University of Kentucky Research

UK Research Links

Biotech Research Focus Areas

Ag & Ag Biotech • Biomedical • Engineering Materials, Computer Visualization, Manufacturing Systems • Healthcare & Clinical • Neuroscience • Pharmaceutical • Research Centers

Ag & Ag Biotech
The UK College of Agriculture conducts cutting-edge research for expanding high-tech agriculture and houses strong R&D programs in plant and animal sciences, food, nutrition, health surveillance and biosecurity, and environmental sciences. Plant science and equine programs have attained distinguished stature and have generated multiple startups and commercialization opportunities.

UK researchers and the Kentucky Tobacco Research & Development Center located at UK are leaders in plant-made pharmaceuticals (focusing on PMP regulation), plant-based natural products, and plant production systems. The UK Natural Products Alliance stimulates commercialization of natural products and provides assistance to start-up companies.

Contact: Nancy Cox, Director, Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station, Associate Dean for Research, 859.257.3333, ncox@uky.edu

Biomedical Research
Biomedical research is an interdisciplinary collaboration at UK bringing together scientists from Medicine, Engineering, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Arts & Sciences, Health Sciences, Nursing, and Public Health, and others to develop and apply biomedical technologies. The Center for Oral Health Research in the College of Dentistry collaborates with 10 other UK colleges on research related to infection/immunity and chronic diseases, health services research, orofacial pain, and craniofacial bone biology.

Engineering Materials, Computer Visualization, Manufacturing Systems
UK’s College of Engineering focuses on fundamental research and R&D in the areas of biomaterials, computational fluid dynamics, the environment, nanomaterials, energy, computer visualization, and micro-magnetic & electronic devices. Research-for-development teams in civil, chemical & materials, electrical & computer, mechanical, and mining engineering partner with the aluminum and automotive industries, the military, and a variety of business and manufacturing companies.

The Center for Visualization & Virtual Environments develops computer-generated immersive environments for a variety of applications, and the Painting Technology Consortium is a leader in coating & surface technology with direct application to many manufactured goods, and has partnered extensively with auto industry leaders, including Toyota.

Contacts:

  • Eric Grulke, Associate Dean for Research & Graduate Studies, 859.257.6097, egrulke@engr.uky.edu
  • Bruce Walcott, Associate Dean for Economic Development & Innovations Management, 859.257.1182, walcott@engr.uky.edu

Healthcare & Clinical Research
UK is taking on Kentucky’s biggest health problems: cancer and heart disease. The Markey Cancer Center is a leader in cancer research, with projects under way to create a lung cancer vaccine, find cancer-killing genes, repair cancer-caused spinal cord injury, and target hard-to-treat thyroid cancer. The Gill Heart Institute, the focal point for patient care, research, education, and prevention, has four specialty programs, including management programs for atherosclerosis, heart failure and lipids, and the Cardiovascular Women’s Health Clinic. Women are also the focus of UK’s Center for Advancement of Women’s Health, which includes a new statewide health registry that will aid research on diseases and conditions that affect Kentucky women.

The UK Clinical Research Organization is the interface between the pharmaceutical industry and UK researchers for clinical research. For more information about clinical trials at UK, see www.mc.uky.edu/ukcro.

Contact: William Balke, College of Medicine Senior Associate Dean for Research, cwbalk2@email.uky.edu, 859.323.6582

Neuroscience
UK has a strong research focus in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and spinal cord injury and head trauma. UK is home to a Morris K. Udall Parkinson’s Research Center, one of only 11 centers in the United States funded by the NIH; and the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging is one of the original 10 Alzheimer’s research centers in the United States. Spinal Cord & Brain Injury Research Center faculty are currently working on regenerative research funded in excess of $20 million.

Pharmaceutical Research
The UK College of Pharmacy is consistently ranked among the top 10 in the nation. Researchers work in the areas of pharmaceutics & drug delivery, drug discovery, medicinal chemistry, natural product chemistry, pharmacokinetics & pharmacodynamics, drug metabolism, pharmacology, molecular biology, transporters, cell biology, pharmacogenomics, and analytical chemistry. Ongoing projects include treatments for nicotine addiction, neuropharmacology & toxicology, discovery of new anti-tumor agents, nanoengineering of drug delivery systems for vaccines & cancer diagnostics/therapeutics, and the evaluation of drugs for transdermal therapy. Many of UK’s pharmaceutical scientists are involved in commercialization and startups.

UK’s Center for Pharmaceutical Science & Technology (CPST) is a fully integrated analytical and formulation development and pharmaceutical clinical supply manufacturing facility operating since 1986. The new $17 million, 20,000 sq. ft. sterile cGMP product manufacturing facility has just opened at Coldstream Research Campus. The on-campus CPST is FDA and DEA registered for non-sterile cGMP clinical supply manufacturing.

Contacts:

  • Mike Jay, Executive Director for Economic Development & Innovations Management; Director, Center for Pharmaceutical Science & Technology, 859.257.5288, jay@email.uky.edu
  • Robert Yokel, Associate Dean for Research & Graduate Education, 859.257-1998, ryokel@email.uky.edu

Research Centers
For a complete list of University of Kentucky research centers & institutes, and core facilities, see www.research.uky.edu.