Kenneth S. Campbell: 2025-26 University Research Professor Q&A

UKNow is highlighting the University of Kentucky’s 2025-26 University Research Professors. Established by the Board of Trustees in 1976, the professorship program recognizes excellence across the full spectrum of research at UK and is sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research.  

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 17, 2025) — Kenneth S. Campbell, Ph.D., professor of cardiovascular medicine and physiology in the UK College of Medicine, has been honored as a 2025-26 University Research Professor.

He serves as director of translational research for the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and associate vice-chair for translational research for the Department of Internal Medicine.

Campbell’s research focuses on how the heart contracts. This work bridges scientific gaps between clinical care and the heart’s function — on a cellular and molecular level — with the goal of improving patient care.

He is also the director of the Gill Cardiovascular Biorepository — one of the world’s largest cardiac biobanks — that helps advance research across the globe focused on the genetic, biochemical and biophysical mechanisms that contribute to heart failure.

Campbell’s efforts to begin the biobank started shortly after he joined UK in 2004, and he says its growth is a testament to the generosity of organ donors and their families.

He has published roughly 130 peer-reviewed manuscripts and mentored more than 120 scholars — from high school students to junior faculty members.

Campbell spoke with UKNow about his latest honor as a University Research Professor in this Q&A.

UKNow: What does it mean to you to be recognized as a University Research Professor?

Campbell: I think the first feeling is humbled. If you look through the list of prior awardees, it’s a who’s who of UK greats. When I joined UK 20 years ago, I never thought I’d reach that level. It’s really nice to be recognized by my colleagues in this way. I just feel really lucky.

UKNow: How will the professorships program advance your research?

Campbell: Receiving an award like this helps reinforce the idea that what you and your team are doing is important. That’s really helpful when there is so much uncertainty about the future of academic research and grant funding at academic medical centers. It’s a pat on the back that helps you push on to keep doing the important things.

The $10,000 from this professorship allowed us to purchase a new instrument called a vibratome. We are going to use this to implement a new technique pioneered in Europe called cardiac slices. The instrument will help us cut thin sections of cardiac muscle from samples donated by patients. We can then study the contractile properties of these slices in the lab. It’s a huge advance and gives us the opportunity to measure things like gene expression and signaling cascades in living human muscle in a way that just wasn’t possible before. One of our new Ph.D. students will spend the next three or four years driving this project.

UKNow: What inspired your focus on this area of research?

Campbell: I guess I've become known at UK for being a bridge between very basic science (how cardiac muscle contracts at a molecular level) and clinical cardiology. A lot of our work uses specimens donated by patients who receive heart transplants or ventricular assist devices, or who were organ donors at UK.

When I came to UK 20 years ago, I only knew about the science side, but in about 2007 I became friends with a cardiothoracic surgeon who did a lot of the operations. We met once a week or so after work and talked about our days. He spoke about clinical care, and I talked about science. His stories were more interesting, and I started to realize that we might be able to have more impact by trying to work more closely together. That was the inspiration and things developed from there.

We realize in the lab that our research is not really helping patients today, but our hope is that it might help the patients who need care in five or 10 years. It’s a long-term game but one that you have to be in to win. And, although I’m biased, I think just the fact that we’re trying gives the clinical teams a lift, too. They see people working to help them come up with better tools to help patients. That’s the end goal for all of us in the College of Medicine: helping patients.

UKNow: How does your research impact Kentucky?

Campbell: Cardiovascular disease kills more Americans than anything else. Kentuckians, particularly those with less access to resources, are particularly at risk. Most of us will know somebody who has problems with blood pressure, atrial fibrillation or some other heart problem. Our lab works on one of the most common issues, heart failure, which develops when the heart struggles to pump enough blood. We are trying to work out what’s gone wrong and how to fix it with new medicines or therapies. We’re also trying to make new types of computer models that doctors can use to predict the best way to treat each of their patients. It’s an exciting space with lots of opportunities to make a difference.

About the University Research Professors
Each year, the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees approves a cohort of faculty as University Research Professors. The distinction recognizes excellence in work that addresses scientific, social, cultural and economic challenges in Kentucky and the world.

College leadership developed criteria for excellence within their area of expertise and then nominated faculty who excelled at these criteria. Each University Research Professor receives a one-year award of $10,000.