By Erin Wickey 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 20, 2024) — Fourteen University of Kentucky students spent the summer expanding their research skills through the Commonwealth Undergraduate Research Experience Fellowship program, sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate Research and the Office of the Vice President for Research.

Established in 2022, the fellowship empowers undergraduates to become leaders for their communities by providing opportunities to develop knowledge and skills through research within UK’s Research Priority Areas: cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and obesity, energy, materials science, neuroscience, substance use disorder and UNITE.

"The CURE Fellowship provides an opportunity for undergraduates to secure research funding in areas where the university has tremendous strength in delivering outcomes that directly impact our local communities and the Commonwealth,” said Chad Risko, Ph.D., director of the Office of Undergraduate Research. “In addition, as many of the research questions that are addressed through the Research Priority Areas are of complex scope, the CURE Fellows can find themselves engaged in transdisciplinary teams and discussions during their research experiences, which provide critical insights into how such problems are addressed through collaboration."

Guided by Ann Stowe, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Neurology in the UK College of Medicine, UK senior Murphy Byrd chose to focus her research on long-term therapy for stroke patients.

“I became interested in stroke research for two main reasons: one, there’s no long-term therapy for stroke. And two, stroke is extremely prevalent. It has even impacted my own family,” said Byrd, one of the 14 students in the program’s cohort. “I know it has affected many other families and if I can make one tiny contribution in any way, I’ll be pleased knowing that it will be one step closer to a new treatment.”

UK senior Preet Patel spent the summer researching elastic fiber changes and their role in recovery in chronic aortic dissection. He has been working with mentor Hisashi Sawada, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Physiology in the UK College of Medicine.

Kentucky ranked eighth in deaths from heart disease in 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Patel said he was inspired to pursue research in cardiovascular health following a conversation he had while job shadowing during his pre-medicine track at UK.

“I shadowed a vascular surgeon here and I asked him a question: Why did you choose the University of Kentucky? He said that Kentucky is a place with a certain higher incidence of heart disease and so that inspired me to do the same,” Patel said.

Students selected as CURE Fellows received a $5,000 stipend to support their research during the summer 2024 term. Fellows will present their research Aug. 27 at the Summer Research Symposium.

UK’s 2024 recipients of the CURE Fellowship:

Cancer Research Priority Area:

• Jameson Allen-Mosby, biochemistry and Lewis Honors College junior; Mentor: Young-Sam Lee, Ph.D., in the College of Medicine’s Department of Biochemistry.
• Nolan Marcum, agriculture and medical biotechnology and Lewis Honors College junior; Mentor: Luksana Chaiswing, Ph.D., in the College of Medicine’s Department of Toxicology and Cancer Biology.

Cardiovascular Research Priority Area:

• Hannah Laney, biology and mathematics and Lewis Honors College freshman; Mentor: Kenneth Campbell, Ph.D., in the College of Medicine’s Division of Cardiovascular Medicine.
• Preet Patel, biology and neuroscience and Lewis Honors College junior; Mentor: Hisashi Sawada, Ph.D., in the College of Medicine’s Department of Physiology.

Diabetes & Obesity Research Priority Area:

• James Hao, neuroscience and Lewis Honors College junior; Mentor: Ming Gong, Ph.D., in the College of Medicine’s Department of Physiology.

Energy Research Priority Area:

• Mariana Escobedo de la Peña, sociology and gender and women’s studies junior; Mentor: Loka Ashwood, Ph.D., in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Sociology.

Materials Science Research Priority Area

• Carter Pryor, chemistry and Lewis Honors College junior; Mentor: Kenneth Graham, Ph.D., in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Chemistry.

Neuroscience Research Priority Area:

• Aidan Berry, neuroscience and Lewis Honors College junior; Mentor: Clare Rittschoff, Ph.D., in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment’s Department of Entomology.
• Murphy Byrd, kinesiology junior; Mentor: Ann Stowe, Ph.D., in the College of Medicine’s Department of Neuroscience.
• McKenna Green, psychology and public health and Lewis Honors College sophomore; Mentor: Linda Van Eldik, Ph.D., in the College of Medicine’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging.

Substance Use Research Priority Area:

• Cole Flaherty, neuroscience senior; Mentor: Cassandra Gipson-Reichard, Ph.D., in the College of Medicine’s Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences.
• Geoffrey Smith, biology sophomore; Mentor: Ilhem Messaoudi Powers, Ph.D., in the College of Medicine’s Department of Microbiology, Immunology, Molecular Genetics.

UNITE Research Priority Area:

• Eduarda Frizzo Pereira, international business freshman; Mentor: Anthony Bardo, Ph.D., in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Sociology.
• Gabriel Portugal, product design and psychology and Lewis Honors College junior; Mentor: Aanya Chugh, Ph.D., in the College of Design’s School of Interiors.