Department of Biology Outreaching to the Community

June 15, 2023 

Within the last two weeks, elementary and middle schools involved with the UK STEM Camp run out of the College of Education sent approximately 200 students to engage in activities with the Department of Biology.  The STEM Camp (https://education.uky.edu/stem/camp/) has been running since 2010, and Biology professor Dr. Robin Cooper and his students have been involved with it for a number of years. 

This year allowed students to develop hands-on experience with laboratory investigation around the theme of bioelectricity.  Participants were able to record electrical activity from plants, their own bodies, and electrical circuits to understand how electricity is created, as well as to develop an

By Meredith Daugherty 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 9, 2023) — University Press of Kentucky authors and UK English professors Crystal Wilkinson and Frank X Walker, along with illustrator Ronald W. Davis (upfromsumdirt), are featured in the new Hulu documentary and travel show, "Searching for Soul Food.”

The three can be seen in the show’s third episode, “Appalachia,” which “uncovers the heart and humanity behind the food of the people.” The episode features Wilkinson and Davis cooking and meeting in their home with host

By Lindsey Piercy 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 8, 2023) — Elizabeth Williams, an assistant professor in the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, is one of 10 winners to receive the University of Kentucky’s 2022-23 Outstanding Teaching Awards.

These awards identify and recognize individuals who demonstrate special dedication to student achievement and who are successful in their teaching. Recipients were selected via nomination and reviewed by a selection committee based in the UK Provost’s Office for Faculty Advancement

"Few people are working harder to make gaming and tech more equitable than Dr. Gray herself. Her deep study of issues around race and gender in gaming has led to the publication of several books including Race, Gender, and Deviance in Xbox Live and Intersectional Tech: Black Users in Digital Gaming."

"'Her writing and academic work in this space is invaluable, and as an intellectual, she can hang with the best of them.' Intersectional Tech, for instance, dense with stimulating ideas, begins

By A Fish 

LEXINGTON; Ky. — Scarred sea creatures and elementary geography usually don’t go together, they do in the mind — and the book — of University of Kentucky doctoral student Bethany Craig. She has taken her research about the connections between scars and geography and applied it to a children's book about three sea creatures to make her research accessible to people outside of academia and to comfort children who undergo surgery. 

“My research is all about how the body connects us to certain places and times, and I do that specifically through looking at scars,” she said. “I'm sure that when you look at your scars you remember exactly where you were, how old you were, what you were doing and all the events surrounding it. Scars kind of act as little like placeholders for times and places in our lives. 

“I decided to

The Knights Templar Eye Foundation is dedicated to funding research into the prevention and treatment of sight threatening diseases in children. Each year, the foundation invites proposals for funding of research related to pediatric ocular disorders. Dr. Sumanth Manohar, a postdoctoral research scholar working in the lab of Dr. Ann Morris in UK’s Department of Biology, was one of 25 scientists selected to receive this funding in 2023-2024. 

Manohar will be investigating the function of the CHD7 gene during retinal development and how mutations in CHD7 cause the ocular complications associated with CHARGE syndrome. Manohar hopes to elucidate the mechanisms of action of CHD7 in the retina using the zebrafish model; the results of this work could eventually lead to better therapeutic approaches for the vision problems of individuals with CHARGE syndrome.

 “Dr.

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The University of Kentucky’s Air Force ROTC commissioned 15 Second Lieutenants on May 4. Capt. Nichole Nicholson, recruitment officer at UK’s Air Force ROTC and assistant professor of aerospace studies, has identified four cadets who have excelled in their training.  

“All four of these women have been great examples of innovation, hard work and dedication in helping to push our cadet wing forward,” Nicholson said. “I know they’ll each continue to do the same when they enter active duty.” 

These soon-to-be-commissioned officers have a variety of backgrounds and majors — everything from nursing to Arabic. They exemplify what’s wildly possible for students wishing to pursue military studies at UK.  

Julia Acevedo, Hurricane, West Virginia; neuroscience major

By Brian Carrico 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 2, 2023) — The University of Kentucky recognized exceptional faculty and teaching assistants with the Outstanding Teaching Awards during the 2023 UK Faculty Awards Ceremony held Wednesday, April 26 in the J. David Rosenberg College of Law's Grand Courtroom.

The Outstanding Teaching Awards were established by the Provost to reward and encourage excellence in teaching. Selected via nomination, candidates were reviewed by a selection committee empaneled by the Center for Enhancement of Learning and Teaching in the Office for Faculty Advancement.

As the state’s flagship, land-grant university, our teaching mission is critical to the success and well-

By Susan Cantrell, Camille Harmon and Trey Conatser 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 30, 2023) — Transdisciplinary Educational approaches to advance Kentucky, or TEK, challenges faculty and students to engage with complex, multidimensional and context-specific issues. Some have described these issues as “wicked problems” that exceed the capacity of any one framework, approach or perspective to provide an adequate or lasting solution. Moreover, TEK leverages these issues for students to develop essential employability skills, including the highly valued abilities to engage multiple points of

By Jenny Wells-Hosley 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 25, 2023) — Angela Hanson, Ph.D., a former University of Kentucky teaching assistant and May 2023 graduate from the UK Department of Mathematics in the College of Arts and Sciences, is one of 10 winners of UK’s 2022-23 Outstanding Teaching Awards.

These awards identify and recognize individuals who demonstrate special dedication to student achievement and who are successful in their teaching. Recipients were selected via nomination and reviewed by a selection committee based in the UK Provost’s Office for Faculty Advancement and the Center for the

By Jesi Jones-Bowman 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 25, 2023) — Five University of Kentucky students have been selected for the Sustainability Summer Research Fellowship program, a high-impact learning experience that contributes to the students’ academic growth as well as sustainability-focused research initiatives at UK and in the community.

As a learning institution, UK engages in sustainable practices by collaborating with faculty, staff and students across all colleges and departments. The Sustainability Research Fellowship is a collaborative program coordinated by the Office of Undergraduate Research and sponsored by the 

By Robby Hardesty 

UK Libraries has recognized seniors Seth Garcia and Anna Watrous with the 2023 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Scholarship. The annual prize celebrates exceptional and original scholarship in a traditional paper and a media or digital project, and is awarded to students whose research makes substantive and creative use of UK Libraries’ collections, services and resources.

Garcia, a history, anthropology, and secondary social studies education major, was awarded for “A Peculiar Institution: White Supremacy and the Black Guides of Mammoth Cave.”

Analyzing mid- to late-19th century diaries, guidebooks and travelers’ accounts, Garcia examined the white perspective of

By Ryan Girves

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 18, 2023) — Weiss Mehrabi, a doctoral candidate and teaching assistant in the College of Arts & Sciences, is one of 10 winners to receive the University of Kentucky’s 2022-23 Outstanding Teaching Awards. 

These awards identify and recognize individuals who demonstrate special dedication to student achievement and who are successful in their teaching. Recipients were selected via nomination and reviewed by a selection committee based in the UK Provost’s Office for Faculty Advancement and the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching.

"I’m incredibly surprised, humbled and

By Daniel Flener 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 16, 2023) — The Office of the Vice President for Research and the University of Kentucky International Center  have announced the first cohort of UKinSPIRE fellows. UKinSPIRE is an internal funding opportunity for UK faculty, jointly funded by the OVPR and UKIC, intended to stimulate high-impact research projects in any discipline linking UK faculty and international collaborators and to establish collaborations with new international partner institutions or add greater depth to existing institutional partnerships.

Among them is Hugo Reyes-Centeno, assistant professor of anthropology in UK's College of Arts & Sciences. His project is “Resolving the Austronesian Problem:

By Jenny Wells-Hosley 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 12, 2023) — The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center is honoring 11 students with its annual research awards.

Eight graduate students received the James S. Brown Graduate Student Award for Research on Appalachia, and one graduate student and two undergraduate students received the center's Eller and Billings Student Research Award.

"The Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies Program are thrilled to support these students and their summer work,” said Kathryn Engle, director of the center. “This group of students represents a range of disciplines and research interests. Thank you to the research mentors and advisers from across the university that are

By Meg Mills

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 11, 2023) — Katie Kohls, a graduate instructor in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, is one of 10 winners to receive the University of Kentucky’s 2022-23 Outstanding Teaching Award.

These awards identify and recognize individuals who demonstrate special dedication to student achievement and who are successful in their teaching. Recipients were selected via nomination and reviewed by a selection committee based in the UK Provost’s Office for Faculty

By Jenny Wells-Hosley 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 9, 2023) — The University of Kentucky Department of Sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences has awarded Aaron Thompson, Ph.D., president of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, with the Thomas R. Ford Distinguished Alumni Award. The award is given to doctoral alumni who have distinguished themselves in a sociological career.

Thompson was presented with the award during the department’s annual awards ceremony

By Jesi Jones-Bowman 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 8, 2023) — The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research  has chosen 20 undergraduates for the 2023 Commonwealth Undergraduate Research Experience Fellowship program.

Sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate Research and the Office of the Vice President for Research, the CURE Fellowship program helps undergraduates to become leaders for their respective communities by providing opportunities to develop knowledge and skills through research within six of UK’s Research Priority Areas: cancer, cardiovascular health, diversity and inclusion

By A Fish 

LEXINGTON; Ky. — Writer Kasimma traveled to Croatia in 2022 to promote “Portret Za Dar-Mar,” the Croatian translation of her book, “All Shades of Iberibe.” The book is a collection of short stories mostly about Igbo people.  

Every short story gives different perception into facets of life in Nigeria as well as her feelings as a devout feminist and her complex feelings towards religions. 

“I wrote ‘All Shades of Iberibe’ from a place of love, deep love, for Igbo,” said Kasimma, who is from Igboland in Nigeria. “The Pula Book Fair is the biggest festival of books in Croatia. The organizers of the book fair read my book, liked it, and wanted me to come talk about the book.” 

Kasimma was flattered to be invited to the Book Fair(y) in Istria, Croatia. One of the short stories in “Iberibe” is about the

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 5, 2021) — John Anthony, the C. W. Hammond Professor of Chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences, has been named winner of the 2023 SEC Faculty Achievement Award for the University of Kentucky this spring.

Anthony, who also serves as associate director at the Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER), was awarded with 13 other SEC university professors for their “dedication to the classroom experience, the commitment to advance their disciplines and the determination to make a difference through service.”

"I am very grateful to UK and the SEC for this honor," Anthony said. "Given the interdisciplinary nature of modern science, my accomplishments represent the shared intellectual