By Tiffany Molina and Gail Hairston

The connection between two neurons in the brain has been an intriguing topic to Robin Cooper, associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky. Cooper has been at UK for 21 years teaching his true passion: synaptic transmissions. Cooper said he loves it so much that he “often goes on tangents” and has to be reminded by his students to stay on track during lectures.

When he came to Kentucky, Cooper said he noticed there was a need for outreach to the younger community. He started a regional science fair program for young middle and high school students with an interest in science. The program, which has been running for 12 years, has been a success.

“Working with the teachers and students

By Lori Minter

A record number of students made the University of Kentucky Dean's List for the fall 2016 semester. The 7,408 students were recognized for their outstanding academic performance.  That's an increase of more than 200 over the previous record reached in fall 2015 when the number of students on the UK Dean's List surpassed 7,000 for the first time.  Last semester's Dean's List includes over 700 more students than the spring 2016 semester's list.

To make a Dean’s List in one of the UK colleges, a student must earn a grade point average of 3.6 or higher and must have earned 12 credits or more in that semester, excluding credits earned in pass-fail classes.  Some UK colleges require a 3.5 GPA to make the Dean’s List.

The full Dean's List can be accessed by visiting www.uky.edu/PR

By Gail Hairston

Their eyes fill with commitment, their smiles reflect their joy, and Madeline Conrad and Mason Johnson nearly bounce off their chairs with excitement when they talk about the College Mentors for Kids after-school program.

Conrad and Johnson are the University of Kentucky seniors.

They say the third- through fifth-grade children at two Fayette County schools mentored by UK student volunteers “are launched into orbit” when they talk about their visits to the university campus.

Mellie: “UK Mentoring is AWESOME!” (Her capital letters, not the writer’s.) “We get to have mentors and do lots of fun activities.”

Jaxon: “The program helps us to think about what we want to be when we grow up.”

Isobel: “UK Mentoring exposes us to the campus. If we decide to go to UK, then we will already know the land.”

Nyiemah: “Being a part of

A team from the University of Kentucky has received a grant from Kentucky NSF EPSCoR (National Science Foundation Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) for Education and Outreach Activities to fund a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) conference for middle school girls at UK this spring.

The primary goal of the conference, titled “Expanding Your Horizons (EYH),” is to encourage middle school girls to consider STEM studies by providing them with memorable interactive workshop experiences, visible female role models in STEM fields and exposure to different career paths in STEM. EYH seeks to provide middle school girls and their parents an inspiring environment in order to help both groups recognize and pursue opportunities in STEM. The conference will be held April 29 in the Jacobs Science Building.

Ellen Crocker and Bradford

By Amanda Fuller

The Kentucky Academy of Science (KAS) held its 2016 Annual Meeting Nov. 4‐5, at the University of Louisville. More than 700 scientists and students attended the meeting, and hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students from Kentucky and regional colleges and universities participated in the research competitions.

Winners of the student competitions from the University of Kentucky included:

By Jenny Wells

By Jenny Wells

by Jenny Wells, Samantha Ponder

By Caroline Kelsey

By Jenny Wells

By Gail Hairston

By Whitney Harder

By Whitney Harder

By Samantha Ponder

By Whitney Harder

By Mallory Powell

Growing up in Hazard, Kentucky, Brittany Martin was familiar with diabetes. Many of her older relatives had been diagnosed with the chronic condition, and her younger family members were starting to develop it as well. In a state with one of the highest rates of diabetes — 11.3 percent of adults had a diagnosis in 2014 —Martin’s family wasn’t out of the ordinary, but she found the status quo unacceptable.

Since she graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2014 with a dual degree in biology and sociology, Martin’s family history and her interest in health have converged in her current role as coordinator of the Big Sandy Diabetes Coalition (BSDC), where she serves as an AmeriCorps Vista volunteer. The coalition, based at Big Sandy Health Care in Prestonsburg

The Society of Postdoctoral Scholars at the University of Kentucky is hosting a symposium to feature the work of postdoctoral scholars in Kentucky and surrounding areas. The event will feature a keynote presentation by UK's Dr. Hollie Swanson, a professor in the College of Medicine's Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, oral presentations by Kentucky postdocs, a poster session and a panel discussion on interviewing techniques. 

The symposium will allow for the exchange of ideas across a broad range of fields and abstract submissions are welcome from any discipline. Postdocs from Kentucky and Ohio are especially encouraged to submit abstracts and graduate students are also welcome to participate. The objective of the symposium is to share research across many different fields and talks should be general and accessible to an audience outside of the

By Ann Eads

(May 10, 2016) – The University of Kentucky Staff Senate will moderate a debate between staff representative to the Board of Trustees candidates at 2 p.m. Thursday, May 12, in the auditorium of the William T. Young Library.

Anthany Beatty, assistant vice president for public safety at UK, will moderate the debate. Staff members are encouraged to attend or view via the Staff Senate website by visiting https://connect.uky.edu/staffsenate.

The UK Staff Senate invites all university staff to participate in the campaign and election process to help determine the next staff representative to the Board of Trustees. The campaign period begins May 13, 2016. The staff trustee candidates are Mike Adams,