On September 28, 2021, the University of Kentucky inducted 27 former students into the 2020 Hall of Distinguished Alumni. The alumni are being honored for their meaningful contributions to the Commonwealth, nation, and the world. The prestigious event, held every five years, was postponed last year due to pandemic restrictions.

The 2020 inductees include Sally K. Mason (’72) who earned a B.A. in Zoology. Sally Mason of Hilton Head, South Carolina, is senior fellow and executive search consultant for the Association of Governing Boards. She is president emerita at the University of Iowa, having served as the 20th university president (2007-2015). Trained as a cell/developmental biologist, she also retired as professor emerita from the UI Department of Biology. Mason served two consecutive terms as a presidential appointee to the National Medal of Science

By Jesi Jones-Bowman

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 28, 2021) — The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research has announced the fourth annual 5-Minute Fast Track student research competition finalists. These undergraduates competed in the competition’s two preliminary rounds and were selected as Top 10 finalists to present their research during the final round on Thursday, Oct. 28, in the Gatton Student Center Worsham Cinema.

Finalists will present their research in five minutes in front of a panel of five judges and a live audience using only a single static slide. This challenges students to develop their academic, presentation and research communication skills while also allowing them to showcase their research in a captivating way.

The

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. –Julie Pendergast, assistant professor of biology in the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts & Sciences, has received a five-year CAREER award for junior faculty researchers from the National Science Foundation. The award is for $875,000. Pendergast’s project, "Deciphering the nueral network orchestrating sex differences in metabolic circadian rhythms“, will help scientists gauge how daily patterns affect obesity. 

CAREER awards are the NSF’s most prestigious awards for early career faculty “who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.” The grants contain both a research and an educational component to supplement the recipients’ teaching duties. 

“The circadian

By Adrian Ho

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 23, 2021) — More than 11,800 students have gained free online access to essential course materials and saved more than $1.48 million in textbook spending from 2017 through 2021, thanks to the University of Kentucky Libraries’ Alternative Textbook Grant Program. The program supports UK faculty to switch from commercial textbooks to openly licensed textbooks, library-licensed information resources or free course content created by grant recipients.

“It is exhilarating to hear that the Alternative Textbook Grant Program has enabled equitable access to learning materials for so many students,” said Deirdre Scaggs, UK Libraries associate dean of

By Richard LeComte

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Lift up a rock by a lake, and you may find planarians: complex, light-hating flatworms that prefer damp, dark hideouts. But what has Elizabeth Duncan so interested in them is their remarkable ability to reconstruct themselves when severed or injured.

“If we cut one of these worms into three pieces, each piece will create an entirely new worm,” said Duncan, assistant professor of biology in the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts & Sciences. “They regenerate a fairly complex body plan.”

That ability may lead Duncan and other researchers to fresh insights into biological regeneration. As a result, she recently earned a five-year, $250,000-a-year National Institute of General Medical Sciences Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award. The award will help her explore how specific enzyme activity affects stem cells’ ability

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Nothing like a baby jaguar caught on camera to get college students screaming with glee.  

These college students – a group of eight – were deep in Central America’s nation of Belize learning how to assess wildlife populations using cameras. Led by Emily Croteau, lecturer in biology in the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts & Sciences, the students hit pay dirt on their first foray into this wild ecosphere this summer. Just getting the cameras in place was an adventure. 

“It was actually really, really exciting, the first time that we went into the jungle to recover our camera traps,” said Quincy Ipsaro, a junior biology major from Cincinnati. “The first day we did probably a seven-to-10-mile hike into the

By Jesi Jones-Bowman

UK undergraduate researchers Bridget Bolt and Gretchen Ruschman. Students are encouraged to explore undergraduate research opportunities at the Research + Creative Experience Expo.

At the University of Kentucky, undergraduates have access to outstanding research and creative work activities led by world-class faculty and staff that promote self-discovery, experiential learning and lifelong achievement.

Explore exciting undergraduate opportunities at the first annual UK Research + Creative Experience Expo 3-5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13, around the Gatton Student Center’s Social Staircase.

“The goal of the Research + Creative Experience Expo is to introduce undergraduates to the diversity of research and creative work conducted at UK,” said Chad Risko, faculty

By Whitney Hale

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 31, 2021) — University of Kentucky Office of Nationally Competitive Awards has announced biology and Lewis Honors College student Kayli Bolton is one of 2021’s 60 recipients to be awarded a scholarship of up to $15,000 from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF). The ASF Scholarship is presented annually to outstanding college students majoring in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM).

A nonprofit organization, ASF was established by the Mercury Astronauts in 1984. Its goal is to aid the U.S. in retaining its world

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 27, 2021) — The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center has honored eight students with its annual research awards. Three graduate students received the James S. Brown Graduate Student Award for Research on Appalachia, and four graduate students and one undergraduate student received the center's Eller and Billings Student Research Award.

“The Appalachian Center is again excited to support a wide range of student research,” said Kathryn Engle, director of the Appalachian Center. “From history to social science to health to the natural sciences, our students are doing groundbreaking work in the region.”

The James S. Brown Graduate Student Award for Research on Appalachia is given to honor

By Elizabeth Chapin

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 21, 2021) — Each summer, the University of Kentucky College of Medicine hosts an intensive, graduate-level research program that sets undergraduates aspiring to become health care providers and scientists on a path to success. 

The Summer Training in Environmental Health and Pharmacological Sciences (STEPS) program was launched five years ago by UK faculty trustee and pharmacology and nutritional sciences Professor Hollie Swanson, Ph.D., as a way to further incorporate her passion for mentorship into her role at UK

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 24, 2021) — It's a question that is critical to families and communities across the Commonwealth — how do we tackle the opioid epidemic?

The University of Kentucky is helping to organize and host the second annual Edward Kremers Seminar in the History of Pharmacy & Drugs in hopes of continuing the conversation surrounding addiction and recovery.

The 2021 “Kreminar” will feature virtual seminars about the history and contemporary status of opiates, opioids and addiction.

“The Cooperative for the Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) is pleased to co-sponsor these events because it is important

By Todd Stoltzfus

The University of Kentucky has named College of Arts & Sciences junior Lauren Hudson Intern of the Year. Hudson, a neuroscience and biology dual major from Edgewood, Kentucky, was honored for her internship work with Nathan Vanderford, assistant director for research at the Markey Cancer Center and assistant professor in the College of Medicine's Department of Toxicology and Cancer Biology.

Hudson’s internship with Vanderford focused on cancer research. Since 2020, Hudson has published seven peer-reviewed journal articles, four as first author. She also co-edited a book, "The Cancer Crisis in Appalachia: Kentucky Students take ACTION" (2020), with Vanderford and has participated in several cancer research presentations. 

“I am not aware of any other undergraduate

By Whitney Hale

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 10, 2021) — The University of Kentucky Office of Nationally Competitive Awards has announced that 10 students and recent graduates have been selected to receive government-funded National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships. In addition, a UK doctoral student and four alumni received honorable mention recognition from the NSF. Among them were several College of Arts & Sciences students.

As part of the five-year fellowship, NSF Fellows receive a three-year annual stipend of $34,000 along with a $12,000 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees for a research-based master's or doctoral degree in a STEM (science, technology

By Whitney Hale

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 19, 2021) — The University of Kentucky Office of Nationally Competitive Awards has announced that three Wildcats — biology students Kayli Bolton, Zoe Hert and Carly Karrick — have been awarded a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship. The UK students are among 410 students nationwide selected to receive the 2021-22 Goldwater Scholarship.

This year's Goldwater Scholars were selected based on academic merit from a field of 1,256 math, science and engineering students who were nominated by the faculties of 438 of the nation's colleges and universities.

The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship

By Jenny Wells-Hosley and Alicia Gregory

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 7, 2021) — As a Research I institution, the University of Kentucky offers its students opportunities to engage in research across all disciplines — and those opportunities aren’t just reserved for graduate and doctoral students.

Many undergraduates participate in research alongside UK’s world-class faculty, with the support of programs like the UK Office for Undergraduate Research, the Chellgren Student Fellows program and the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP). This high impact learning experience allows undergraduates to explore career options, develop problem-solving skills and set themselves apart for graduate or

By Jessica Bowman-Jones

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 16, 2020) — Ten University of Kentucky undergraduate student finalists recently competed in the final round of the third 5-Minute Fast Track Research Oral Competition.

The competition included two virtual preliminary rounds, with the top 10 students advancing to the final championship competition. This year’s final round was hosted in the UK's Worsham Cinema and livestreamed to a virtual audience.

Cultivating students’ presentation and research communication skills, competitors were challenged to present their research in five minutes, using only one static slide, in front of a panel of three judges and a virtual audience.

The top three winners are:

By Elizabeth Chapin

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 9, 2020) — Allan Butterfield, a professor of biological chemistry in the University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences, has been named among the world’s leading Alzheimer’s disease experts by Expertscape, an online base of biomedical expertise.

Butterfield is among the top 0.007% of scholars worldwide based on authorship of Alzheimer’s-related publications indexed in the PubMed database for the past 10 years. He ranks tenth out of nearly 150,000 scholars worldwide and sixth in the U.S.

The Expertscape rankings use an algorithm to identify the most knowledgeable and experienced physicians, clinicians and researchers across more than 29,000 specific topics. The ranking considers

The UK Department of Chemistry and the UK Office for Institutional Diversity have arranged to make the film, Picture a Scientist, available for anyone in the University of Kentucky community to view.

“PICTURE A SCIENTIST chronicles the groundswell of researchers who are writing a new chapter for women scientists. Biologist Nancy Hopkins, chemist Raychelle Burks, and geologist Jane Willenbring lead viewers on a journey deep into their own experiences in the sciences, ranging from brutal harassment to years of subtle slights. Along the way, from cramped laboratories to spectacular field stations, we encounter scientific luminaries - including social scientists, neuroscientists, and psychologists - who provide new perspectives on how to make science itself more diverse, equitable, and open to all.”

Licensed viewers will be

By C. Lynn Hiler T

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 24, 2020) — The University of Kentucky Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence has announced its newest class of 31 Chellgren Student Fellows.  

The Chellgren Center Student Fellows Program aligns with the university’s goal of cultivating undergraduate excellence. By providing experiences that go beyond the classroom, students become prepared for the next phase of their career, whether it be graduate school or a gap year dedicated to service. 

COVID-19 has certainly made for an unprecedented academic year. Students and professors are adhering to mask regulations in the classroom, dining halls are empty and many classes are completely online. In spite of this unexpected turn of events, Philipp Kraemer, Chellgren Chair

By Jacqueline J. Greene

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 18, 2020) — The University of Kentucky Society of Postdoctoral Scholars (SOPS) hosted their first Research Pitch Competition where 19 postdocs and fellows showcased their research with one-minute elevator pitches. Among the winners are Ajoy Aloysius and Kathryn Everson in Biology in the College of Arts & Sciences. 

The competition was a partnership between SOPS and the Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) with support from the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA), and sponsored by the UK International Center