Faculty Mentor of the Month

Mentors make a difference.

The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) officially launched the Research Faculty Mentor of the Month recognition program in August 2017 and have since recognized 82 faculty mentors.

Each month the OUR office will highlight one of UK's outstanding and very much appreciated research faculty mentors who offer leadership and support to undergraduate student researchers.

Michael Samaan

Week 8 Oct 21, 2019

Dr. Michael Samaan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion in the College of Education. Dr. Samaan received his Ph.D. from Old Dominion University in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering in 2014. His research interests include the use of biomechanics and musculoskeletal imaging to better understand the mechanisms and effects of lower extremity joint diseases such as osteoarthritis on joint health and function.

Jeffrey Seay

Week 7 Oct 14, 2019

Dr. Jeffrey Seay is a PJC Board of Trustees Engineering Professor and a Professor of Chemical Engineering at the UK College of Engineering's Paducah campus. Dr. Seay's research interests include biofuels, computer-aided process engineering, energy conversion, environmental sciences, green engineering, process design and safety, sustainability, and transport processes and molecular modeling.

Natalie Pope

Week 6 Oct 7, 2019

Dr. Natalie Pope is an Associate Professor, Director of Doctoral Programs, and Otis Professor in Gerontology and Intergenerational Social Work in the UK College of Social Work. Dr. Pope’s program of research broadly focuses on older adults and their family caregivers. Specifically, her scholarship aims to address the following areas: 1) planning for future caregiving needs, 2) behavioral health of community-dwelling older adults, and 3) family caregiving across the life span. With more than 10 years of experience as a family social worker, Dr.

Dr. Jillienne Haglund

Week 5 Sep 30, 2019

Dr. Jillienne Haglund is an Assistant Professor of Political Science in the UK College of Arts & Sciences. Haglund’s research and teaching interests fall broadly in the fields of international relations and comparative politics. More specifically, she is interested in human rights, international organizations, international law, and comparative political institutions. Her work seeks to illuminate the extent to which international law constrains state human rights behavior.

Miriam Kienle

Week 4 Sep 23, 2019

Dr. Miriam Kienle is an Assistant Professor of Art History and Visual Studies in the UK College of Fine Arts, specializing in modern, contemporary, and American art. Kienle’s teaching and research interests include gender & sexuality, critical theory, new media, curatorial studies, and the digital humanities.

Nathan Vanderford

Week 3 Sep 16, 2019

Dr. Nathan Vanderford is an Assistant Professor of Toxicology and Cancer Biology in the UK College of Medicine. Dr. Vanderford is also the Director of the Appalachian Career Training in Oncology Program. His research interests include epidemiology and molecular etiology of lung cancer, research administration, technology transfer and entrepreneurship, and science pedagogy and career development.

Nicholas Teets

Week 2 Sep 9, 2019

Dr. Nicholas Teets is an Assistant Professor of Entomology in the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. His research interests include the mechanistic basis of environmental stress tolerance in insects. Much of Dr. Teets' research focuses on overwintering stress, both in temperate species and species from extreme environments like Antarctica.

Sebastian Bryson

Week 1 Sep 2, 2019

Dr. Sebastian Bryson is the Hardin-Drnevich-Huang Associate Professor of Civil Engineering in the UK College of Engineering and the Co-Director for the College of Engineering Scholars Program in Undergraduate Research. His research interests include sustainable and humanitarian engineering, geotechnical and earthquake engineering, and civil engineering materials.

Marilyn Campbell

Week 25 Apr 29, 2019

Dr. Marilyn Campbell is a Lecturer in Kinesiology and Health Promotion in the UK College of Education. Dr. Campbell received her Ph.D. in Exercise Science and her M.S. in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Kentucky. Her research interests include human nutrition, sports nutrition, cardiovascular health, obesity, and exercise. In the past year, she has mentored two undergraduate students.

Joshua Lile

Week 24 Apr 22, 2019

Dr. Joshua Lile is an Associate Professor of Behavioral Science, Psychiatry, and Psychology in the UK College of Medicine. Dr. Lile’s research efforts include the study of cannabis-use disorder, the determination of underlying mechanisms of stimulant-use disorder and the development of interventions, and a relatively new area of research for Dr. Lile relates to alcohol use disorder. In the past year, Dr. Lile has mentored one undergraduate student, three graduate students, and one post-doctoral trainee.

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