25 to watch in 2025: UK’s new head of research wants more transdisciplinary collaboration
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25 to watch in 2025
The Lexington Herald-Leader is tracking 25 individuals we expect will be making news in 2025.
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Editor’s note: The Herald-Leader is profiling 25 individuals we predict will be making news in 2025.
Name: Ilhem Messaoudi, University of Kentucky Acting Vice President for Research.
Background: The Vice President for Research is responsible for developing programs that support research, overseeing compliance with research standards and helping to bring research funding to UK. University President Eli Capilouto tapped Messaoudi the Acting Vice President for Research in September 2024.
Why she is someone to watch in 2025: Messaoudi has published over 200 pieces of research during her career in academia, but this is the first university-wide administration role she has taken. The University of Kentucky brought in $488 million in research funding in fiscal year 2024.
As the acting VP for research, Messaoudi will oversee all aspects of research at the university, and help define guiding priority areas for scholars at UK.
What Messaoudi expects out of the new year: “One of the things that I absolutely believe we can accomplish in the next 12 months, no question about it, is to increase integration and collaboration amongst the different colleges on our campus,” she said.
“I see this position as the point guard of all the education and research activities across campus.”
Messaoudi said her view of the importance of team science is an asset to her role and will make it easier to accomplish larger projects across the state. Research at UK is not just done for the sake of doing research, she said, but to make an impact on the commonwealth and its citizens..
“The researchers on this campus, whether they are undergrad, grad or they’re a full professor, they’re all doing work that they believe is really important for the betterment of society and human health.”
What others say about Messaoudi: “Our Board of Trustees directed us to become the institution — working with partners — that does more than any other in the country to advance the health of its state,” Capilouto said. “A key part of that goal is expanding our outstanding research that addresses challenges impacting Kentucky the most — from the diseases that plague Kentuckians to the economic issues that perplex industry and community leaders across our state.
“Dr. Messaoudi’s leadership in expanding our capacity for this groundbreaking work across campus, and in partnership with people and communities in Kentucky, will further help UK transform our commonwealth.”
This story was originally published January 28, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
