Dr. Greg Davis on Medicine

Our federal and state administrations acknowledge that we have a loneliness epidemic in the United States and in our Commonwealth. Dr. Greg's guest talks about a Lexington nonprofit that addresses social disconnection and loneliness. Roxanne Cheney is the chair and founder of A Caring Place in Lexington, an interfaith based nonprofit dealing with the elderly and disabled who are socially isolated.

You may or may not have heard of alpha-gal syndrome, an allergic reaction by the human body to a sugar molecule found in most mammals, but not in humans. It's now an important allergen that's causing problems all over the Commonwealth and the country. Dr. Greg talks all things alpha-gal with Dr. Kathleen Winter; Kentucky State Epidemiologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health of the UK College of Public Health.

For nearly four decades now, the U.S. has recognized October as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time annually devoted to educating everyone about breast cancer and the importance of early detection and access to timely, high quality care. Dr. Greg talks with Pat McGrath; professor emeritus in the UK Department of Surgery and former medical director of the Comprehensive Breast Care Center at UK.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women, and yet it remains one of the most under-recognized, under-researched, and under-addressed health threats they face. A luncheon at the Central Bank Center in Lexington on Friday, October 16th, the Lexington Go Red for Women luncheon, will be addressing such health disparities in women and awareness of heart disease. To mark the occasion we are revisiting a conversation Dr. Greg had with Dr. Nouran Sorour, faculty member in the UK Division of Cardiology and cardiologist at UK HealthCare's Gill Heart and Vascular Institute.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission says that scammers cost Americans an estimated $200 billion annually. The mental health impact of these scams can be significant with nearly three in four scam victims reporting that the experience negatively impacted their mental health and overall wellbeing, often leading to lasting shame and isolation. Tasha Stewart, an information officer in the Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions in the Public Protection Cabinet shares tips on what to look out for.

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and we're revisiting this interview Dr. Greg conducted with Julie Cerel, Ph.D., professor in the College of Social Work (CoSW) at the University of Kentucky. In 2025 Julie was honored with the Norman Farberow Award for Bereavement and Lived Experience by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP). The award recognizes her transformative research, which expands understanding of the impact of suicide on families, friends and entire communities.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has proclaimed Sept. 21–26 as Fall Prevention Awareness Week to increase public awareness of fall-related injuries and deaths among older adults in Kentucky. Dr. Greg talks with Roy Tapp, coordinator of the Kentucky Safe Aging Coalition which is hosting a 2026 Virtual Fall and Osteoporosis Prevention Summit on Sept. 24, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Zoom. Registration is free and open to the public.

For many people living with aphasia, a trip to a coffee shop, restaurant or retail store can come with an added layer of anxiety. Dr. Greg talks with Christen Page, Ph.D., associate professor in the CHS Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and leader of the Aphasia Lab at the UK College of Health Sciences.

Older individuals, the geriatric population, have special needs and can present to an emergency department with atypical symptoms of common diseases. Dr. Jessica Houck, a faculty member in the Department of Emergency Medicine and medical director and geriatric medical director of the Chandler Hospital Emergency Department talks about a new geriatric certification for the emergency department.

There’s a virus within a bacterium within a parasite, and University of Kentucky researchers are figuring out how to make them kill each other. Dr. Greg talks with a UK researcher who has been studying the Lyme issue for nearly 30 years.