Top Researchers
Top Medicine Researchers at University of Kentucky for 2026
The University of Kentucky’s recent output in Medicine reflects a broad, active research community working across clinical care, public health, and biomedical science. From cardiovascular treatment and brain health to harm reduction and advanced radiation planning, the institution’s work spans both patient-facing and laboratory-centered questions.
Below, you’ll find a snapshot of researchers whose recent publications point to the themes shaping this activity over the past year, along with the subfields that surfaced most often in the sample.
Featured Researchers
Islam Y. Elgendy
Islam Y. Elgendy’s recent work at the University of Kentucky centers on cardiology, surgery, and imaging, with publication themes ranging from acute coronary syndrome guidance to anticoagulation and venous thromboembolism.
Activity over the last year: 33 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- 2025 ACC/AHA/ACEP/NAEMSP/SCAI Guideline for the Management of Patients With Acute Coronary Syndromes: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines (Feb 2025)
- 2025 ACC/AHA/ACEP/NAEMSP/SCAI Guideline for the Management of Patients With Acute Coronary Syndromes (Feb 2025)
- Efficacy and safety of reduced-dose versus full-dose direct oral anticoagulants for extended treatment of venous thromboembolism: A meta-analysis with trial sequential analysis and reconstructed time-to-event data (Sep 2025)
Sharon Walsh
Sharon Walsh’s publications highlight public health and epidemiology approaches to harm reduction, including fentanyl test strips, methadone access, and overdose risk reduction behaviors.
Activity over the last year: 29 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Fentanyl Test Strip Use and Overdose Risk Reduction Behaviors Among People Who Use Drugs (May 2025)
- We Drove to the Moon: Ensuring Methadone Access in Rural Kentucky Through Peer Transportation (Feb 2025)
- Association of fentanyl test strip results and change in drug use behaviors: A multi-state, community-based observational study (Jun 2025)
Peter T. Nelson
Peter T. Nelson’s recent publications connect physiology, psychiatry and mental health, and neurology through work on TDP-43 pathology, PET imaging, and Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers.
Activity over the last year: 28 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
Gregory A. Jicha
Gregory A. Jicha’s recent output spans psychiatry and mental health, physiology, and cognitive neuroscience, with attention to TDP-43 disease criteria, cerebral small vessel disease biomarkers, and Alzheimer’s research infrastructure.
Activity over the last year: 24 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Clinical criteria for limbic‐predominant age‐related TDP‐43 encephalopathy (Jan 2025)
- MarkVCID2 Consortium for Clinical Validation of Biomarkers of Cerebral Small Vessel Disease: Validation Framework and Baseline Characteristics (Sep 2025)
- Celebrating 40 years of the University of Kentucky Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (May 2025)
April M. Young
April M. Young’s work focuses on epidemiology and public health in rural Kentucky, especially harm reduction vending machines and hepatitis C transmission among people who inject drugs.
Activity over the last year: 19 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Likelihood of using a harm reduction vending machine among rural people who inject drugs in Appalachian Kentucky (Jan 2025)
- Discreet but accessible: a qualitative study with people who use drugs and service staff about the optimal design of a harm reduction vending machine in rural Kentucky (May 2025)
- Hepatitis C virus transmission among people who inject drugs in rural United States: mathematical modeling study using stochastic agent-based network simulation (Mar 2025)
Damodar Pokhrel
Damodar Pokhrel’s recent publications emphasize radiation oncology, radiology, and pulmonary medicine through studies of spatially fractionated radiation therapy, stereotactic planning, and quality assurance.
Activity over the last year: 14 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Reported Early Clinical Outcomes of Forward-Planned Multileaf Collimator-Based 3-Dimensional Conformal Spatially Fractionated Radiation Therapy Technique for Large and Bulky Tumors (Apr 2025)
- A knowledge‐based planning model to identify fraction‐reduction opportunities in brain stereotactic radiotherapy (Feb 2025)
- A predictive quality assurance model for patient‐specific gamma passing rate of hyperarc‐based stereotactic radiotherapy and radiosurgery of brain metastases (Aug 2025)
Alan Daugherty
Alan Daugherty’s recent studies bridge cardiology, immunology, and pulmonary and respiratory medicine, with work on abdominal aortic aneurysm, coronary atherosclerosis, and protective natriuretic peptide signaling.
Activity over the last year: 20 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Hypertriglyceridemia as a Key Contributor to Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Development and Rupture: Insights From Genetic and Experimental Models (Aug 2025)
- Novel Mouse Model of Coronary Atherosclerosis With Myocardial Infarction: Insights Into Human CAD (Jun 2025)
- Endothelium- and Fibroblast-Derived C-Type Natriuretic Peptide Prevents the Development and Progression of Aortic Aneurysm (Apr 2025)
Erin L. Abner
Erin L. Abner’s recent publications center on psychiatry and mental health, physiology, and neurology, with emphasis on Alzheimer’s disease genetics, plasma biomarkers, and research-center collaboration.
Activity over the last year: 24 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Multi-ancestry genome-wide meta-analysis of 56,241 individuals identifies known and novel cross-population and ancestry-specific associations as novel risk loci for Alzheimer’s disease (Jul 2025)
- Plasma S100β is a predictor for pathology and cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease (Jan 2025)
- Celebrating 40 years of the University of Kentucky Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (May 2025)
What University of Kentucky's Medicine Community Is Working On
Across the sample, physiology and psychiatry and mental health appeared most often, suggesting strong interest in how biological mechanisms, brain health, and clinical outcomes intersect. Cardiology and cardiovascular medicine also stood out, alongside radiology, nuclear medicine and imaging, as well as public health, environmental and occupational health. Taken together, the pattern points to a community actively working at the overlap of disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, with notable momentum in cardiovascular science, dementia research, and harm reduction.- Physiology - seen across 3 of the featured researchers
- Psychiatry and Mental health - seen across 3 of the featured researchers
- Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine - seen across 2 of the featured researchers
- Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging - seen across 2 of the featured researchers
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health - seen across 2 of the featured researchers
Together, these profiles show a medical research ecosystem that connects disease mechanism, clinical practice, and community health. If you’re exploring similar publication trends for your own institution or team, Resub can help streamline citation discovery, manuscript formatting, and submission prep.
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