Focus on Faculty

Daret St. Clair, James Graham Brown Chair in Neuroscience
People facing several bouts of radiation and chemotherapy to treat cancer realize they may get pretty sick before they can get well. But research conducted by toxicologist Daret St. Clair suggests that by incorporating a natural body enzyme into existing treatments, the result might be a lot less toxic for patients. St. Clair, who came to UK in 1991, is studying the antioxidant enzyme manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), which may suppress the growth and even eventually help eradicate cancer. “We’re still far away from a non-toxic drug that can stop cancer, but the good news is that this enzyme we’ve been working with is a natural body enzyme—it is essential for the survival of normal tissue, which makes it an important tool for the fight against toxic effects of other anti-cancer drugs,” she says. Her previous research has shown that this enzyme, which is located in the mitochondria (the energy producers) of the cell, slows the growth of cancer. Antioxidants like MnSOD are believed to offer protection against free radicals, molecules with unpaired electrons that move through the body and destroy proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids. “Our lab is one of the two leading groups in the country with this particular focus on cancer research,” adds St. Clair, who is funded by the National Cancer Institute and recently received an honorary Ph.D. in Science from Mahidol University in her native Thailand

Larry Holloway, TVA Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
In the next five years, 40 percent of the power and energy engineers in the United States will reach retirement age. “We’ll need 7,000 engineers,” says Larry Holloway, chair of the electrical and computer engineering department and the director of the new UK Power and Energy Institute (PEIK). Launched in 2010 with a three-year, $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, PEIK’s goal is to attract future engineers to the field and to provide them with the innovative education they’ll need to join a workforce based on solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, nuclear, natural gas, and clean coal technologies. In addition to undergraduate and graduate certificate programs, the institute will offer continuing education and short courses to professional engineers.  E.ON gave $2 million to endow PEIK scholarships and fund an annual study abroad program. The future is the Smart Grid (which uses digital technology with two-way communications to control the power system and even consumer appliances, with a goal of reducing cost and increasing reliability). “Some states are pretty close to that, but others are not,” Holloway points out. “The real challenge for our current grid is getting the power when we need it to where we need it.  For example, the wind may be generating power on the plains of Texas, but we need the power elsewhere, and not necessarily just when the wind blows.  We need to train the engineers who will develop the technologies that make renewable energy economically feasible.”

Everett McCorvey, Lexington Opera Society Endowed Chair in Opera Studies
The 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games—the largest equestrian event in U.S. history—made a lasting cultural impact thanks to UK’s Everett McCorvey, who served as executive producer of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. McCorvey has spent 19 years at UK and is a professor voice and executive producer of the UK Opera Theatre. Under his leadership and with the support of the Lexington Opera Society, the opera program has become one of the most sought-after opera educations in the country, on par with noted programs at Julliard, Florida State and Indiana. UK Opera Theatre boasts numerous successful alumni, a talented and renowned faculty, and productions that compete with major regional opera. In 2010, McCorvey partnered with Alltech to form a music program in Haiti with students from the UK opera program: “We’ll create the Haitian Children’s Chorus that will travel the world telling the story of Haiti through the voices of its children.” As a tenor soloist, McCorvey has enjoyed critical acclaim and has performed in many prestigious venues around the globe, including the Kennedy Center, Radio City Music Hall, the Metropolitan Opera, and Italy’s Teatro Comunale. He established and directs the American Spiritual Ensemble, a group of 24 professional singers who tour annually throughout the United States and abroad. McCorvey serves as vice-chairman of the Kentucky Arts Council and on the National Association of State Arts Agencies board. He is a faculty representative to the UK Board of Trustees and was awarded the Kentucky Star for Music.

Claire Renzetti, Judi Conway Patton Endowed Chair
Nationally known criminologist Claire Renzetti joined the UK Center for Research on Violence Against Women (CRVAW) in August 2010. Renzetti’s research focuses on women’s violent victimization experiences, particularly economically and socially marginalized groups of women. “We’ve all heard: ‘Anybody can be a victim of domestic violence. It cuts across all races and classes.’ But the research shows a much higher risk for women who are poor,” says Renzetti, who has worked with women in public housing in Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey. “They’d say to me, ‘I can handle the violence. I’m more worried about feeding my kids and paying my rent so I can stay here.’ What we need is a coordinated community response to violence that simultaneously addresses therapy, housing, education, child services, and legal issues.” In 1992, Renzetti led the first national study of intimate partner violence in lesbian relationships. She is the editor of the international, interdisciplinary journal Violence Against Women. In 2009, her contributions to the field were recognized by the Saltzman Award from the Women and Crime Division of the American Society of Criminology. In addition to her CRVAW endowed chair Renzetti holds a professorship in the sociology department in the College of Arts and Sciences.

James MacLeod, John S. and Elizabeth A. Knight Chair
James MacLeod, a veterinarian and researcher at the Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center and director of UK’s Equine Initiative, came to UK from Cornell in 2004. In 2009, principal investigator Jinze Liu (computer science), MacLeod, and Arne Bathke and Arnold Stromberg (statistics) received more than $1 million from the National Science Foundation to develop computer-based methods to study gene expression. MacLeod explains, “We used to think that one gene produced only one protein, but genome sequencing has revealed that one gene can generate multiple proteins. Through RNA sequencing and our computational strategies, we can sort out these gene products. The methods allow scientists to assess the ‘whole forest’ (whole genome) before we pick our ‘trees’ (individual genes) to study at greater detail.” MacLeod studies osteoarthritis in horses. His goal is to figure out why some cells with the same genetic profiles can repair (like bone cells) but others (like neurons and cartilage) cannot. The progression of arthritis involves a breakdown and loss of joint cartilage over time. “Sports put more aggressive wear and tear on joints, add in steroid injections and pain medications, and athletes can end their careers in their 20s with the same level of joint disease as people in their 70s and 80s. Diseases related to athleticism are very similar in horses and humans. As elite athletes, horses can inform us about sports medicine and exercise physiology.”

Suzanne Smith, Donald and Gertrude Lester Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Suzanne Smith’s research is dynamic—literally. Using motion tracking cameras and computer models her research team is focusing on the physics involved in how things move. Smith’s two decades at UK in the mechanical engineering department have been dedicated to numerous projects for NASA, including work with “gossamer materials”—strong, very thin, ultra-lightweight, and highly flexible materials that can be tightly compacted for launch and then deployed once in space. Most recently, projects on Mars airplanes and high-altitude unmanned vehicles are pushing into sci-fi territory: “We’re studying inflatable wings that can cure in sunlight and wings that can reshape for flight control. Whether launched to Mars, flown at high altitude or folded into a backpack, deployable unmanned aircraft are an important technology for science and defense missions,” says Smith.  Closer to earth, and close to the “heart” of Kentucky, Smith is studying the physics involved in devastating summersault accidents in the equestrian sport of cross country. Her UK team is designing safer fences, testing new devices and helping the sport establish safety standards that will protect riders and horses. Smith also leads NASA’s Kentucky Space Grant and EPSCoR programs. These initiatives support research, graduate fellowships, undergrad scholarships, pre-college education, and general science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education throughout Kentucky.