Dr. Heather M. Bush is the Dean, and former Chair of the Department of Biostatistics. 

Dr. Bush also serves as the Kate Spade & Company Endowed Professor in the Center for Research on Violence Against Women and as co-director of the Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design Facility at the UK Center for Clinical and Translational Science.  

Dr. Bush is a prior recipient of the Dean’s Outstanding Teaching Performance Award, the Golden Apple Award for Outstanding Teaching, and the Provost’s Outstanding Teaching Award. Dr. Bush was also named University Research Professor for 2018-19.  

She focuses her scholarly work on vulnerable populations, examining issues of women’s health, the impacts of sexual violence on health, and the prevention of sexual violence. As an investigator, she works to promote the engagement of populations typically underrepresented in research. 

She also prioritizes collaboration, describing herself as “a team scientist with an overall goal of transforming approaches to scientific inquiry by engaging as an active partner in research teams dedicated to making a difference in the health of populations.” 

Dr. Bush is currently partnering with investigators at KIPRC to (1) translate bystander-based training to promote harm reduction in college populations and (2) develop a novel surveillance system for maternal mortality and morbidity that incorporates injury related to sexual violence, substance use, and mental health. Before her faculty appointment, she was a senior biostatistician in industry.

Dr. Bush received her BS in Mathematics from Mount Vernon Nazarene University, and PhD in Philosophy, Statistics and MS in Statistics from the University of Kentucky.