Education
Diverse STEM Career Pathways in Kentucky: A Peer-to-Peer Panel
Join us on April 21 at 10 am for an Undergraduate Student panel directed towards STEM-interested Dual Credit and High School students. This virtual peer-to-peer event aims to share with future scientists the variety of programs, research projects, and prospective careers they can accomplish right here in the Commonwealth! Find out more information on the Upcoming Events page.
Please share with the Dual Credit and High School students in your area!
Summer Camp Directory
We've curated a list of 20 STEM Summer Camps around Kentucky
We know Summer Camp is out of reach for some families. If that's you, we invite you to Apply for a KAS Summer STEM Camp Scholarship by May 4.
NEW! Professional Development Resources for KAS members
We've curated a variety of opportunities for our members to learn new skills, advance your careers, and have more impact in the world. Check our our Professional Development Resources at the KAS website. Many of them are free or cheap. If you know of resources you would like to share with fellow scientists, send them our way!
Science PD opportunities for teachers this summer
Kentucky Teachers,  we have assembled a few STEM PD opportunities for you too, to get experience side by side with scientists this summer.
Check KAS' Summer 2025 Science PD for teachers
Help KAS Match up Scientists with K12 Teachers and Students
Would you like to help build more mentorship opportunities within KAS? KAS is looking for help managing our Mentor Match program for students, K12 teachers, and professional scientists. Please get in touch!
Education and Engagement Team
Our Education & Engagement team makes connections with K-12 Teachers, Kentucky field stations, supports the Junior Academy, and connects with other partners around the state. We're assembling a summer camp directory again this year
E&E meets on the 4th Monday at 10am ET. All are welcome! Email our Executive Director Amanda Fuller to get added to the list.
Research
Wood Hudson Cancer Research Laboratory
2025 Undergraduate Research Education Program (UREP)
This nine-week summer program will run daily from June 2 – August 1. This long-standing annual program offers undergraduate students hands-on cancer research experience, in person at our labs at 931 Isabella Street, in Newport, Kentucky. UREP combines classroom learning with laboratory research, training students in cell culture, bioactive hydrogel preparation, 3D bioprinting, western blotting, histology, and immunofluorescent microscopy. Guided by expert researchers, participants will conduct independent projects and may present their findings to the broader scientific community.
Who Should Apply?
- Bachelor’s or Master’s students with a focus on the biomedical sciences
- Strong interest in cancer biology research
- Lab experience preferred, but not required
UREP Application Form
Students will receive a stipend for their participation. We do not have a specific deadline, but we encourage applicants to apply as soon as possible. For questions, contact jbruns@woodhudson.org.
Box Turtle Collaboration Opportunity
KAS member John Abrams at Berea College is looking for collaborators on a project training a machine learning model to identify individual Eastern Box Turtles based on shell patterns (think facial recognition but for Turtle shells). John is looking for your photos of box turtles with date, time, location and at least 1 photo.
Policy
April General Assembly Update
Lawmakers passed approximately 140 bills out of the over 1100 bills that were introduced in the short, 30-day, 2025 legislative session. The KAS policy committee ranked over 300 bills, and we closely followed just under 100 bills throughout the session. Topics included income tax rates, diversity programs in Kentucky’s postsecondary educational institutions, environmental regulations, nuclear energy, maternal health, conversion therapy, cell phone use in schools, and the film industry in Kentucky.
Go to our 2025 State Legislative Issues page ( 2025 State Legislative Issues - Kentucky Academy of Science) for the full rundown of the bills we have been following.
Science Policy Committee Invites your Participation!
Public Comment Open on PFAS in Sewage Sludge
There is still time to submit public comments on the U.S. EPA’s Draft Sewage Sludge Risk Assessment for Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid (PFOS).
The extended public comment period closes on April 16, 2025. You can submit public comments through the Federal Register Notice.
Here are a couple of AAAS EPI Center resources that you may find useful ahead of submitting public comments.
Land applied biosolids and PFAS exposure (recording)
Follow up Q&A to Land applied biosolids and PFAS exposure webinar (recording)
NOAA websites under threat
It's hard to keep up. The latest about NOAA websites as of April 4.
Watching the Weather? Ky Mesonet is an amazing resource for Kentuckians , and partners with the National Weather Service .
A Voice for Vaccines: Louisville ICU Nurse Urges Action to Protect Children
By Rob Weber 
As global health funding faces unprecedented challenges, medical professionals are stepping up to defend one of modern science's most critical public health tools—vaccines. Backed by decades of research, vaccines continue to be a cornerstone of medical science. Yet, health professionals warn that vaccine hesitancy and U.S. funding freezes to world health programs threaten to undo decades of progress.
Emmy Wuensch, a Kentucky Academy of Science member who works as a pediatric intensive care unit nurse at Norton Children's Hospital in Louisville, recently took this message to Washington, D.C. as part of the Shot@Life Advocacy Summit, a campaign by the United Nations Foundation that promotes universal access to life-saving vaccines.
Junior Academy
Recruiting for KJAS
Help us expand the reach of our Junior Academy! Share this flyer in your region to help promote this valuable experience for Kentucky's future science community!
Funding
Did you know?
We have funding available for our members on our website!
Check out our Funding Opportunities today - some deadlines are quickly approaching!
Community
Lights Out Kentucky
Keep your building lights turned off at night to help migrating birds. Many birds never make it to their destinations because they collide with buildings.
WHY Do Birds Collide with illuminated building windows? One possible explanation is highlighted in this recent RadioLab episode
Turn out building lights at night, and ask your campus facilities managers to turn out lights in spring & fall to prevent bird- building collisions. Learn more
Connect with Kentucky Field Stations
 The Kentucky Organization of Field Stations (KOFS) is a network of researchers, educators, and other scientists. Are you connected to one of Kentucky's 20 field stations around the state?
Join the Ky Field Stations email listserve to share your announcements, questions, and research opportunities. Enter your email address here to join the list:
https://listserve.eku.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kyfieldstations
Congratulations to new Student Members inducted into Beta Kappa Chi
In a display of academic excellence, seventeen students were inducted into Beta Kappa Chi, a national scientific honor society, on Monday, March 31, 2025.
Congratulations to
Nyla Wells, Anthony Holt, Timiyah Roberson, Armour Akanmu, Amaya Cooper, RaShawn Stephens-Bridgewater, Shawna Murrell, Sydney Shelby, Destiny Jones, Arielle Edwards, Arianna Washington, Ashley Lee, Arriel King, De’Aira Watts, Janiah Lancaster, Zion Lewis, and Shelby Jackson
Beta Kappa Chi was founded in 1923 at Lincoln University, Pennsylvania with the motto, “Science holds the golden key to the royal palace of knowledge.” Today, the scientific honor society has spread throughout the nation, encouraging the advancement of scientific education and high scholarship in the sciences.
From our Science Partners
Support Undergraduate Researchers at Wood Hudson Cancer Research Laboratory
Wood Hudson, a proud partner of the Flying Pig Marathon, is selling Piggest Raffle Ever tickets, with all proceeds benefiting the lab. Each $5 raffle ticket purchase gives you a chance to win up to $5,000 for yourself and $5,000 for Wood Hudson. Purchase (tax-deductible) tickets online and select Wood Hudson Cancer Research Laboratory as your charity.
AAAS Members Speaking to Members
This series features science policy practitioners and science communicators sharing resources and explaining effective engagement strategies for scientists as individuals, and ways to develop skills in speaking with and listening to those outside the research community.
April 13 Building Trust: Interpersonal Communication for Scientists
April 27 Taking Action: How Scientists Can Participate.
Register here
Environmental Education Leadership Corps (EELCorps)
Site Partner Application is now open for organizations interested in hosting an AmeriCorps EELCorps member for the upcoming service year. This is a fantastic opportunity to expand your environmental education programs, lessons and activities, while making a lasting impact on your community. AmeriCorps EELCorps members bring unique skills, a passion for environmental education, and a commitment to their communities.
Application Deadline: May 16, 2025
Apply Here: 2025-26 Environmental Education Leadership Corps Site Partner Application
If you have questions or would like more information, please email Ashley Mike.
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