Dr. Kidd is an Endowed Chair in Oncology and a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, with a joint appointment in the Brown Cancer Center at the University of Louisville (UofL). She is also the Co-Director of the Community Engagement and Outreach Core (CEOC) of UofL’s newly funded NIH P20 CTR-D grant (2024–2029). This initiative is designed to actively engage community members and scientists to reduce barriers to research participation among Kentucky residents and address chronic health issues that disproportionately affect urban and rural communities throughout the Commonwealth.

Her academic and leadership roles reflect her unwavering commitment to mentoring the next generation of scientists through multiple programs and institutional initiatives. As an Associate Dean of Research Career Development, she helps to guide early-stage investigators with the grant preparation process, including NIH fellowship (F31, F32, F30) and Career development awards. In 2022, she co-directed a Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education grant to establish summer research experiences for ten rising college students focused on cancer and chronic health issues in Kentucky. From 2012-2024, she served multiple leadership roles for UofL’s NCI-funded R25 Cancer Education Program, including Co-Investigator, Co-Director, Multiple Principal Investigator, and Curriculum Coordinator. As Curriculum Coordinator, she led the design, coordination, implementation, and evaluation of cancer education, professional development, and networking activities for undergraduate and professional trainees. The interactive career-enhancement activities strengthened trainees’ scientific communication and research-dissemination skills and helped them clarify their long-term aspirations in cancer research. Under the R25, she helped prepare more than 350 trainees for the next stage of cancer research training, including graduate and medical school, as well as research-intensive career pathways. Under the R25, I have helped prepare more than 350 trainees for the next stage of cancer research training, including graduate and medical school, as well as research-intensive career pathways. In 2023, she became the Site Director for the Winn Clinical Investigator Pathway Program at UofL, which offers summer externships in clinical and translational research to medical students pursuing careers as clinical scientists. Since 2004, I have personally mentored 47 high school students, undergraduates, medical students, graduate students, and post-doctoral trainees. I have reviewed several NIH R21, R01, U01, and P20 grant applications.