'UK at the Half': Meet UK Vice President for Research Lisa Cassis
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 29, 2021) — For this “UK at the Half,” Lisa Cassis, vice president for research at the University of Kentucky, shares how leaders across campus came together to find a path forward for research during the COVID-19 pandemic.
By creating policies to ensure the safety of research faculty, staff, students and study participants, and by creating the CURE Alliance focused on providing seed support to innovative COVID research projects, Cassis led UK’s research enterprise in one of the most challenging chapters of its existence. In FY 2021, UK investigators received a record $468 million in grants and contracts for their research and scholarship. This funding continues to support critical community-based work in Kentucky — like the HEALing Communities Study targeting opioid use disorder.
“UK at the Half” airs during halftime of each UK football and basketball game broadcast on the radio and is hosted by UK Public Relations and Marketing. To hear the “UK at the Half” interview, click the play button above.
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.