UK: University of Kentucky | Commercialization & Economic Development

RESEARCH MEANS BUSINESS

Research Focus Areas

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. The Kentucky Tobacco Research & Development Center located at UK is a leader in plant-made pharmaceuticals (focusing on PMP regulation), plant-based natural products, and plant production systems.

Biomedical Engineering

Biomedical research is an interdisciplinary collaboration at UK bringing together scientists from medicine, engineering, dentistry, pharmacy, arts & sciences, health sciences, nursing, public health, and others to apply bioengineering technologies to medical needs. 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.

Energy Renewables and BioFuels

The University of Kentucky has almost 200 active projects directly related to energy or funded by the Department of Energy. These projects are headed by more than 100 investigators from many different parts of the university, including the Center for Applied Energy Research, the Kentucky Geological Survey, and the Colleges of Engineering, Agriculture, Business and Economics, and Arts and Sciences. These projects total over $50 million in current funding from federal (~$25M), state (~$10M), and industrial/other sponsors (~$15M).

UK's renewable energy research focus areas are:  Crops & Feedstock Production Biomass Processing & Conversion Genomics & Plant Genetics Policy, Commercialization & Relations

Engineering

UK’s College of Engineering focuses on fundamental research and R&D in the areas of biomaterials, computational fluid dynamics, the environment, nanomaterials, energy, and computer visualization. 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.

Medical / Translational / 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.

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.

The UK Center for Clinical and Translational Science is the interface between the pharmaceutical industry and UK researchers for clinical research. For more information about clinical trials see UK's Clinical Research Organization.

Pharmaceutical Research
Drug Design - Drug Development - Therapeutics - Pharmaceutical Policy

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.

Coldstream Laboratories Inc. offers full-service pharmaceutical R&D support and sterile drug manufacturing for clinical trials and some niche products. The GMP small-batch sterile drug product manufacturing facility, one of the few in the country using isolator technology, is located at UK's Coldstream Research Campus.