UK Research Annual Report FY22
FY22 Research Overview
*Based on FY21 R&D expenditures reported to the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey. Rankings released December 2022.
Office of the Vice President for Research Program Highlights
Research Scholars Program
Created in 2020 by the Office of the Vice President for Research and the Center for Health Equity Transformation, the UK Research Scholars Program promotes academic success of scholars underrepresented in their fields. The Research Scholars Program includes three main components: professional development, multilevel mentorship and networking. Six junior faculty members made up the 2022 cohort.
Research Scholar Julie Plasencia (College of Agriculture, Food and Environment) studies diet-related health disparities, particularly in Type 2 diabetes and Hispanic populations and praised the emphasis on scientific and social networking to build community through the program. “When working with the Latinx community, it is important that the research teams engage this community in authentic ways. Through the program, I've been connected with scientists that have successfully done this in Kentucky, where this community is rather small, and they have successfully created authentic partnerships, which is key to addressing health disparities in this community,” said Plasencia.
“I have learned how to form a good mentoring team and how to communicate with my mentoring team,” said Reuben Adatorwovor (College of Public Health) whose research covers dependence models for competing risks data with applications in population-based epidemiological studies.
Fanny Chapelin (College of Engineering) is researching noninvasive MRI methods to track immune cell migration to inflammation sites in transplant rejection, autoimmune diseases and cancer. She credits the Grant-Writing Workshop with honing her skills: “I have written grants on my own but definitely haven’t been successful on the really large grants. So, I want to use this opportunity to improve the ones that I have already worked on and write a brand new R01-type grant for the National Institutes of Health,” said Chapelin.
Postdoctoral Fellowships
The Office of the Vice President for Research supports two postdoctoral fellowships focused on promoting diverse candidates as they become academic leaders in their fields. Fellowship recipients pursue an individualized research program under the mentorship of UK professors and actively participate in activities through the Inclusive Postdoctoral Enrichment Program.
The Lyman T. Johnson Postdoctoral Fellowship was awarded to Shemeka Thorpe (College of Education) whose research includes the sexual well-being and reproductive health of Black women. Thorpe, now an assistant professor in kinesiology and health promotion, said, “I chose to stay at UK because I felt extremely supported. I felt extremely valued, and I felt that my words and my thoughts mattered at UK. I decided to stay at UK to continue to mentor students, but also to continue to do research that would have an impact on the black community.”
Phyllis Johnson (College of Arts and Science) received the University Research Postdoctoral Fellowship. Johnson’s research involves the development and application of computational methods to address difficult archaeological questions surrounding ancient economies, site formation processes and social structure. “The fellowship allowed me to really dive deep into my research. I was able to get several interviews at different universities around the country and was able to land the job of my dreams,” said Johnson, who is now directing the archeology lab at Augustana University in South Dakota.
Celebrating University Research Across the Enterprise (CURATE)
The Office of the Vice President for Research hosted an event Celebrating University Research Across the Enterprise (CURATE) featuring FY22 awardees that included faculty and student researchers in the Colleges of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Arts and Sciences, Fine Arts, Design, Communication and Information, Education, Law, and The Graduate School.
Jeremy Blackburn (Research Communications)
Left: Danica Hak (College of Design, College of Fine Arts, Undergraduate Research Fellow) presented her project “Proscenium.” Hak said, “This work explores the relationship between material, thickness, atmosphere, depth, perception, body, and light while answering the research question: How can interiors surpass the surface level feeling of ‘pretty’ and reach a more complex realm of emotion?”
Right: UK Faculty Brass Quintet (School of Music, College of Fine Arts) Jason Dovel (trumpet, Associate Professor), Abby Temple, (trumpet, Part-time Instructor), Margaret Tung (horn, Assistant Professor), Bradley Kerns (trombone, Associate Professor) and Matthew Hightower (tuba, Assistant Professor). The quintet conducts research through performing, teaching, recording, recruiting and touring.
Jeremy Blackburn (Research Communications)
CURE Fellowships Embed Undergrads in Research Priority Areas
Sixteen undergraduates from five colleges were selected for the Inaugural Commonwealth Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) Fellowship program, sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research and the Office of Undergraduate Research. CURE fellowships empower undergraduates to become leaders in their fields and communities through research within UK’s Research Priority Areas (RPAs): cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and obesity, equity (UNITE), energy, neuroscience and substance use disorder. The CURE Fellows received a $3,000 stipend to support their research during the summer 2022 term.
Scholars@UK
In July 2022, a new online portal called Scholars@UK (scholars.uky.edu) launched to provide access to research expertise and innovation at UK. Developed through a partnership between Elsevier Research Intelligence, the Office of the Vice President for Research, Research Analytics, and Research Information Services, Scholars@UK highlights the breadth and depth of research at UK through individual researcher profiles, network analysis, and direct access to research output and resources. The publicly available, online portal allows users to access information related to published research, literature reviews, grants and contracts, funding sources, intellectual property, and physical university assets such as core facilities and equipment.
2022-2023 University Research Professors
Established by the Board of Trustees in 1976, the University Research Professorships program recognizes excellence across the full spectrum of research at UK. College leadership developed criteria for excellence within their area of expertise and then nominated faculty who excelled at these criteria. Each University Research Professor receives a one-year award of $10,000.
UK Innovate
Launched in 2022, UK Innovate is the innovation, entrepreneurship and economic enterprise for University of Kentucky Research. Through technology commercialization, corporate partnerships, social innovation, innovation training and economic development initiatives related to UK’s research innovations, talent and community, UK Innovate works to move ideas into the world faster, where they can make the greatest social and economic impact possible. UK Innovate hosted the UK Entrepreneur Showcase (where UK faculty innovators, Launch Blue program participants, and UK alumni entrepreneurs showcase their entrepreneurial experiences, technologies and startups), Patent Palooza! (a celebration of UK innovators) and co-hosted the U.S. Innovation Competitiveness Summit. In FY22, UK Innovate received external funding from the Kentucky Economic Development Cabinet for Kentucky Commercialization Ventures (KCV), Awesome Center for Entrepreneurship Inc for Kentucky’s Innovation Hubs, and the Kentucky Economic Development Cabinet for state matching for the Kentucky Network for Innovation & Commercialization (KYNETIC).
Honors and Awards
Julius Schoop and Stephen Ware (College of Engineering) received National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) awards. Schoop received the award for his project “CAREER: Thermomechanical Response and Fatigue Performance of Surface Layers Engineered by Finish Machining: In-situ Characterization and Digital Process Twin” for $507,288 over five years. Ware received the award for his project titled “Structured High-Agency Interactive Narratives for Virtual Environments” for $530,369 over five years.
- News article: NSF-funded Surface Engineering Research to Contribute to Air Safety
- News article: Stephen Ware’s NSF-funded Research Trains Police in De-escalation
Mikhail Koffarnus (College of Medicine) and Candice Hargons (College of Education) were elected as fellows of the American Psychological Association. Koffarnus is a leading expert on environmental factors that contribute to alcohol and tobacco use, specifically the use of contingency management for decreasing substance use. Hargons studies sexual wellness and healing racial trauma. She leads the SAMHSA-funded Neighborhood Healers Project, which seeks to advance mental health literacy and utilization among Black Lexingtonians.
Susan Bordo (College of Arts and Sciences) was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. “The Flight to Objectivity,” Bordo’s first book, is considered a classic of feminist philosophy. Her second book “Unbearable Weight” is a best-seller and draws attention to the profound role of cultural images in the spread of eating problems across class and race.
> See all FY22 Honors and Awards
In FY22, UK was one of 29 institutions in the country with the trifecta of research designations from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for excellence in cancer, aging and translational science.
In FY22, the UK Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) received a $23.5 million, four-year award from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) at the National Institutes of Health. This is the third time the CCTS has successfully competed for the prestigious Clinical and Translational Award (CTSA), with continuous funding since 2011 totaling $65.4 million. The CCTS powers UK’s work to take basic science discoveries to the clinic to advance the most promising new treatments and provide leading-edge care to Kentucky patients.
In FY22, the UK Sanders-Brown Center on Aging received a $14.5 million, five-year award for its Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) program from the National Institute on Aging (NIA). Initially funded in 1985, UK was one of the original 10 ADRCs in the United States and with more than 35 years of continuous funding has established itself as a research leader in Alzheimer’s disease and associated neurodegenerative disorders. By investigating the function of tau, inflammation and astrocytes in Alzheimer’s, Sanders-Brown scientists are on the front line of dementia prevention and care research.
Research Highlights
$14 million NSF grant launches world-class cultural heritage lab at UK
For more than 20 years, Brent Seales (College of Engineering) has worked to create high-tech, non-invasive tools to “read the unreadable” — ancient artifacts such as the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Herculaneum papyrus rolls. Thanks to a $14 million infrastructure grant from the National Science Foundation, Seales and a team of experts from the College of Engineering and the College of Arts and Sciences are expanding their world-class research in cultural heritage science by building EduceLab.
“We’re tackling the broader question of, ‘What heritage science questions can we answer right here in Kentucky?’ Seales said. “My goal is to rally some of the best researchers here around that theme and build a world-class laboratory that allows us to pose and then answer some of those questions.”
EduceLab is a collaborative facility focusing on developing innovative artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for the unique challenges presented by ancient artifacts. EduceLab is housed in UK’s William S. Webb Museum of Anthropology, located on Export Street in Lexington. People will be able to bring artifacts to the facility or have the EduceLab team bring high-tech scanners to remote locations.
- 2022 news article: UK Awarded $14 Million NSF Grant to Launch World-Class Cultural Heritage Lab
- 2023 news article: Discovery made from within 2,000 year-old Herculaneum scrolls
- EduceLab site
NSF Special Creativity Award fuels computer modeling of organic compounds
John Anthony and Chad Risko (College of Arts and Sciences, Center for Applied Energy Research) received a Special Creativity Award from the National Science Foundation to develop computer models that can be used to explore the wide chemical space of organic semiconductors. This prestigious NSF award offers investigators an extended chance to target “high-risk” opportunities in the same general research area, but not necessarily covered by the original grant.
Organic semiconductors, often referred to as plastic electronics, offer important advantages for new electronics and communication devices. The organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) used as the displays in televisions, tablets, smartphones and watches are the foundation of a multi-billion dollar per year industry, but challenges remain for widespread market adoption.
Anthony and Risko are creating a unique, technology-forward concept using organic semiconductors to predict what should be made. “Using computational studies to aid material design has significantly reduced the trial-and-error processes normally required to optimize materials for specific applications. In this case, the design of new materials for light, flexible x-ray detectors will revolutionize quality control in manufacturing and enhance the use of radiation in medical diagnostics and therapies,” Anthony said.
- News article: UK’s Anthony, Risko Receive NSF Special Creativity Award
Overdose Data Informs Research and Public Policy
Terry Bunn (Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center) received $6 million from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for Kentucky Overdose Data to Action, a program that works with local health departments, community stakeholders, and local and statewide agencies to develop evidence-based initiatives that address issues associated with substance use and overdose. The program maintains datasets of emergency department visits, inpatient hospitalizations, death certificates, prescription drug monitoring, and workers’ compensation claims. These data are used to identify specific targets for evidence-based prevention programs, to recruit and retain community stakeholders in the fight against drug overdose, and to help translate research into actionable interventions.
DoD Funds Study on Female Marine Injuries
Researchers from the UK College of Health Sciences are part of a team studying how to prevent injuries and improve warfighter performance in female Marines. Matt Hoch (Sports Medicine Research Institute), along with his investigative team, received a Department of Defense $4 million grant from the United States Office of Naval Research for their three-year study. Musculoskeletal injuries are conditions involving bones, muscles, ligaments, nerves or tendons that frequently result in activity limitations and restricted ability to participate in military occupational and unit requirements. UK researchers partnered with military scientists and clinicians at the Naval Health Research Center and Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton in San Diego, as well as faculty at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.