Scientific Tracks Clinical and Experimental Therapeutics

The focus of this program is translational research, which involves studies that occur at the interface of the laboratory bench and patient bedside. Since all students admitted to this track will have a clinical/health profession degree*, the emphasis of the program will be training in the basic science, which improves the graduate's ability to successfully compete for extramural funding. There are required clinical components to assure competency in the foundations, principles and processes of clinical research. The keystone of the training is the completion of a dissertation project that integrates laboratory-based and translational investigation.

The Clinical & Experimental Therapeutics faculty have diverse areas of expertise, with focal strengths in Oncology, Cardiology, Infectious Disease, and Neurosciences.

Financial Support

Several graduate programs at the University of Kentucky recently received financial support from the Research Challenge Initiative, a Commonwealth of Kentucky-supported effort to enable the University of Kentucky to become a top 20 federal research institution by the year 2020. The Clinical and Experimental Therapeutics training program supports graduate students with stipends, payment of tuition, as well as health insurance. The financial support comes from the Research Challenge Initiative and from teaching assistant assignments. Even higher stipends are available when an extramural/competitive fellowship is received, such as an AFPE fellowship or an NIH National Research Service Award.

Please refer to the websites linked below for relevant information for the current Academic Year.

• Cost of Attendance: The total estimated expenses to attend UK, including tuition, fees, housing, meals, books, supplies, transportation, and personal expenses.
• Tuition and Fees: These are the specific charges for instruction and related services, excluding other living and personal expenses. Tuition and fees (both resident and non-resident) are fully paid for all graduate students who have appointments as teaching or research assistants or fellowships.
• Stipends: These may come from Teaching Assistantships, Research Assistantships, or Fellowships. There are no separate application forms for these appointments. Your stipend can increase if you are awarded a competitive extramural fellowship. Many of our students receive these nationally competitive awards.

Special Admissions Requirements

*The completion of a PharmD, DDS, DVM, or other professional health degree is required for admission into this training track.

Faculty

The Clinical and Experimental Therapeutics faculty have diverse areas of expertise; collectively, they have therapeutic strengths in Oncology, Cardiology, Infectious Diseases, and Neurosciences. The following are the graduate faculty in the Clinical and Experimental Therapeutics training program.

• Val R. Adams, Pharm.D.
• Björn Bauer, Ph.D.
• Penni Black, Ph.D.
• David S. Burgess, Pharm.D., FCCP
• Lindsay Czuba, Ph.D.
• Linda P. Dwoskin, Ph.D.
• David Feola, Pharm.D., Ph.D.
• Caroline Geisler, Ph.D.
• Anel Jaramillo, Ph.D.
• Ashlan J. Kunz Coyne, Pharm.D., M.PH.
• Charles D. Loftin, Ph.D.
• Kristen McLaurin, Ph.D.
• Jill Turner, Ph.D.
• Vincent Venditto, Ph.D.
• Chang-Guo Zhan, Ph.D.