Katherine E. Hartmann, M.D., Ph.D., has been named director of the University of Kentucky Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS). She will assume the role on Feb. 15, 2024. 

“As a result of a national search, I am pleased to welcome Dr. Katherine Hartmann as the new director of the CCTS,” said UK Vice President for Research Lisa Cassis. “Dr. Hartmann joins us from Vanderbilt University with considerable relevant experience related to the missions of the CCTS and we are excited to partner with her to advance translational science.” 

“I’m drawn to the exceptional breadth of scientific excellence at the University of Kentucky. Moreso, I’m impressed by the depth of commitment to the well-being of the people of the Commonwealth. The clear mission to advance health and human flourishing by accelerating research is invigorating,” said Hartmann.

Hartmann is an epidemiologist and health services researcher with expertise in large community-recruited cohorts, behavioral interventions and clinical trials. Her primary research focuses on finding answers to questions that matter to women and their care providers including adverse pregnancy outcomes, uterine fibroids, pelvic floor disorders, and risks for cardiovascular disease. Her work crosses many policy-relevant areas including health outcomes, evidence-based practice, systematic reviews, cost analysis and informed medical decision-making.

A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill epidemiology Ph.D. program and Johns Hopkins University M.D. program, Hartmann most recently served as associate dean for clinical translational scientist development at Vanderbilt University, as well as vice president for research integration at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She was also deputy director of the Institute for Medicine and Public Health for the Vanderbilt campus from 2006 to 2020.

In addition to her role at the UK CCTS, Hartmann will serve as associate vice president for research, clinical and translational science, and in the UK College of Medicine, she will be the associate dean of research development and synergy, and a professor of obstetrics and gynecology.

In 2021, the UK CCTS received a $23.5 million, five-year award from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) at the National Institutes of Health. This was the third time the CCTS successfully competed for the prestigious Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA), with continuous funding since 2011.

Cassis said, “The CCTS is a complex undertaking that involves all aspects of health-related research on campus and interacts with many other institutions nationally. To facilitate the transition in leadership, Dr. Philip Kern, who has provided passionate and sound leadership of the CCTS since 2009, will work alongside Dr. Hartmann as CCTS co-director. Together they will help CCTS continue its many productive activities, initiate new programs, prepare for the next CTSA grant submission — all of which will help CCTS continue to advance translational science at UK. Dr. Kern will remain an active clinician scientist. We thank him for his leadership these past 14 years and look forward towards his continued engagement.”

Founded in 2006 with the mission of accelerating discoveries to improve health, the CCTS supports research from bench to bedside to community, with particular focus on Appalachia. The center provides robust infrastructure for all types of health research, including pilot funding, training, and career development for the next generation of translational researchers, a full spectrum of research support services, community engagement resources, multidisciplinary mentors, and connections to local and national research networks.

The University of Kentucky Center for Clinical and Translational Science is supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1TR001998. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.