Office of the Vice President for Research Organizational Chart (PDF)
OVPR: Centers, Institutes and Cores Organizational Chart (PDF)
Office of the Vice President for Research
University of Kentucky Research
Our Mission
The University of Kentucky supports and empowers innovative research in all forms practiced across our campus, varied disciplines and more than 75 centers and institutes. UK faculty, staff and student researchers create, discover and apply new knowledge, and explore the most complex problems facing Kentucky, the nation and the world. Our collaborative, cross-disciplinary research environment provides a rich training ground for the next generation of thinkers, creators and leaders.
The Office of the Vice President for Research provides programs and services to support UK faculty, staff and students in grant development and submission, compliance and regulatory affairs, development of intellectual property and in highlighting their research achievements. This includes oversight and guidance of 9 multidisciplinary research centers and 9 core facilities.
$502.5
Million
in external grants and contracts awarded in FY26
$255.3
Million
Federal agency awards in FY25
1 of 34
U.S. universities
with the trifecta of NIH research designations in cancer, aging & translational science
Office of the Vice President for Research Organizational Structure
Units that Report to the OVPR
Research Support Units
- Administrative and Fiscal Affairs, Toni Smith
- Clinical Research Support Office, Jessica Heskel
- Federal Relations
- Office of the Attending Veterinarian, Michael Hart
- Office of Research Integrity (ORI), Helene Lake-Bullock
- Research Communications, Alicia Gregory
- Research Information Services, Billy Clark
- Sponsored Project Services
- Collaborative Grant Services
- Office of Sponsored Projects Administration (OSPA), Kim Carter
- Proposal Development Office (PDO), Kathleen Grzech
- UK Innovate, Ian McClure
Centers & Institutes
- Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER)
- Center for Clinical & Translational Science (CCTS)
- Center for Computational Sciences
- Center for the Environment
- Human Development Institute (HDI)
- Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS)
- Kentucky Water Research Institute (KWRI)
- Markey Cancer Center
- Tracy Farmer Institute for Sustainability & the Environment (TFISE)
Core Facilities
- Animal Behavior & Energy Balance Core (ABEBC)
- Cellular Genomics and Imaging Core (CGI)
- Division of Laboratory Animal Resources (DLAR)
- Electron Microscopy and Materials Characterization Core (EMC)
- Flow Cytometry and Immune Monitoring Core
- Light Microscopy Core
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy Center (MRISC)
- Mass Spectrometry Core
- Pathology Research Core
Office of the Vice President for Research
Leadership Team
Rodney Andrews, Ph.D.
Sr. Associate Vice President for Research Administration and Central Services
John Balk, Ph.D.
Associate Vice President for Research Development and Support
Mark Evers, M.D.
Associate Vice President for Research for Oncology Research and Strategic Development
Katherine Hartmann, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Vice President for Research, Clinical and Translational Research
Ian McClure, J.D.
Associate Vice President for Research, Innovation and Economic Impact
Chad Risko, Ph.D.
Associate Vice President for Research Training and Strategic Initiatives
Research Trending Topics
The Research Trending Topics series is hosted by the Office of the Vice President for Research. These one-hour sessions include expert speakers covering the latest in research-related regulations, trends, policies and other pertinent topics.
All live sessions may be attended in-person or via zoom. Recordings of the live session may be viewed by clicking the link below (linkblue login required).
Next Session: Coming soon.
Research Town Hall
We are excited to announce a new series of Research Town Halls.
You will have an opportunity to hear from Acting Vice President for Research, Ilhem Messaoudi, as well as submit your questions prior to the event, on the topics most impacting UK Research.
Monday, September 21, 2026
4-5 p.m.
W.T. Young Library Auditorium
Submit your questions using the link below. The deadline to submit questions is Sept .14 at 5 p.m.
No registration is required.
