CCTS Announces Agenda for 2026 Spring Conference
LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 9, 2026) — The University of Kentucky Center for Clinical and Translational Science is pleased to announce the agenda for its 2026 Spring Conference, which will be held Tuesday, March 31 at the Central Bank Center in Lexington.
The annual CCTS conference, now in its 21st year, is Kentucky’s premier event for clinical and translational research. More than 1,000 researchers, clinicians, trainees, students, and community partners will gather to share findings and foster collaborations aimed at improving health.
This year's conference theme is "AI: Bridging Clinical Care, Innovation, Research and Technology," but breakout sessions and presentations will span the spectrum of clinical and translational science.
As always, attendance is free. Lunch will be provided for those who register by March 24.
Highlights of the day’s program include:
- Morning Keynote: “The Experimenter’s Mindset: Putting AI to Work across Research, Education and Clinical Care”
Kevin W. Sexton, MD
Professor of Surgery and Biomedical Informatics
Helen and Nicholas Abumrad Directorship
Vice Chair for Innovation, Vanderbilt University Medical Center Section of Surgical Sciences
Vanderbilt University - Afternoon Keynote: “Why Most Healthcare AI Fails: Lessons from the Real World”
Jesus Caban, PhD
Chief Data and Analytics Officer
Defense Health Agency - Breakout sessions on topics such as healthcare and legal compliance in the age of generative and agentic AI; possibilities for impact with AI-enabled innovation; population health intelligence; and AI in complex disease genomics
- Research Days for the UK Colleges of Dentistry, Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing, Public Health, Education, Institute for Biomedical Informatics, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Internal Medicine
- A panel discussion on “Advancing Health in Kentucky through Precision Public Health in Practice,” featuring the dean of the UK College of Public Health, the Chief Medical and Innovation Officer of UK King’s Daughters Medical Center; and the President/CEO of UK St. Claire Medical Center
- The annual One-Minute Poster Pitch Competition, which awards cash prizes
- Presentation of the 2026 Research Mentor Awards
- Research poster presentations by students from the Frederick Douglass High School Biomedical Sciences Pathway program
- More than 400 poster presentations and 60 podium presentations on topics across the clinical and translational science spectrum
Complete details, including the full agenda and transportation information, are available here. »
Media Contact: Mallory Profeta, mallory.profeta@uky.edu
