Advancing collaborative, community-engaged research focus of UNITE showcase

UNITE Showcase speakers 2025
Left to right: John Quiñones, Maia Hightower, M.D., and Chezare A. Warren, Ph.D. Photos provided.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 3, 2025) — The University of Kentucky UNITE Research Priority Area will host its annual showcase on April 17.

The 2025 UNITE Research Showcase will celebrate innovation, interdisciplinary collaboration and impactful research among faculty, students and community stakeholders.

The event will take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, April 17, 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, community and academic partners.

Keynote speakers include national leaders who will share their insights on research challenges and opportunities for innovation. Those speakers include:

  • John Quiñones, an award-winning broadcast journalist, acclaimed host of “What Would You Do?” and author.
  • Maia Hightower, M.D., the former executive vice president and chief digital technology officer of the University of Chicago Medicine, and the CEO and co-founder of “Equality AI.”
  • Chezare A. Warren, Ph.D., an associate professor at Vanderbilt University and award-winning author.

The focus for this year's showcase is "Community Engagement." UK researchers will feature their work in partnership with communities across the Commonwealth during breakout sessions.

There will also be a poster session for UK faculty, trainees and students. Topics include arts and humanities, economics and law, education and health disparities.

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.

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.