xt7228051394 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7228051394/data/mets.xml Lexington, Kentucky University of Kentucky Alumni Association 2016 journals  English University of Kentucky Alumni Association Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Kentucky alumnus Kentucky Alumni, vol. 87, no. 1, Spring 2016 text Kentucky Alumni, vol. 87, no. 1, Spring 2016 2016 2019 true xt7228051394 section xt7228051394 SPRING 2016

Tayshaun Prince:
Wildcat legend, NBA Veteran

* There’s only one place you can truly sleep
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Coach John Calipari with UK Grad and Sleep Outfitters Founder & CEO, Kim Knopf

To find out more about the exclusive UK Mattress and Pillow Collection,
visit sleepoutfitters.com/ukbed
A portion of the proceeds benefit the

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Athletics

* Spring 2016 • Volume 87 • Number 1

Tayshaun Prince has achieved longevity
as an accomplished, professional
basketball player.

Photo: Courtesy Minnesota Timberwolves

16

Tayshaun Prince: Longevity on the
hardwood
Tayshaun Prince’s talent in basketball is undeniable but
off the court he also has a strong interest in helping
kids discover their potential.

12
20

By Robin Roenker

Rodney and Kathy McMullen: seeing blue
and making a difference
This outstanding UK alumni couple excel in the
corporate world and give back to the University of
Kentucky.

Bag of bones
Associate Professor Andrew Deane had the rare
opportunity to study a nearly complete set of fossils
belonging to a previously unknown human ancestor.
By Elizabeth Adams

22

WBKY turns 75 years ‘young’

WUKY, formerly WBKY, not only celebrates 75 years
serving the Commonwealth, it’s moving into a new
home off campus thanks to a gift from Ann Bakhaus
and her family.
By Kathy Johnson

24
26

Wildcat Loyalty Rewards

Check out this list of valuable UK Alumni
Association benefits and services available to you
every day as a result of your loyalty to your alma
mater through membership.

Cats for a Cause National Service Week

Every year since 2008, Wildcats help local nonprofit
and charitable organizations by donating their time
at churches, schools, food banks, etc., to enhance the
lives the less fortunate.
By Linda Perry

Photo : UK Athletics

28
Tayshaun Prince vs. Tulsa

Introducing our 2016 Great Teachers!

Helping students excel is no stranger to these six
UK faculty members who received the UK Alumni
Association Great Teacher Award.

Departments
4	
7	
8	
11	
30	
34	

Pride In Blue
Presidential Conversation
UK News
Blue Horizons
Sports
Alumni Clubs

40	
52	
54	
55	
56	

Class Notes
In Memoriam
Creative Juices
Retrospect
Quick Takes

www.ukalumni.net

1

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Services, assistance, and activities are available to all
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2

Spring 2016

* How To Reach Us
Kentucky Alumni
UK Alumni Association
King Alumni House
Lexington, KY 40506-0119
Telephone: 859-257-8905
1-800-269-ALUM
Fax: 859-323-1063
E-mail: ukalumni@uky.edu

University of Kentucky
Alumni Magazine
Vol.87 No. 1

Kentucky Alumni (ISSN 732-6297) is
published quarterly by the University of
Kentucky Alumni Association, Lexington,
Kentucky for its dues-paying members.
© 2016 University of Kentucky Alumni
Association, except where noted. Views
and opinions expressed in Kentucky
Alumni do not necessarily represent the
opinions of its editors, the UK Alumni
Association nor the University of Kentucky.

Update Your Record

UK Alumni Association
King Alumni House
Lexington, KY 40506-0119
Telephone: 859-257-8800
Fax: 859-323-1063
E-mail: ukalumni@uky.edu
Web: www.ukalumni.net
For duplicate mailings, please send both
mailing labels to the address above.
Member of the Council for Advancement
and Support of Education

Association Staff

Publisher/Executive Director: Stan Key ’72
Editor/Associate Director: Kelli Elam ’11
Managing Editor: Linda Perry ’84
Graphic Designer: Laura Banik
Publications Production Assistant: Hal Morris
Brenda Bain ’15: Records Data Entry Operator
Linda Brumfield: Account Clerk III
Sara-Elizabeth Bush ’13: Program Coordinator
Nancy Culp: Administrative Services Assistant
Caroline Francis ’88, ’93, ’02: Alumni Career Counselor
Jack Gallt ’84: Program Coordinator
Leslie Hayes: Membership and Marketing Specialist
Kelly V. Hinkel ’11: Staff Support Associate I
John Hoagland ’89: Associate Director
Diana Horn ’70, ’71: Principal Accountant
Katie Jennings ’11: Membership Specialist
Albert Kalim ’03: Webmaster
Randall Morgan: IS Tech Support
Katie Murphy: Membership Specialist
Darlene Simpson: Senior Data Entry Operator
Jill Smith ’05, ’11: Associate Director
Frances White: Data Entry Operator

Board of Directors
Officers
David B. Ratterman ’68 EN - President
Peggy S. Meszaros ’72 ED - President-elect
Susan V. Mustian ’84 BE - Treasurer
Stan R. Key ’72 ED - Secretary
District
Michelle Leigh Allen ’06 ’10 BE
Jeffrey L. Ashley ’89 CI
Lisa G. Atkinson ’92 CI
William G. Bacon Jr. ’82 ’85 MED
Trudy Webb Banta ’63 ’65 ED
Brian R. Bergman ’85 ’ 86 EN
Heath F. Bowling ’95 BE
Jeffrey J. Brock ’83 SCC, ’84 BE
Michael L. Brown ’72 BE
Erin Burkett ’01 EN
Emmett “Buzz” Burnam ’74 ED
John S. Cain ’86 BE
James E. Cantrell ’76 EN
Shane T. Carlin ’95 AFE
Rebecca F. Caudill ’72 ’76 ED
Dr. Michael A. Christian ’76 AS, ’80 DE
Judith G. Clabes ’67 AS
Shannon R. Corley ’98 BE
Elizabeth Cox ’69 AS
D. Michael Coyle ’62 BE, ’65 LAW
Bruce E. Danhauer ’77 AFE
Ruth C. Day ’85 BE
Eugene L. DuBow ’53 AS
Philip D. Elder ’86 AFE
Abra Endsley ’98 ’01 CI
Linda L. Frye ’60 AS
Robert Michael Gray ’80 ’81 BE
Austin H. Hays ’03 BE
Wallace E. Herndon Jr. ’67 BE
Derrick C. Hord ’83 CI
Ann Nelson Hurst ’80 BE
Lee A. Jackson ’70 SCC, ’73 AS
Dr. Frank Kendrick ’90 ’92 DE
Shelia M. Key ’91 PHA
Turner LaMaster ’73 BE
Thomas K. Mathews ’93 AS
James D. McCain ’81 BE
Herbert A. Miller Jr. ’72 AS, ’76 LAW
Ashley S. “Tip” Mixson III ’80 BE

Sherry R. Moak ’81 BE Hannah M. Myers ’93 ED
Kimberly Parks ’01 BE
Abigail M. Payne ’05 CI
Quintissa S. Peake ’04 CI
Nicholas C. Phelps ’08 BE
William C. “Carlos” Phillips ’90 CI
James A. Richardson ’70 AS, ’72 ED
Charlene K. Rouse ’77 DES
Philip Schardein,’02 BE
Sharon Lee Sears ’80 CI
Marian Moore Sims ’72 ’76 ED
J. Fritz Skeen ’72 ’73 BE
George B. Spragens ’93 BE
Reese S. Terry Jr. ’64 ’66 EN
Peggy T. Tudor ’73 ’83 NUR, ’07 ED
Quentin R. Tyler ’02 ’05 AFE, ’11 AS
Craig M. Wallace ’79 EN
Lori E. Wells ’96 BE
Crystal M. Williams ’97 BE
Scott Wittich ’75 BE

Alumni Trustees
Cammie DeShields Grant ’77 LCC, ’79 ED
Kelly Sullivan Holland ’93 AS, ’98 ED
Terry B. Mobley ’65 ED
Appointed
Katie Eiserman ’01 ED - Athletics
Thomas W. Harris ’85 AS - University Relations
D. Michael Richey ’74 ’79 AFE - Development
Bobby C. Whitaker ’58 CI - Honorary
Jenna M. Hollinden - Student Government Assoc.
Vacant - University Senate
Past Presidents
George L. Atkins Jr. ’63 BE
Theodore B. Bates ’52 AFE
Richard A. Bean ’69 BE
Michael A. Burleson ’74 PHA
Bruce K. Davis ’71 LAW
Scott E. Davis ’73 BE
Marianne Smith Edge ’77 AFE
Franklin H. Farris Jr. ’72 BE
At Large
Dr. Paul E. Fenwick ’52 AFE
Jo Hern Curris ’63 AS, ’75 LAW
William G. Francis ’68 AS, ’73 LAW
Dr. Michael H. Huang ’89 AS, ’93 MED
W. P. Friedrich ’71 EN
Antoine Huffman ’05 CI
Dan Gipson ’69 EN
Matt Minner ’93 AS
Brenda B. Gosney ’70 HS, ’75 ED
Will Nash ’06 AS
Cammie DeShields Grant ’77 LCC, ’79 ED
Jane C. Pickering ’74 ED
John R. Guthrie ’63 CI
Ann B. Haney ’71 AS
College
Diane M. Massie ’79 CI
Michelle McDonald ’84 AFE, ’92 ED - Agriculture
Robert E. Miller
Winn F. Williams ’71 AS - Arts & Sciences
John C. Nichols II ’53 BE
James B. Bryant ’67 BE - Business & Economics
Dr. George A. Ochs IV ’74 DE
Jeremy L. Jarvi ’02 CI - Communication & Information
Sandra Bugie Patterson ’68 AS
Dr. Clifford J. Lowdenback ’99 AS, ’03 DE - Dentistry
Robert F. Pickard ’57 ’61 EN
Lu Ann Holmes ’79 DES - Design
Paula L. Pope ’73 ’75 ED
Martha Elizabeth Randolph ’83 BE, ’87 ’92 ED - Education G. David Ravencraft ’59 BE
Taunya Phillips ’87 EN, ’04 BE - Engineering
William Schuetze ’72 LAW
Kimberly Baker ’92 FA - Fine Arts
David L. Shelton ’66 BE
Barbara R. Sanders ’72 AS, ’76 ED - Health Sciences
J. Tim Skinner ’80 DES
Janis E. Clark ’78 GS, ’85 LAW - Law
James W. Stuckert ’60 EN, ’61 BE
Dr. Emery R. Wilson ’68 ’72 MED - Medicine
Julia K. Tackett ’68 AS, ’71 LAW
Patricia K. Howard ’83 ’90 ’04 NUR - Nursing
Hank B. Thompson Jr. ’71 CI
Lynn Harrelson ’73 PHA - Pharmacy
Myra L. Tobin ’62 AFE
Vacant - Public Health
J. Thomas Tucker ’56 BE
Willis K. Bright Jr. ’66 SW - Social Work
Henry Wilhoit Jr. ’60 LAW
Elaine A. Wilson ’68 SW
Richard M. Womack ’53 AFE

www.ukalumni.net

3

* Pride in Blue

Welcome, spring!
It’s with great
pride that we bring
you the 2016 spring
issue of Kentucky
Alumni magazine.
Let’s welcome spring
and its splendor. Let’s
also welcome another
issue of our favorite
magazine.
The cover story for this issue is about one of my alltime favorite Wildcats, Tayshaun Prince. He had many
incredible moments during his stellar UK career, but
who can forget when he blistered North Carolina with
3-pointers? Not me. Has Rupp Arena ever been louder? I
have always admired the way he handled himself on and
off the court. While known for his laid-back demeanor,
Prince is and always has been a fierce competitor. His
success at UK transferred to the NBA, where he won a
championship with the Detroit Pistons. He has also won
an Olympic gold medal. But life is about more than just
basketball for Prince. He’s a family man. And, he’s very
involved in helping kids reach their potential.
Meet Andrew Deane, UK associate professor of
anatomy and neurobiology. A global team of more
than 30 paleontology experts were tasked with studying
the fossilized remains found in a cave in South Africa.
The remains represent a new fossil human species –
Homo naledi. Deane was recruited to help describe the
extensive sample of fossils associated with the hand and
foot. How cool is that? We also introduce you Laura
Roche Youngworth, who was recently honored with the
Kentucky World Language Association Outstanding
Teacher Award in French.
Speaking of outstanding teaching, be sure to check
out the photo of our 2016 UK Alumni Association
Great Teacher Award recipients. We are pretty proud of
this program. The Great Teacher Award was started in
1961 and is the longest-running UK award for teaching.
The award recipients are nominated by students.
Congratulations to this year’s award recipients. Keep up
the “Great” work.

4

Spring 2016

Turn your radio on! WUKY radio is celebrating 75
years. From its beginnings as WBKY to WUKY 91.3 FM,
the station is a campus and community institution. Soon,
the station will be moving into a new location. After being
housed on the third floor of McVey Hall on UK’s campus
in studios originally built in 1939, the station will soon
be moving into a new facility in Lexington, more than
doubling its space. Kathy Johnson of UK Public Relations
and Marketing does a great job telling the history of the
station.
The UK Alumni Association has many wonderful
volunteers that give freely of their time. A great example
of this is Cats for a Cause National Service Week. Started
in 2008, association club members across the country
organize and participate in a week of service activities in
their local communities. Activities vary, including food
drives, volunteering at schools or helping with community
building projects. The week was inspired from an annual
day of community service for UK students known as UK
FUSION (For Unity and Service in Our Neighborhood)
held at the beginning of each school year in Lexington.
Over 30 clubs and over 400 volunteers have participated
each year in Cats for a Cause. We really are the Heart of
Big Blue Nation.
In a continuing effort to make sure you are getting the
full value of your UK Alumni Association membership,
this issue includes more information about our Wildcat
Loyalty Rewards program. Be sure to check it out and
thanks for your membership! We truly appreciate it.
I hope you enjoy reading this issue of Kentucky Alumni
magazine as much as I enjoy sharing it with you. As
always, I welcome your feedback.
With Pride in Blue,

Kelli Elam ‘11
Editor

* As a UK alum and/or member of the
UK Alumni Association, you could receive
exclusive savings on auto and home insurance
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from Liberty Mutual.
Along with valuable savings, you’ll enjoy access to
benefits like 24-Hour Claims Assistance.

For a free quote, call 1-866-477-4111
or visit www.libertymutual.com/ukaa
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This organization receives financial support for offering this auto and home benefits program.
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Auto coverage provided and underwritten by Liberty County Mutual Insurance Company,
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www.ukalumni.net

5

* 6

Spring 2016

* Presidential Connection

Your university in three stories
We have a compelling story — the story of how our
university educates our students, serves communities across
the Commonwealth, develops a broader understanding of our
world and heals those most in need of complex health care.
It is a story of momentum and results that I tell with
tremendous pride. It is a Kentucky story. It is a story that you
help us write through your support as alumni. It is a story
illustrated by the extraordinary progress we’ve made in every
corner of our campus.
Because of you, we have over the last several years
experienced a 15 percent growth in enrollment and some of
the highest graduation rates in our history. Who are these
students?
They are promising young scholars like Tony Kao, a student
from Georgetown whose family immigrated to the United
States from Cambodia at age 5. Tony was a first-generation
college student, who pursued a degree in mechanical
engineering. As a student, he interned with Toyota and
Marathon Petroleum. He led a student organization on our
campus, built friendships with his fellow students, and found
mentors in our faculty and staff. Today, he is working for the
company where he was a past intern, Marathon.
Our story is manifest in UK’s creative research and
discovery, where pioneering faculty and staff are on the
frontlines of the questions of our day. Last year, our research
enterprise earned $285 million in competitive external grants
and contracts, helping propel us toward the top echelons of
the nation’s research universities.
These grants support the groundbreaking research of faculty
like Stephen Dobson, Ph.D., and Grayson Brown, Ph.D.
As the world confronts the dangers of Zika virus, two UK
professors may have a clue in combating this potential global
epidemic.
Dobson and his former doctoral student turned business
partner, Jimmy Mains, Ph.D., developed technology that uses
male mosquitoes to effectively sterilize females through a
naturally occurring bacterium and without using chemical
pesticides that can negatively impact beneficial nontarget
insects like bees and butterflies.
With the help of the National Institutes of Health, the
Kentucky Science and Technology Corp. and the Gatton
College of Business and Economics Von Allmen Center for
Entrepreneurship, Dobson and Mains have commercialized
their research and launched MosquitoMate, which is currently
conducting field trials of their product.
This critical discovery may hold a key to unlocking a
solution to deadly diseases transmitted by mosquitos — not
just Zika virus, but also diseases like yellow fever, dengue fever
and malaria, to name a few.
These aren’t the only health maladies that confront our
state, nation and world, and UK is providing more complex
care close to home than at any point in our history. Over the

last decade, patient
discharges have
grown by more
than 95 percent to
more than 37,000
annually.
Included in that
number are the
record 43 heart
transplants UK
performed in 2015;
the most performed
by a Kentucky
medical center in
a single year. This
number places UK
among the top 20-25 medical centers nationally that perform
more than 30 heart transplants each year.
Two of those hearts went to Stan Burch and Dennis
Hamilton, who received their new hearts within five days of
each other.
Burch, a 64-year-old Louisville resident who dealt with a
heart murmur as a child and more recent episodes as an adult,
came to UK in 2014 after what seemed like a series of hopeless
dead ends.
Hamilton was the fifth person in a family with an intractable
history of heart disease. He did everything right, exercised, had
regular, pre-emptive checkups and maintained a healthy diet.
However, genetics caught up with him.
Today, both families are walking the post-transplant recovery
path together.
These three stories — a first-generation college student
whose education opened doors to success, two faculty members
finding creative solutions that have potential global implications
and two lives transformed by quality care — represent
countless others who have been served by Kentucky’s flagship
university.
Their stories are our stories. They are Kentucky stories.
Because of you, we are continuing in our capacity as
Kentucky’s indispensable institution. Your partnership is more
critical today than at any point in our history.
On behalf of the entire UK family, thank you for taking this
important journey with your university. Thank you for being a
part of this magnificent story.
Sincerely,

Eli Capilouto
President

www.ukalumni.net

7

* UK News

Charting the future of UK
The University of Kentucky plans to significantly increase graduation rates, expand its research into the state’s biggest challenges and
join the ranks of the country’s best public research institutions.
To that end, the UK Board of Trustees recently endorsed UK’s 2015-2020 Strategic Plan, which includes five strategic objectives and
the related strategies and metrics for the plan:  
•	

Undergraduate Student Success – To be the university of choice for aspiring undergraduate students, within the Commonwealth
and beyond, seeking a transformational education that promotes self-discovery, experiential learning and life-long achievement.

•	

Graduate Education – Strengthen the quality and distinctiveness of our graduate programs to transform our students into accomplished scholars and professionals who contribute to the Commonwealth, the nation, and the world through their research and
discovery, creative endeavors, teaching and service.

•	

Diversity and Inclusivity – Enhance the diversity and inclusivity of our university community through recruitment, promotion, and
retention of an increasingly diverse population of faculty, administrators, staff, and students, and by implementing initiatives that
provide rich diversity-related experiences for all, to help ensure their success in an interconnected world.

•	

Research and Scholarship – Expand our scholarship, creative endeavors, and research across the full range of disciplines to focus
on the most important challenges of the Commonwealth, our nation and the world.

•	

Community Engagement – Leverage leading-edge technology, scholarship, and research in innovative ways to advance the public
good and to foster the development of citizen-scholars.

Some key goals and initiatives in the strategic plan include, among many others, increasing UK’s six-year graduation rate to 70 percent
— an increase of nearly 10 percent over recent figures — and similar increases to retention rates. Also a key goal is closing the achievement gap — retention and graduation rates — that exists between the general student population and students of color, first-generation
students and students eligible for Pell grants. In addition, the strategic plan looks to aggressively grow research expenditures between now
and 2020.

la Madeleine opens at The 90

UK celebrated nearly 1,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students in Rupp Arena as they became UK graduates
in December. Approximately 830 undergraduates and nearly 200
graduate and professional students participated.
Overall, a total of 1,788 undergraduate, 936 graduate and 113
professional degrees were conferred for August and December
2015. These graduates will join the May 2015 graduates in receiving special diplomas that honor the university’s sesquicentennial.
All 2015 diplomas bear a seal commemorating 150 years of UK’s
dedication to research, education and service. 
During the undergraduate ceremony, Matt Cutts, a 1995 UK
graduate and software engineer for Google, received an honorary
doctorate of engineering. Cutts is one of the first 100 employees
of Google and is known for writing the first version of “Safe
Search,” the company’s family filter feature. 

UK welcomed la Madeleine Country French Café to campus
at The 90, UK’s new 82,000-square-foot student dining facility.
The decision to bring la Madeleine to UK came as part of a
student dining survey, from which strong student interest resulted in support of bringing the country French bakery café to
Lexington.
 Each la Madeleine café is built to provide a relaxing “home
away from home” with a modern country French design. UK’s
café reflects the classic la Madeleine atmosphere with wood
floors, hearth fireplaces, rustic beams and unique dining rooms.
The bakery café is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, featuring 76 made-from-scratch menu items using classic French
techniques, including the brand’s signature Tomato Basil Soupe,
Caesar Salade, Country French Breakfast, Croque Monsieur and
Chicken la Madeleine.

Photos: UK Public Relations & Marketing

December 2015 Commencement

Matt Cutts

8

Spring 2016

* Office of
Development
transitions
to Office of
Philanthropy
The UK Office of Development
has been renamed the Office of
Philanthropy, making it perhaps the
first major public research institution
in the nation to do so.
“Philanthropy is assuming a greater leadership role at the University
of Kentucky as it has played a significant part historically funding the
Markey Cancer Center and more
recently the Gatton College of
Business Building, Student Center,
Academic Science Building, the future Lewis Honors College and many
more capital projects and academic
programs, and will provide noteworthy and measurable resources toward
funding UK’s recently approved
Strategic Plan,” said UK President
Eli Capilouto.
 “In light of this enhanced role,
UK’s philanthropy program is evolving as a voice of philanthropy for
the university, our community and
the Commonwealth of Kentucky,”
said Capilouto. “Becoming the Office of Philanthropy allows UK to
create and encourage a new culture
of private investment in our mission.
Philanthropy unifies us as a community of scholars as we embrace
our Commonwealth and its dreams,
needs, challenges and opportunities.
At UK, philanthropy provides opportunities throughout the lifetime
of our alumni — from cradle to
grave — and creates roaring advocates for our institution and state.”
 During 2015, UK received its two
largest gifts from philanthropists and
UK alumni Bill Gatton and Tom
Lewis, amounting to nearly $44 million. Last fiscal year, 54,275 donors
made 101,277 gifts to UK, the first
time the university has topped the
100,000 mark. UK secured record
results in both gift receipts of $118.2
million and in new commitments
received more than $168.3 million.

UK HealthCare is an Equality Leader in
2016 Healthcare Equality Index
UK HealthCare is being featured as an Equality Leader in the 2016 Healthcare Equality Index
(HEI), sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation based in Washington. The HEI
was created to give health care facilities, like UK HealthCare, the resources they need to ensure
LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) patients have access to patient-centered care.
 UK HealthCare’s achievement was granted based on four core criteria:  patient nondiscrimination policies, visitation policies, employment nondiscrimination policies and training in LGBT
patient-centered care. This achievement indicates UK HealthCare’s status as an official leader in
LGBT health care access and nondiscrimination. The distinction is shared with only two other
facilities in Kentucky, one of them being the UK HealthCare-managed Eastern State Hospital.
UK HealthCare is the only academic medical center in the state to earn this distinction.

 

UK School of Interiors ranked in top five regional programs
The UK School of Interiors was recently
ranked in “America’s Best Architecture & Design Schools” survey as one of the top
five interior design schools in the South for its
graduate program. The survey is conducted
annually by DesignIntelligence on behalf of
the Design Futures Council. The research
ranks undergraduate and graduate programs
from the perspective of leading practitioners.
 Schools were ranked in four key disciplines:
architecture, landscape architecture, interior
design and industrial design.

 “For our School of Interiors to be ranked
among the elite programs in the South is a
true honor of distinction for us,” said Mitzi
Vernon, dean of the UK College of Design.
“This serves as an impetus to guide our efforts in advancing the college even further.”
The rankings were based on responses
from 2,237 U.S. firms and organizations employing architecture, design, and landscape
architecture professionals participated in this
year’s research.

UK HealthCare transplants record number
of new hearts in Kentucky
The UK Transplant Center performed 43 adult heart transplant in 2015, setting a record for
the most heart transplants performed by a Kentucky medical center in a single year and easily
eclipsing the previous state record of 27 heart transplants performed in a single year.
The 2015 numbers place the UK Transplant Center in elite company. Historically, only 20-25
medical centers in the country perform more than 30 heart transplants in a single year. With a
heart transplant team comprised of multiple cardiothoracic surgeons, cardiologists and nursing
staff working together, UK has adeptly managed to handle the ever-increasing demand of patients who require transplantation.
More heart transplants could not be performed without a corresponding increase in the
number of organ donors. Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates have worked tirelessly to encourage more Kentuckians to sign up for the organ donor registry, enabling more patients to receive
the gift of life.
The surgical transplant team works in conjunction with the UK Gill Heart Institute Advanced Heart Failure Program, offering a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach to
treating heart disease. While some patients will receive a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) as
a destination treatment, some patients with advanced heart failure will receive a ventricular assist
support device to serve as a “bridge” to transplant, enabling them to be more mobile — and
thus healthier and stronger — by the time a matching donor heart becomes available. UK has
implanted 29 durable LVADs in 2015, maintaining a balanced program between circulatory assist devices and transplants.
“At UK, we’re able to offer a wide range of services for heart problems, from the very
common heart bypass procedures for blockages to the more difficult, intricate procedures like
VADs or transplants for advanced heart failure,” said Dr. Michael Sekela, surgical director of
the UK Gill Heart Institute.

www.ukalumni.net

9

* toCreate Art,
write,
to
If you have the power

tot ra n s f o r m at i v e ,
invent anything
Why Wouldn’t You?
Frank X Walker

Professor, Department of English;
2013-14 Poet Laureate of Kentucky

University of

Kentucky

10

Spring 2016

* Blue Horizons

$6 million awarded for
treatment of cocaine abuse
UK College of Pharmacy Professor Chang-Guo
Zhan, along with fellow UK Professors Fang Zheng
and Sharon Walsh, and Professor Mei-Chuan Ko
from Wake Forest University, recently received $6
million in funding over five years to further develop
a potential treatment for cocaine abuse. The project
is funded via the National Institute on Drug Abuse
Translational Avant-Garde Award and will help push
a promising new therapy for overdose and addiction
closer to clinical trials.
There currently is no FDA-approved treatment
for cocaine overdose or cocaine addiction. The team
will evaluate a novel enzyme called CocH-LAF for its
ability to neutralize cocaine in the bloodstream using
molecular modeling technology. “We envision that
this therapy could eventually become a viable treatment option for cocaine abuse,” Zhan said.
In Kentucky, 70 or more people died from cocaine
overdose in 2013 and 2014, up significantly from 24
cocaine-related deaths in 2011.

Nursing faculty awarded $2.3
million grant for e-cigs effects in
pregnant women
The United States has the largest and fastest growing market for e-cigarettes, and adult women of childbearing age are the most common users. However, no
data exists regarding the health effects of e-cigs on
pregnant women or their babies.
UK College of Nursing associate professor Kristin
Ashford and her team of researchers are working
to generate this data through a four-year, $2.3 million R01 grant from the National Institute on Drug
Abuse. The research aims to determine the effects
of e-cigs on prenatal biomarkers and birth outcomes.
The multi-site study represents collaboration between
the UK College of Nursing and the UK Department
of Gynecology and Obstetrics, as well as researchers
at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Ambati lab receives $2.4 million grant
for newly discovered source of DNA
The John Templeton Foundation, a philanthropic organization
devoted to rigorous scientific research and scholarship, has awarded
a three-year, $2.4 million grant to Dr. Jayakrishna Ambati and his
research team at the UK Department of Ophthalmology and Visual
Sciences to study the genetics of a new source of DNA they discovered.
The Ambati lab discovered a new ecosystem of genetic information that is separate from the traditional, well-known DNA in our
genome. They plan to study the function and heritability of these
newly discovered DNA molecules in this project.
“We are hopeful that these studies will shed new light both on
organismal development and diseases of aging, such as Alzheimer’s
disease and macular degeneration,” Ambati said.

Bottge and colleagues awarded $1.6 million
to improve math assessment
Brian Bottge, principal investigator (PI), along with co-PIs at UK
(Xin Ma) and the University of Georgia (Allan Cohen, Laine Bradshaw and Hye-Jeong Choi), were recently awarded a four-year $1.6
million grant from the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) to develop more sophisticated measurement tools
for assessing the conceptual understanding and procedural skills of
students with disabilities in math. Bottge is the William T. Bryan
Endowed Chair in Special Education and a professor in the UK Department of Early Childhood, Special Education, and Rehabilitation
Counseling.
Specific activities of the new research are to:
Refine problem-solving assessments in ways that more adequately
tap the knowledge and performance of students with disabilities
in math.
Design fractions computation measures so teachers of students
with disability in math can more efficiently conduct their own error analysis.
Develop more sophisticated statistical analysis methods to uncover subtle differences in student performance over the course of
instruction. 

Compiled from news reports
about research at UK.
For more information about
research taking place at UK,
visit www.research.uky.edu

www.ukalumni.net

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* New Developments