By Olaoluwapo Onitiri 

LEXINGTON, Ky. – In October 2021, The University of Kentucky announced the top 10 finalists for the fourth annual 5-minute Fast Track competition. Run by the Office of Undergraduate Research, the 5-Minute Fast cultivates students’ presentation and research communication skills and challenges them to describe their research within five minutes.  

UK College of Arts & Sciences students Lauren Hudson and Lexi Nolletti were among the finalists. They shared their experiences with the event and their research topics at UK. 

Q: Could tell us a little about yourselves? 

Hudson: “I am a senior neuroscience and biology dual degree with plans to attend UK College of Medicine in the fall. Living

By Kate Maddox

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 16, 2022) — Throughout March for Women’s History Month, the University of Kentucky is spotlighting Women Making History. These women are leading their fields of research, crossing traditional academic boundaries and impacting Kentucky’s most pressing challenges, including opioid use disorder treatment, aging and Alzheimer’s, water and air filtration, environmental impacts on health and suicide prevention.  

They are mentoring the next generation of women scientists and scholars, curating stories and creating artworks illuminating who we are. Their work and voice shape the University of Kentucky.  

On this “Wildcat Wednesday,” UK celebrates Lauren Hudson, a junior majoring in neuroscience and biology, from Villa Hills, Kentucky.  

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 2, 2022) — Throughout March for Women’s History Month, the University of Kentucky is spotlighting Women Making History. These women are leading their fields of research, crossing traditional academic boundaries and impacting Kentucky’s most pressing challenges including opioid use disorder treatment, aging and Alzheimer’s, water and air filtration, environmental impacts on health and suicide prevention. 

They are mentoring the next generation of women scientists and scholars, curating stories and creating artworks illuminating who we are. Their work and voices shape the University of Kentucky. 

On this Wildcat Wednesday, UK celebrates Kayli Bolton, a junior majoring in biology in the 

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 22, 2022) — Axolotls are no strangers at the University of Kentucky.

For nearly 20 years, labs across the UK campus have studied the axolotl — a type of salamander native to Mexico — due to its ability to regenerate body parts, including limbs, tail and even the spinal cord. By studying axolotls, researchers at UK, and around the world, hope to one day develop therapies that may help humans regenerate their own tissue. 

One of the reasons the axolotl is so fascinating in regenerative research is because of its paedomorphy, which is the retention of juvenile characteristics into adulthood. Instead of metamorphosizing and moving from water to land like other salamander species, the axolotl continues living in water its entire life. Being

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- S-STEM, a new program funded by a $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation, will provide four years of scholarship support for up to 15 qualifying incoming biology or neuroscience majors a year in the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Kentucky. The average scholarship amount will be $5,000 a year, depending on financial need, going up to $10.000. 

“The goal of the project is to increase recruitment and retention of talented undergraduates majoring in biology and neuroscience at UK who have unmet financial need,” said Jennifer Osterhage, assistant professor in the Department of Biology and coordinator of the effort. “We will accomplish this goal by recruiting these students to actively participate in an integrated set of high impact curricular and co-curricular activities throughout

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 15, 2022) — Now in its third year, the University of Kentucky’s SPARK (Students Participating as Ambassadors for Research in Kentucky) Program gives an introduction to health equity research to students from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in research. And there’s something extra special about its newest cohort of participants — it includes students not only from UK but also from Kentucky State University. Among the students selected are three majors in the College of Arts & Sciences. 

“From our first two cohorts, we had proof of concept and strong feedback on what was successful or not. We felt it was a good time to grow,” said SPARK

By Jesi Jones-Bowman

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 11, 2022) — Ten undergraduate researchers from the University of Kentucky have been chosen to present their research at the 2022 Posters-at-the-Capitol event on March 3 at the Kentucky state Capitol in Frankfort. Now in its 20th year, this event will have more than 100 student representatives from across the state displaying the results of their research and scholarly or creative work. Among them are three students connected to the College of Arts & Sciences. 

Posters-at-the-Capitol is an event hosted collaboratively by Eastern Kentucky University, Kentucky Community and Technical College System, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, University of Kentucky,

By Alicia Gregory and Rob Theakston 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 31, 2022) — The University of Kentucky has been named a 2022 Beckman Scholars Program Award winner. The award will create a new program focusing on diversity and equity in undergraduate research — Scholars United by Chemistry: Cultivating Excellence through Science Stewardship (SUCCESS). This invitation-only program for top-tier research institutions provides a 15-month mentored research experience for exceptional undergraduate students in chemistry, biological sciences and associated interdisciplinary combinations.

“The University of Kentucky is honored to have been invited by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation to apply for this award," said UK President Eli Capilouto. "It is a testament to the research-

By Elizabeth Chapin

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 9, 2021) — Spiny mice, known for their ability to regrow lost skin, also may be able to preserve injured cardiac tissue according to a new study conducted by a research team from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and College of Arts & Sciences.

The research, published in Nature Regenerative Medicine, shows  this mammalian species can grow new blood vessels and reduce cardiac tissue damage after a heart attack, making it a promising new model for cardiac research, said Ashley Seifert, an associate professor in the Department of Biology.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, causing about one in four deaths. The most common

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 1, 2021) — The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center will showcase the work of student researchers through its Sharing Work on Appalachia in Progress series starting next week. The series will run through the Spring 2022 semester.

Many of the presenting students are supported through the center’s James S. Brown Graduate Student Awards for Research on Appalachia and the UK Appalachian Center Eller & Billings Student Research Awards.

The presenting researchers represent four colleges and seven departments from across UK’s campus.

“We look forward to

By Jesi Jones-Bowman

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 23, 2021) — The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research recently announced 18 undergraduate winners of the 57th annual Oswald Research and Creativity Awards. Chad Risko, faculty director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, and several research ambassadors were on hand to congratulate the winners and distribute the awards.

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

Categories include biological sciences, design (architecture, landscape architecture and interior design), fine arts (film, music, photography, painting and sculpture

By Carlie Laughlin

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 11, 2021) — University of Kentucky students, faculty and staff from every area of campus are leading exciting, sustainability-focused programs. These programs provide high-impact research and learning opportunities for students and faculty, have significant positive environmental and economic impacts on operations, and provide resources and support for a foundation of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion at UK and across the Commonwealth. 

The 2021 Sustainability Showcase, hosted in the innovative and community-facing Cornerstone Exchange, highlighted the university's accomplishments in student engagement, athletics, health care, campus operations and interdisciplinary scholarship. A brief award presentation also honored the recipients of

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