Research Annual Report
Research is of critical importance to our university and the Commonwealth. Fundamental discoveries are happening every day led by talented faculty, staff and student investigators.
University of Kentucky investigators received $496.9 million in external grants and contracts to support their research in FY25. Federal grants and contracts totaled $255.3 million, more than 50% of UK’s total awards in FY25.
These funds lead to discoveries that translate to new therapies and treatments for patients. They become new products that change the way we live and work. They inform policies and improve the lives of Kentuckians and beyond.
By the Numbers
spent to carry out R&D in FY25
economic impact of UK R&D for Kentucky in FY25
created by UK R&D in Kentucky in FY25
Substance Use Disorder Research at the University of Kentucky
Targeting Substance Use Related Infectious Disease in Kentucky
UK HealthCare and the UK Division of Infectious Diseases are addressing the intertwined challenges of opioid use disorder and infectious diseases associated with injection drug use through a comprehensive program funded by the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. A multidisciplinary care team provides substance use evaluation and education, clinical treatment with FDA-approved Medications for Opioid Use Disorders (MOUD) and ongoing support, targeting infections such as HIV and Hepatitis.
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a bloodborne viral infection that causes liver inflammation. Untreated HCV, or significantly delayed treatment, can lead to the development of liver cancer. Jennifer Havens (College of Medicine) has been examining the rise of injection drug use and the related outbreak of HCV. With $15 million from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and a donation of 900 doses of a 12-week treatment from Gilead Sciences Inc., Havens has the goal of eradicating HCV in Perry County. Read more about the Kentucky Viral Hepatitis Treatment Study (KeY Treat) in this journal article.
Rapid Actionable Data for Opioid Response in Kentucky (RADOR-KY)
Opioid use disorder remains a persistent public health crisis and epidemic. Faster data means faster protection and treatment. The RADOR-KY project - funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and led by Svetla Slavova (College of Public Health) and Jeffery Talbert (College of Medicine) - uses infrastructure and expertise at UK to develop an integrated, population-based, near-real-time statewide system that ingests data from multiple state agencies and implements advanced algorithms to shorten the time between data capture and actionable analytical results. RADOR-KY provides state agencies and local stakeholders with actionable, timely information to support opioid overdose prevention, evidence-based treatment and recovery. Learn more at the RADOR-KY website.
Justice Community Overdose Innovation Network (JCOIN)
Carrie Oser (College of Arts and Sciences) and Michele Staton (College of Medicine) co-lead a $7.2 million study testing overdose prevention strategies for women transitioning from jail back into rural Kentucky communities. The project is supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) as part of its Justice Community Overdose Innovation Network (JCOIN), a nationwide program that tests strategies to expand effective treatment, recovery and related services for individuals involved in the criminal legal system. The new study aims to determine what approaches are most effective at preventing overdose and increasing treatment engagement during this high-risk reentry period. Read UKNow article on most recent funding for JCOIN.
Alternatives to Dental Opioid Prescribing after Tooth Extraction (ADOPT)
One of the leading prescribers of opioids to young adults are dentists and oral surgeons. With nearly $1 million in National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) funding, Marcia Rojas-Ramirez (College of Dentistry) and Doug Oyler (College of Pharmacy) teamed up to implement an intervention strategy with dental providers - Alternatives to dental opioid prescribing after tooth extraction (ADOPT) - to reduce the number of opioid prescriptions they write after dental procedures. Watch video on this project and its impact on opioid prescribing.
Federal Funding Fuels Innovation
As Kentucky’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky is charged with finding solutions to meet the needs of the Commonwealth. Federal funding is a key driver of scientific advancement across disciplines at UK, where scientists are addressing broad challenges that face both Kentucky and the nation.
As researchers at this university, we have the privilege of receiving funds from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to advance critical scientific research and fuel UK's mission to make Kentucky healthier, wealthier and wiser.
In fiscal year 2025, federal agencies awarded UK $255.3 million (51.4% of UK’s total awards for research). NIH funding made up $130.2 million of our federal awards. UK received $25.2 million from the NSF, $26.7 million from the DOD and $23.4 million from the DOE for a wide range of research projects.
