 2023-24 Undergraduate Research Ambassador program.

The program’s mission is to increase awareness and create opportunities for students to actively engage in research. Ambassadors must demonstrate academic excellence, leadership potential and be involved in mentored research. This year's ambassadors represent six colleges, 21 disciplines and 18 research areas.

The student leaders’ goal is to make undergraduate research more accessible. Ambassadors will promote undergraduate research involvement and opportunities through student outreach and program

By C. Lynn Hiler 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 25, 2023) — The Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence recently named 34 new fellows, five endowed professorships and three faculty fellows.

The Chellgren Student Fellows Program is open to all majors and takes place during the student’s second year at UK. During this time, students receive help understanding the process of research within their discipline, a research mentor to oversee a spring research project and assistance in preparing for the next phase of their career. Student Fellows also benefit from a variety of extracurricular events designed to broaden cultural and intellectual horizons. Among them are: 

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 7, 2023) — Ann Morris, a professor in the Department of Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky, is one of 16 University Research Professors for 2023-24.  

The University Research Professorships honor faculty members who have demonstrated excellence that addresses scientific, social, cultural and economic challenges in our region and around the world.  

College leadership develop criteria for excellence within their area of expertise and then nominate faculty who excelled at these criteria. Each

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Each year the College of Arts & Sciences presents faculty teaching, mentoring and service awards, including four Outstanding Teaching Awards in the divisions of Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural & Mathematical Sciences and one for lecturers. These awards recognize excellence and outstanding contribution both in undergraduate and graduate teaching. 

The recipients for 2023 are:  

Outstanding Teaching Awards 

Humanities: 

Peter Kalliney, Department of English: Outstanding Teaching Award. 

Francie Chassen-Lopez, Department of History: Career Award. 

Natural and Mathematical Sciences: 

Bertram Guillou, Department of Mathematics: Outstanding Teaching Award. 

Behavioral and Social Sciences: 

Department of Biology Outreaching to the Community

June 15, 2023 

Within the last two weeks, elementary and middle schools involved with the UK STEM Camp run out of the College of Education sent approximately 200 students to engage in activities with the Department of Biology.  The STEM Camp (https://education.uky.edu/stem/camp/) has been running since 2010, and Biology professor Dr. Robin Cooper and his students have been involved with it for a number of years. 

This year allowed students to develop hands-on experience with laboratory investigation around the theme of bioelectricity.  Participants were able to record electrical activity from plants, their own bodies, and electrical circuits to understand how electricity is created, as well as to develop an

The Knights Templar Eye Foundation is dedicated to funding research into the prevention and treatment of sight threatening diseases in children. Each year, the foundation invites proposals for funding of research related to pediatric ocular disorders. Dr. Sumanth Manohar, a postdoctoral research scholar working in the lab of Dr. Ann Morris in UK’s Department of Biology, was one of 25 scientists selected to receive this funding in 2023-2024. 

Manohar will be investigating the function of the CHD7 gene during retinal development and how mutations in CHD7 cause the ocular complications associated with CHARGE syndrome. Manohar hopes to elucidate the mechanisms of action of CHD7 in the retina using the zebrafish model; the results of this work could eventually lead to better therapeutic approaches for the vision problems of individuals with CHARGE syndrome.

 “Dr.

By Susan Cantrell, Camille Harmon and Trey Conatser 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 30, 2023) — Transdisciplinary Educational approaches to advance Kentucky, or TEK, challenges faculty and students to engage with complex, multidimensional and context-specific issues. Some have described these issues as “wicked problems” that exceed the capacity of any one framework, approach or perspective to provide an adequate or lasting solution. Moreover, TEK leverages these issues for students to develop essential employability skills, including the highly valued abilities to engage multiple points of

By Jesi Jones-Bowman 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 8, 2023) — The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research  has chosen 20 undergraduates for the 2023 Commonwealth Undergraduate Research Experience Fellowship program.

Sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate Research and the Office of the Vice President for Research, the CURE Fellowship program helps undergraduates to become leaders for their respective communities by providing opportunities to develop knowledge and skills through research within six of UK’s Research Priority Areas: cancer, cardiovascular health, diversity and inclusion

By Lindsay Travis 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 2, 2023) — On Friday, the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees approved 16 University Research Professors for the 2023-24 academic year. Established by the Board of Trustees in 1976, the program recognizes excellence across the full spectrum of research at UK.

“The Commonwealth and university continue to benefit from the work and

By Lindsay Travis 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 26, 2023) — Research at the University of Kentucky is looking to nature to understand cellular processes that allow lost tissue to regenerate in spiny mice — processes that might lie dormant in humans.

Ashley Seifert,  an associate professor in the UK College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Biology, teamed up with scientists in Germany and the Netherlands to examine how identical injuries in two different rodent species lead to regenerative healing in one case but not the other.

The paper, published today in Science Advances, compared tissue healing in