Research Advancing Kentucky: Driving change in chronic disease treatment
Researchers at the University of Kentucky play an important role in advancing the health, well-being and future of our Commonwealth.
Much of that work is done with support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). That support allows our researchers to find answers to many of the critical health issues facing Kentuckians.
Barbara Nikolajczyk, Ph.D., is supported by the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research.
Nikolajczyk is a professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences in the UK College of Medicine with joint appointments in microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics, molecular and cellular biochemistry, and pharmaceutical sciences. She is also the associate director for translational research in diabetes at the UK Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center.
Nikolajczyk’s research focuses on better understanding the origins of obesity and type 2 diabetes, along with preventative measures and new treatments for these chronic diseases. She also explores how the immune system contributes to obesity, type 2 diabetes, aging and related conditions such as periodontal disease.
“With my research, and support from the NIH, I hope to continue to move the needle on chronic diseases that disproportionately impact Kentuckians,” said Nikolajczyk. “The health of Kentucky, our Appalachian neighbors and the Southeast relies on this work to generate fundamentally new approaches towards lowering the rates of obesity of type 2 diabetes.”
Nikolajczyk and other members of the research community shared the importance of NIH-funded research at UK in this video series from Research Communications.
Learn more about each featured researcher.
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