By Richard LeComte

Vincent M Cassone, professor and chair of the Department of Biology, has been named the Jack and Linda Gill Eminent Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky. UK’s Board of Trustees approved the designation, and the appointment took effect in January. 

The Gill Research Excellence Fund supports the Gill Eminent Professorships in Science and Engineering. The deans of the Colleges of Arts & Sciences and Engineering jointly administer the program. Professors are recommended by a committee based on a nomination letter.

“Throughout his time here at UK, Cassone has served as a model for research productivity,” said David Weisrock, associate professor and director of graduate studies for the Department of Biology, who nominated Cassone. “Maintaining research

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

Eve Schneider, an assistant professor in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Biology, has been named a 2020 Sloan Research Fellow by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The award honors early-career researchers.

Schneider is one of 126 selected across the U.S. and Canada, and is first UK scholar to receive the fellowship in 25 years. She is also the first woman from UK to receive the honor. 

"I’m incredibly honored to join the ranks of all the distinguished researchers who’ve won this award. It’s a lot to live up to! This fellowship is an amazing vote of confidence that my burgeoning lab is on the right path," Schneider said.

Dr. Chen joined the University of Kentucky Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center and Department of Neuroscience in early 2020. She came from the Department of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX

She is  an early stage investigator dedicated to advancing knowledge of the biology and treatment of central

nervous system damage, including spinal cord injury (SCI) and ischemic stroke. Initially trained as a molecular

biologist, she studied cellular stress response to proteo-toxicity with my doctoral mentor Dr. Ze’ev Ronai. Seeking

to apply my knowledge in cellular stress signaling to the field of neural repair, she performed postdoctoral training

with Dr. Binhai Zheng, whose lab studies axon regeneration following spinal cord injury. While identifying neuronintrinsic

regulators of CNS axon

By Jillian Gibney

Jim Krupa, a University of Kentucky professor of biology, recently was honored with the National Center for Science Education  Friend of Darwin Award.

The center promotes and defends accurate and effective science education. Staff members work with teachers, parents, scientists and concerned citizens at the local, state and national levels to ensure that topics including evolution and climate change are taught accurately, honestly and confidently.

The NCSE Friend of Darwin Award is conferred annually to outstanding educators whose efforts support NCSE and advance its goals.

“I find the National Center of Science Education’s efforts to battle science illiteracy in the U.S. truly heroic,” Krupa 

By Ryan Girves

The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research recently recognized and awarded 19 students with the Oswald Research and Creativity awards. 

The Oswald Research and Creativity Competition was established in 1964 by then President John Oswald as part of the university’s Centennial Celebration. The program is intended to promote creativity in all fields of study and provides annual awards in seven categories. The competition accepts reports, of all forms of creativity, and scholarship by undergraduate students.

Categories include Biological Sciences; Design, including architecture, landscape architecture, and interior design; Fine Arts, including

By Whitney Hale

Angela Jones and her fellow Astronaut Scholars were recognized at ASF's Innovators Gala Aug. 24, in Washington, D.C. Photo by Emily Jourdan, courtesy of ASF.

University of Kentucky Office of Nationally Competitive Awards has announced biology and chemistry senior Angela Jones is one of 2019’s 52 recipients to be awarded a $10,000 scholarship 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

Congratulations to the Top 10 Student Finalists and the Top 3 Overall Winners of the 2nd annual 5-Minute Fast Track Research Competition!

The students competed in two preliminary rounds and were selected as a Top 10 finalists to advance to the final round of competition. The Final Championship round was held on Wednesday, October 23 in the WT Young Library Auditorium. The students had five minutes and one static slide to present their research to an audience and panel of judges that included Provost David Blackwell, Dr. Marilyn Campbell, and Carol Street. The students were competing for cash prizes ($750 – 1st place; $500 – 2nd place; $250 – 3rd place).

The Top 3 Overall Winners include:

By Meredith Weber

A portrait unveiling of civil rights pioneer Lyman T. Johnson highlighted the University of Kentucky's 29th annual Lyman T. Johnson Torch of Excellence Awards Banquet Oct. 11 at the Gatton Student Center.

The UK Alumni Association Lyman T. Johnson African American Alumni Group honored students and alumni during the awards ceremony as part of the 2019 Lyman T. Johnson Homecoming Celebration. 

UK’s academic colleges and units selected one African American alum whose faith, hard work and determination has positively affected the lives of people on the UK campus, the city, state or nation. These individuals received the Lyman T. Johnson Torch of Excellence Award. These units also chose an African American student within their respective colleges/departments whose academic achievement and ability to impact the lives of

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

A new study out of UK's biology department examines how forelimbs develop in the axolotl, a type of salamander originally from Mexico. The new findings open up questions for evolutionary biologists regarding the evolution of limbs.

A new paper by University of Kentucky researchers was recently published in the journal eLife, offering new insights and implications into the study of limb development and the evolution of vertebrate limbs.

Sruthi Purushothaman, a biology doctoral student in the UK College of Arts and Sciences and lead author of the study, examined how forelimbs develop in the axolotl, a type of salamander originally from Mexico. The study presents new information showing how salamanders develop limbs

By Jillian Gibney

UK's Department of Biology's annual open house festival will take place 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, at the Don and Cathy Jacobs Science Building.

Join the University of Kentucky Department of Biology for its fourth annual BioBonanza, a one-day open house festival, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, at the Don and Cathy Jacobs Science Building (600 Rose St., Lexington).

This free public event is an open house festival that showcases the scientific research taking place at UK. The event is designed to get children of all ages interested in science. Attendees will have hands-on experience with researchers studying insects, crayfish, zebrafish, native plants and circadian rhythms, to name a few.

Free parking is available in the Rose Street parking structure accessible from

By Madison Dyment

Sometimes it’s the path we least expect that brings us the most reward. This is certainly the case for University of Kentucky Biology Professor Pete Mirabito, who was recently honored for his long-time involvement with the Summer Institutes on Scientific Teaching.

Originally, Mirabito was just a kid like many others with dreams of being a professional football player. Although talented, school was more of a necessity than a passion.

“I had math and science skills in high school, but I wasn’t really paying attention to any of them,” Mirabito said. “When I stopped growing, it ruled out my pro football plans, so I had to figure out what else I could do.”

After some advice from peers, Mirabito found himself going to college at the University of Florida with a major in food science, as a first-generation college student. Even still,

By Jenny Wells

The University of Kentucky Lewis Honors College presented two new college awards — the Diachun Scholar Award and the Evans Scholar Award — to two graduating seniors at the end of the 2019-2020 academic year.

Meghana Kudrimoti, who graduated with degrees in biology and political science in the UK College of Arts and Sciences, was the recipient of the Diachun Scholar Award. This award is given to a graduating senior in a science or related field who has the highest academic achievement among their peers.

While at UK, Kudrimoti was a Gaines Fellow, Chellgren Fellow and director of UK's Big Blue

By Jenny Wells

Jeremy Van Cleve, an assistant professor of biology in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, is the recipient of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) prestigious Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award. The program will provide Van Cleve with $780,000 over five years to conduct research in evolutionary biology and develop a teaching program to promote scientific research to students of all ages. The two projects will be integrated to support the core goals of the grant. 

With the CAREER award, Van Cleve will develop new mathematical and computational tools to study the history and function of genes that affect social behavior and group living in organisms.

Animals, plants and microbes that live

By Autumn Miller

The University of Kentucky is always looking for ways to ensure students have access to the best course material. With textbook prices on the rise, some students have decided to forgo buying textbooks. As an active contributor to student success, the UK Libraries started the Alternative Textbook Grant Program in 2016 to help faculty offer free or affordable course material. For the upcoming year, 10 grants are being awarded.

The Alternative Textbook Grant Program provides UK instructors with assistance in finding or creating educational material that best suits their pedagogical needs and effectively reduces their students’ financial burdens. In past years, the

By Madison Dyment

One of the most rewarding aspects of higher education is the chance to train the next generation of leaders and workers. Every so often, students are lucky enough to find opportunities that go above and beyond to give them practical experience in preparing them for their future. Mark Prendergast’s BIO 199 class is one of those opportunities.

Prendergast’s class is designed for freshmen neuroscience majors. The course is part of the STEMCats Living Learning Program at the University of Kentucky in the College of Arts and Sciences, with its students either in that program or the Lewis Honors College. There are many existing sections of the course, each being taught by a different faculty member who conducts different types of research related to biology.

The STEMCats Living Learning Program was founded in 2014 and receives funding

By Lindsey Piercy

Although students are excited to start their journey in higher education, there is often a feeling of apprehension. One of the most anxiety-producing tasks? Registering for classes.

Choosing from a variety of professors, scheduling your courses and getting enough credit hours can be extremely stressful. That's why the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky has spent the last three years rethinking and restructuring the process.

Dean Mark Kornbluh takes great pride in offering innovative core classes — courses that were originally designed with freshmen in mind. “We want to make sure our incoming students start their college career on the right foot, with all of the

By Lori Adams

The University of Kentucky has released its Dean's List for the spring 2019 semester. A total of 6,562 students were recognized for their outstanding academic performance. 

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/News/DeansList/.

The University of Kentucky Office of Nationally Competitive Awards has announced that seven recent UK graduates and four doctoral students have been offered Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarships. The UK recipients are among approximately 2,000 U.S. students

By Whitney Hale

Emily Hedges (far left) and  Hannah Thompson (far right) were joined by faculty sponsor Miriam Kienle, Interim Dean of UK Libraries Deirdre Scaggs and faculty sponsor Janice Fernheimer. Mark Cornelison l UK Photo.

Last night, University of Kentucky Libraries awarded the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Scholarship to art history and visual studies senior Emily Hedges and biology and Lewis Honors College junior Hannah Thompson at the UK Libraries Spring Gala. The awards recognize exceptional, original scholarship and excellent research conducted by UK undergraduates making substantive and creative use

By Jennifer T. Allen

Oliver Voecking, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Biology in the College of Arts & Sciences, recently received a Knights Templar Eye Foundation Career-Starter Grant for his retinal research with zebrafish. The Knights Templar presented Voecking with a check on the University of Kentucky campus in April 2019. 

The Knights Templar Eye Foundation is committed to support research that can help launch the careers of clinical or basic researchers committed to the understanding, prevention and cure of vision threatening diseases in infants and children. With the grant, Voecking will focus his research on analyzing the development of POM cells in zebrafish hoping to drastically increase the understanding of POM development, ultimately developing screening for anterior segment associated diseases, such as corneal dystrophy,