The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) and the University of Kentucky International Center (UKIC) have announced the second cohort of UKinSPIRE fellows. 

UKinSPIRE is an internal funding opportunity for UK faculty, jointly funded by the OVPR and UKIC, intended to stimulate high-impact research projects in any discipline linking UK faculty and international collaborators and to establish collaborations with new international partner institutions or add greater depth to existing institutional partnerships.

The second year of the program saw a significant 135% increase in the number of UKinSPIRE proposals, representing a wide range of academic disciplines and research fields. An interdisciplinary review committee comprised of faculty and administrative staff representing nine colleges, UKIC and OVPR, provided recommendations to the Vice President for Research, Associate Provost for Internationalization and executive director of International Partnerships & Research.

Based on these recommendations, the following UKinSPIRE projects were selected for support which started July 1: 

• “Data Sonification of Genome Profiles and Mutational Signatures in Human Cancers,” Luke H. Bradley (College of Medicine)

• “International Perspectives of Quality of Life & Community Well-Being: A Cross-Cultural Examination of Community & Domestic Violence,” Bryan Hains (Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment)

• “How the Governance of Standards and Geopolitics Shape Competition in the Global Economy,” Yujia He (Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce)

• “Inequality, Demography and Urban Sustainability at Chichén Itzá, Mexico,” Scott Hutson (College of Arts and Sciences)

• “Advancing Neurophysiological Assessment of Brain Health in Aging Populations: A Collaborative Initiative between Chad and Kentucky,” Yang Jiang (College of Medicine)

• “Global Studio: Pedagogical Research for new approaches in Design and Fine Arts Education,” Jonathan McFadden (College of Fine Arts)

• “Teaching Manifestos: Embedding Values Across Creative Disciplines,” SK O’Brien (College of Design)

• “Fundamental Insights into Chemical Compounds with Critical Elements,” Dong-Sheng Yang (College of Arts and Sciences) 

Learn more about UKinSPIRE.