Cheryl Vanderford, MPAS, PA-C joined the University of Kentucky Department of Physician Studies as Assistant Professor in 2019.  Prior to joining UK, Professor Vanderford served as a Physician Assistant in the Mental Health Service at the Lexington Veterans Affairs HealthCare System where she provided care to Veterans in a variety of settings including the outpatient walk-in/crisis clinic, Emergency Department, and residential PTSD/Substance Use Treatment Program.  She also served as the Lexington VA’s Workplace Violence Prevention Coordinator, coordinating and teaching Prevention and Management of Disruptive Behavior (PMDB) training for all Lexington VA employees. Prior to serving in the Mental Health Service, she completed a fellowship with the National Center for Patient Safety where her love of teaching and process improvement was sparked.  Professor Vanderford considers teaching her “dream job” and is ecstatic to be at the University of Kentucky!

Professor Vanderford teaches within the didactic portion of the UK PA curriculum.  As a UK PA alumna from the class of 2008, she is also excited to serve as the alumni chair for the department. 

Professor Vanderford’s interests include anything to do with mental health, and she is always looking for engaging techniques to prepare PA students for the “real world” by practicing skills in a safe environment in PA school. 

Professor Vanderford and her husband, Nathan, are both faculty at UK and are blessed with two children who keep them on their toes!