New research building at UK will focus on state's health disparities

Artist's rendering of new research center

A new research facility that will focus on addressing the health challenges and disparities in Kentucky is being built on the University of Kentucky's campus and is scheduled to be completed in spring 2018, said to a UK news release.

“This project represents the potential to improve the lives of so many, both within Kentucky where our health outcomes are so poor, and beyond,” Gov. Steve Beshear said. “Our entrenched health problems won’t improve without major investment like this project, which will complement the lifesaving efforts at the Markey Cancer Center and its designation as a National Cancer Institute.”

The $265 million building gets half of its funding from the state and the other half from university resources, including private gifts, according to the release. The facility is considered unique because it focuses on Kentucky’s health disparities, specifically in Appalachia, and fosters multidisciplinary research across numerous fields to develop solutions to these complex problems.

We know that so much of discovery today, whether at the cellular or community level, happens at the intersection of disciplines," Lisa Cassis, UK's vice president for research, said in the release. "This facility is being designed to foster discovery and collaboration so that what happens in labs and in the course of basic research can be translated to answers and solutions at the community level."