By Whitney Hale

By Richard LeComte

Cagney Coomer has three big achievements under her belt:  She earned a doctorate in Biology from the University of Kentucky in the College of Arts & Sciences; she started a nonprofit to encourage kids to pursue science and technology; and her research unlocked the secrets of two genes in the eye – the subject of her dissertation.  

by Susan Odom

By Mallory Powell

Growing up in Hazard, Kentucky, Brittany Martin was familiar with diabetes. Many of her older relatives had been diagnosed with the chronic condition, and her younger family members were starting to develop it as well. In a state with one of the highest rates of diabetes — 11.3 percent of adults had a diagnosis in 2014 —Martin’s family wasn’t out of the ordinary, but she found the status quo unacceptable.

Michael W. Young, an esteemed geneticist known best for identifying the genes that regulate circadian rhythms, will deliver two lectures at the University of Kentucky this week as part of the 2015 Thomas Hunt Morgan Lecture Series sponsored by the UK Department of Biology.