Lisa Cassis has been named the University of Kentucky’s vice president for research.
Cassis, a long-time UK professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, has served as the university’s interim vice president for research since June 2. In her new role, she will oversee the university’s roughly $285 million research enterprise.
“Dr. Cassis is a model researcher,” said UK President Eli Capilouto in a release announcing Cassis’ appointment. “She has spent her career as a leading researcher into some of Kentucky’s most significant health issues and for the past year has provided outstanding leadership for our growing research enterprise as we formulate a strategic plan and continue to navigate a challenging federal funding climate.”
Capilouto also took note of Cassis’ leadership, along with UK’s Government Relations and Finance and Administration teams, in securing $132.5 million in state support for a new research building at the university. Construction on the $265 million facility is expected to begin in the next few months.
Among her many duties, Cassis is also a faculty member of the UK Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, the Saha Cardiovascular Research Center, the Barnstable Brown Diabetes and Obesity Center and the College of Pharmacy. She is the principal investigator on several multimillion-dollar federal grants, including serving as program director of an $11.3 million National Institutes of Health grant to support the Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) focusing on obesity and cardiovascular diseases.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in pharmacy and her doctoral degree in pharmacology from West Virginia University and has held post-doctoral positions at the University of Wurzburg in Germany and the University of the Virginia.