

Research Priority Areas RPAs
Prioritizing the Future of Our People & Commonwealth
Established in 2018 and funded by the UK Office of the Vice President for Research, the following eight areas are designated Research Priority Areas: cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes & obesity, energy, materials science, neuroscience, substance use disorders, and uniting communities (UNITE). These areas were chosen based on local relevance to Kentucky, existing funding strength, sustainability and disciplinary scholarly diversity.

RPA Program Impact FY23*
-
$4.02 million in expenditures
-
Recruitment of six research-active faculty
-
$1.2 million committed to pilot/seed projects
-
$440,000 committed to research start-up funds
-
$110,000 retention package
-
$518,000 in equipment and core facilities support
-
$331,000 in trainee and student research support
*Estimates based on submitted FY23 Annual RPA Reports
Research Awards by Priority Area
$71
million
Cancer research awards in FY23
$27
million
Cardiovascular research awards in FY23
$49
million
Diabetes & Obesity research awards in FY23
$34
million
Energy research awards in FY23
$29
million
Materials Science research awards in FY23
$75
million
Neuroscience research awards in FY23
$74
million
Substance Use Disorder research awards in FY23
$63
million
UNITE research awards in FY23