Research

UNITE Research Showcase to elevate impactful research at UK

New York Times bestselling author Juan Williams and Regina Benjamin, M.D., the founder and CEO of BayouClinic, will be the keynote speakers at the showcase. Photo provided by UNITE RPA.
New York Times bestselling author Juan Williams and Regina Benjamin, M.D., the founder and CEO of BayouClinic, will be the keynote speakers at the showcase. Photo provided by UNITE RPA.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 29, 2024) — The University of Kentucky’s UNITE Research Priority Area will host its annual showcase on Thursday, April 18. The 2024 UNITE Research Showcase is centered on elevating and promoting the importance of impactful research at UK, across the Commonwealth and beyond.

The event will take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, April 18, at the Gatton Student Center. While the event is free, registration is required for all attendees. The showcase is open to UK faculty, staff, students, affiliates and academic partners.

New York Times bestselling author Juan Williams will deliver the Irma Sarett Rosenstein Lecture sponsored by the UK College of Social Work.

Williams is the author of “Eyes on the Prize” and a columnist for The Hill and The New York Times. He is currently a senior political analyst for Fox News Channel after 23 years as a reporter, award-winning investigative journalist, White House correspondent, editorial writer and columnist. Williams was also with The Washington Post, where he interviewed multiple presidents as well as global and civil rights leaders. He has appeared on TV news programs from “Meet the Press” to “Oprah” and “Inside Washington.”

The UK College of Medicine is sponsoring the afternoon keynote address from Regina Benjamin, M.D., the founder and CEO of BayouClinic, a MacArthur Fellow and the 18th U.S. Surgeon General (2009-2013).

Benjamin specializes in prevention policies and health promotion among individuals as well as large populations, related to obesity, childhood obesity and children’s health. In 1995, she was the first physician under the age of 40 and the first African American woman to be elected to the American Medical Association Board of Trustees.

Throughout the showcase, UK researchers will feature their work on health equity, economics and law, social justice and education during breakout sessions designed to illustrate the relevance and impact of their ongoing scholarship.

The UK College of Communication and Information and the Center for Health Equity Transformation will also sponsor a poster session for UK faculty, trainees and students. Topics include arts and humanities, economics and law, education, health equity and social justice.

The student and trainee poster session will be a competition, with prizes awarded to the top three posters in the graduate/postdoctoral and undergraduate categories.

You can learn more about the event online here.

The 2024 UNITE Research Showcase is sponsored by the colleges of Social Work, Medicine, Education, Arts and Sciences, Public Health and Communication and Information; Gatton College of Business and Economics; J. David Rosenberg College of Law; UK Libraries; Commonwealth Institute for Black Studies; and Center for Health Equity Transformation.

As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.   

In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.