Carl Nathe: Thanks Keith!

Dr. Lisa Cassis: Time is always the challenging part, but I still am a firm believer that because I'm an active researcher, I lead by example.

Carl Nathe: That's Dr. Lisa Cassis, the University of Kentucky's Vice President for Research. Trained in Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Cassis's nationally competitive research laboratory focuses on cardiovascular disease, aiming to develop specific and optimal therapies for the treatment of both men and women. Dr. Cassis, on her role as Research VP:

Dr. Lisa Cassis: What attracted me was, could I have a broader impact? I really wanted to make a difference in improving the research infrastructure for my colleagues, and making UK even greater.

Carl Nathe: Recent statistics released by the National Science Foundation show UK climbing from 69th to 64th among all research universities in the nation.

Dr. Lisa Cassis: To move five rankings in one year, is very significant. We also moved amongst public universities from 44th to 41st. We're very excited about these results. I think they represent, to me, the hard work of faculty, students, and staff.

Carl Nathe: And UK's research enterprise soon will benefit from a new state-of-the-art facility.

Dr. Lisa Cassis: President Capilouto approached the state for support of a new research building that would focus on health disparities. These are diseases, like cardiovascular disease, that people that live in Kentucky experience more than the rest of the nation.

Carl Nathe: This new building is designed to further enhance UK's already strong reputation for collaborative research across disciplines.

Dr. Lisa Cassis: Taking advantage of how we are all on one campus here at UK, the building is six stories. It's about 300,000 square feet of space. This provides a recruiting tool for new researchers, also, to come to the University of Kentucky.

Carl Nathe: The University of Kentucky's status as a premier research university is a big plus for students.

Dr. Lisa Cassis: One of the things that distinguishes a research institution is that undergraduates can contribute, learn, experience research from day one.

Carl Nathe: University of Kentucky Vice President for Research, Lisa Cassis. For more, visit uky.edu. There you can find our UKNow news page, as well as to how to engage with us via social media on facebook, twitter, and instagram. Seeing blue, I'm Carl Nathe with UK at the Half.