Associate Vice President for Research

Martha L. Peterson, Ph.D.
Associate Vice President for Research
311 Main Building
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY 40506-0032
859-257-5294
fax: 859-323-2800
mlpete01@uky.edu

Dr. Peterson is a professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics and a part-time Associate Vice President for Research.  She received her Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia before coming to the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in 1989.  She has received research funding from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and the KY Lung Cancer Grant Program.

Dr. Peterson’s research focuses on understanding gene regulation at the RNA level.  Because of multiple regulatory reactions that occur at the RNA level of gene expression, the limited number of genes in our genome can lead to production of a much greater diversity of protein products.  Understanding how these reactions are regulated is essential to being able to identify and correct defects in these processes that may occur in human diseases.

In addition to teaching and mentoring both graduate and undergraduate students at UK, Dr. Peterson has mentored high school students and teachers.  She has served on the editorial board of The Journal of Biological Chemistry and on the Biochemistry of Gene Expression Grant Review Panel for the National Science Foundation.  Since December 2006, she has been a part time Associate Vice President for Research, coordinating some of the internal faculty support programs administered by the office.