# UK nursing professor Mary Kay Rayens honored as University Research Professor **Published:** 2026-07-14T18:15:59.000Z **Source:** [University of Kentucky News](https://uknow.uky.edu/research/mary-kay-rayens-2026-27-university-research-professor-qa) **AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) **Canonical:** https://feeds.lexingtonky.news/article/uk-nursing-professor-mary-kay-rayens-honored-as-university-research-professor LEXINGTON, Ky. — Mary Kay Rayens, a biostatistician and professor in the University of Kentucky College of Nursing, has been [honored as a 2026-27 University Research Professor](https://uknow.uky.edu/research/mary-kay-rayens-2026-27-university-research-professor-qa), a distinction that recognizes excellence in work addressing scientific, social, cultural and economic challenges. Rayens currently manages 10 funded research projects, including the Appalachian Tobacco Regulatory Science Team, which examines tobacco use behaviors among Appalachian Kentuckians to help inform federal tobacco policy. The research aims to provide insights into a population that is both understudied and disproportionately affected by tobacco-related diseases. Her collaborative research on smoke-free public policy has prompted Kentucky municipalities to adopt and strengthen smoke-free ordinances. Studies resulting from her work have documented dramatic health outcomes, including reductions in secondhand smoke exposure among restaurant and bar workers, decreases in youth tobacco use rates, and lower rates of asthma-related emergency visits and emphysema hospitalizations in counties with comprehensive smoke-free laws. Rayens earned her master's degree and Ph.D. in statistics from the University of Kentucky, where she joined the College of Nursing as an assistant professor in 1998. She has maintained continuous research funding throughout her career, participating in more than 100 externally funded grants and authoring over 300 papers. She has been named a top 2% scientist by standardized citation metrics annually since 2021. The [University Research Professors program](https://www.research.uky.edu/support/university-research-professors), established by the UK Board of Trustees in 1976, recognizes excellence across all research disciplines at the university. Each professor receives a one-year award of $10,000. The [2026-27 cohort includes 17 faculty members](https://ci.uky.edu/about/news-and-media/2026/17-faculty-named-2026-27-university-research-professors) recognized for their contributions to addressing regional and global challenges. Rayens said the recognition provides greater visibility for external funding applications and enables her to travel to conferences to network with other tobacco regulatory scientists. Her research particularly addresses the public health burden of tobacco use in Kentucky, a state with a historic connection to tobacco production that continues to experience significant health and economic consequences from tobacco-related diseases. ## Sources - [University of Kentucky News](https://uknow.uky.edu/research/mary-kay-rayens-2026-27-university-research-professor-qa) - [University Research Professors program information](https://www.research.uky.edu/support/university-research-professors) - [2026-27 University Research Professors announcement](https://ci.uky.edu/about/news-and-media/2026/17-faculty-named-2026-27-university-research-professors) --- This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from University of Kentucky News, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://uknow.uky.edu/research/mary-kay-rayens-2026-27-university-research-professor-qa.