Martha L. Peterson, PhD

Martha L. Peterson, PhD, co-director, Translational Technologies and Resources, is professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics in the College of Medicine. Since 2006, she has also served as associate vice president for research (part-time) coordinating internal faculty support programs, among other duties. Dr. Peterson’s research focuses on understanding gene regulation at the RNA level. Because of multiple regulatory reactions that occur at the RNA level of gene expression, the limited number of genes in our genome can lead to production of a much greater diversity of protein products. Understanding how these reactions are regulated is essential to being able to identify and correct defects in these processes that may occur in human diseases. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and the KY Lung Cancer Grant Program.

In addition to teaching and mentoring both graduate and undergraduate students at UK, Dr. Peterson has mentored high school students and teachers. She has served on the editorial board of The Journal of Biological Chemistry and on the Biochemistry of Gene Expression Grant Review Panel for the National Science Foundation.