Klein, who has served in the role as an interim since January 2024, will officially take the position on Feb. 13.

In his new leadership role, Klein will oversee the university’s research enterprise, including research development and administration, industry engagement, innovation, entrepreneurship and the translation of university discoveries to commercialization and societal impact.

“Dr. Klein has a wealth of experience at UofL and clearly understands our research mission and its importance as one of only 146 R-1 universities in the nation that are leaders in innovation and discovery,” said UofL President Kim Schatzel. “He will extend and strengthen the university’s reputation for world-class research, scholarship and creative work.”

Klein is a professor of medicine who joined UofL in 1985 and holds the university’s James Graham Brown Foundation Endowed Chair in Proteomics—the first such chair in America dedicated to the rapidly expanding field. He is the founding director of UofL’s Core Proteomics Laboratory and Clinical Proteomics Program. His research group was part of an international team that discovered the first blood test able to diagnose a specific kidney disease. He practiced nephrology care for patients with kidney disease for 39 years.

In 2013, Klein was appointed vice dean for research at the UofL School of Medicine.

He earned his M.D. at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center. He completed a fellowship in nephrology and earned his Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from UofL.

“I’m honored and excited to lead the Office of Research and Innovation team and to help UofL faculty and staff continue to perform their outstanding scholarly work,” Klein said.

Gardner comes to UofL from the University of New Hampshire where he served in research leadership, first as director of strategic initiatives, then as the vice provost for research.�� 

UofL News had a chance to talk with Gardner about his upcoming work as UofL’s EVPRI.

UofL News: You’re coming on board at a time when research has been identified as a top priority per our strategic plan and after a year in which we generated significant funds for research. That said, what are your top priorities and goals for UofL’s research?

Gardner: It’s a very exciting time for UofL in so many ways, including its efforts to expand and deepen its research portfolio. I was delighted to see the record research award numbers, and I know that there is great potential to raise these award numbers to greater levels.

My goals and priorities will necessarily be developed and shaped after I arrive at UofL and engage with many constituencies, including college deans, department chairs, faculty, staff, business and industry and government leaders. The most important characteristic of a set of priorities and goals is that they are shared. This being said, there are priorities and goals that have been expressed clearly across the UofL community. These include increasing research productivity, enabling interdisciplinary research across units, developing research grand challenges to drive the research agenda forward, and celebrating research, scholarship, and creative activity in all of its forms. One of my priorities will always be ensuring that the office of research and innovation is the best partner in the research and innovation enterprise that it can be.

While my focus at UofL will obviously be its research portfolio, it’s important to note that the entire university sinks or swims together. We cannot be a great metropolitan university without attention to access and affordability, student success, strong academic programs, and staff, student and faculty well-being. These are all integrally linked and all are important.

UofL News: What do you see as the biggest opportunities at UofL specifically? What can UofL do to continue to deepen its research footprint?

Gardner: I see tremendous opportunity at UofL, which is one of the primary reasons I was so interested in this position. There are opportunities across the entire campus, in all colleges and units, and in particular in interdisciplinary research across units. UofL needs to align its research priorities from the departments, colleges, centers and institutes, and grand challenges and invest strategically to enable a deeper research footprint.

UofL News: How will you differentiate UofL’s research initiatives from other R1 institutions?

Gardner: It is important for the university and its many stakeholders to understand the value of UofL research. This is one of the reasons that the strategic plan calls for identification of Grand Challenges to which UofL will commit. The Grand Challenge effort is exactly the type of work that needs to occur so that the whole UofL community understands the unique contributions that the university’s research makes. I am passionate about key stakeholders broadly understanding the value that UofL brings to the community, but we must first understand ourselves the various dimensions of these offerings. It is far too early for me to make statements about how to differentiate UofL from other R1 institutions, but it is work we must undertake.

UofL News: How do you think UofL’s research footprint impacts the Louisville community and state of Kentucky?

Gardner: This is exactly the type of question that needs to be answered! And there are certainly many dimensions to that answer and many different ways the university impacts metro Louisville, the state and the world. Innovations and intellectual property stimulate new business, the talented students and access to university resources attract business and industry to the region, and mutually beneficial relationships among business, the state and the university all act together to drive the economy. This is a really important question to answer with statistics but also, and perhaps more influentially, with narrative. I look forward to digging into this when I arrive.

UofL News: What made you interested in pursuing research? Can you describe your professional journey?

Gardner: For me it was always about how new knowledge is needed to address societal challenges. My background is in environmental engineering, which combined my love of the natural world with pragmatic problem-solving to address pollution and other environmental problems. For me personally, research has been a means to a world that is more just and fair in which communities can better live in the ecological limits of the world. My passion for research led to a number of leadership opportunities that I was fortunate to receive. I have had wonderful mentors along my journey to whom I feel deeply indebted; certainly they each played the most important roles in my professional journey.

UofL News: What motivated you to come to UofL?

Gardner: UofL is the most exciting university to be at right now, and I want to be a part of it. It has exciting new leadership in President Bendapudi, a strategic plan that resonates deeply with me, and a community of faculty, staff, alumni, metro Louisville and beyond that believe in the strength and potential of the institution. I could not be more excited to join this movement.

UofL News: Have you had a chance to explore the city of Louisville? What are you most excited about living in Louisville?

Gardner: I have only just scratched the surface of Louisville. I love the size of the city and the range of arts, athletics and other offerings the city has. The things I do on a daily basis include cycling and rock climbing (at a gym during the work week) and Louisville accommodates both of those endeavors beautifully. And from what I’ve learned, it’s going to take a decade to even try all of the restaurants that have been recommended highly to me. I look forward to that as well.

The hub is backed by a federal grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is potentially valued at a total of $3.5 million over three years, with nearly $500,000 in funding the first year.��

“At the University of Louisville, we firmly believe that we can solve the problems that plague our region through collaboration,” said UofL President, Dr. Neeli Bendapudi. “This partnership with the private sector and an impressive consortium of area academic institutions will help speed groundbreaking advances in health care technology to the market, resulting in healthier citizens and a stronger economy.”

Leading the grant is , a Louisville-based healthcare technology accelerator that focuses on startups and commercialization. The hub also joins 24 academic institutions led by UofL, the University of Kentucky and West Virginia University.

Together, they will create an “accelerator hub” — one of four funded by NIGMS — for biomedical technologies in the Southeast Institutional Development Award (IDeA) region, which includes Kentucky, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, South Carolina and West Virginia.��

As part of the hub, the grant partners will create online education, resources and tools for commercialization that all the participating institutions can use. There will also be focused  support to assist where those services are not currently available.

“We are grateful to the NIH to have entrusted our team with this grant so that we can move scientific discoveries out of the lab and into commercial products, ultimately improving patient care and enhancing human health,” said Jackie Willmot, co-founder and CEO of XLerateHealth.��“Our hub will provide researchers and innovators with entrepreneurial knowledge and skills that will enable them to create and commercialize successful, sustainable businesses.”

According to Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM)’s 2016 Annual Survey, academic institutions in the Southeast IDeA region performed more than $1.5 billion in federally-funded research and generated 38 startup companies.��The institutions participating in this grant made up 66 percent of that research and 82 percent of the region’s newly licensed startup companies.

UofL, for example, has developed a robust translational research, commercialization and entrepreneurship infrastructure. It is the only research university in the country to receive four prestigious translational research programs:  and through the National Science Foundation, through NIH, and the .

“The partners on this grant have had great success with commercialization, providing startup support and implementing other programs for ,” said Dr. Robert S. Keynton, UofL’s Interim Executive Vice President for Research and Innovation and a principal investigator on the grant. “By expanding multi-state, multi-institutional access to those resources, we believe we can have a big national impact.”

Check out video from today’s press conference announcing the Regional Biomedical Technology Accelerator Hub: 

, was cited for conducting high-quality, high-impact research and exemplifying professionalism and integrity in research. The Research Exemplars were selected for their leadership and management skills in successfully running research laboratories and mentoring junior faculty.

“Aruni Bhatnagar’s commitment to research and to the development of the next generation of researchers is well known within the University of Louisville community,” said William Pierce, PhD, executive vice president for research and innovation.��“For his efforts to be distinguished by the Exemplar Project solidifies his place as one of the standard-bearers of research quality and integrity.”

UofL’s director of research integrity concurred. “Washington University in St. Louis and St. Louis University have a position of national leadership in the area of research professionalism. This award recognizes decades of Aruni’s work and affirms the critical role mentoring plays in the responsible and successful conduct of research,” said Allison Ratterman, PhD.

“I am honored to join my peers from across the United States as a Research Exemplar,” Bhatnagar said. “This program focuses on the intersection of leading a research lab and conducting high-quality, high-impact research with integrity and professionalism.

“To be included among this group is extremely gratifying and reaffirms my commitment to the role of research scientist.”

About Aruni Bhatnagar, PhD

Aruni Bhatnagar, PhD, holds dual professorships in medicine and in biochemistry and molecular biology. He joined UofL in 1998. Bhatnagar is a Distinguished University Scholar, director of the UofL Diabetes and Obesity Center and a Fellow of the American Heart Association.

Bhatnagar is also a leading environmental health scientist who led the creation of the field of environmental cardiology. Through multidisciplinary approaches, he has identified the influence of environmental factors that contribute to systemic inflammation and cardiovascular disease risk. His work has extended from basic bench research to national and global policy.

He has more than 200 peer-reviewed journal articles and $100 million in research support, he been a member of more than 50 review panels of the National Institutes of Health, Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Defense, and he currently serves as the deputy editor of the journal, Circulation Research.��

The UofL Human Subjects Protection Program Office (HSPPO) was awarded full accreditation for the maximum period allowed, five years. The HSPPO was the first such program in Kentucky accredited by the association when it received its original accreditation in 2005.

“Accreditation by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs means that people who volunteer to participate in research studies are assured that the highest standards of professionalism are maintained,” said William M. Pierce Jr., PhD, executive vice president for research and innovation.

“We are proud of our staff in each of our research programs who work diligently to protect participants in research studies and maintain compliance with all regulations that govern research involving human subjects.”

An independent, non-profit accrediting body, the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection programs (AAHRPP) uses a voluntary, peer-driven, educational model to ensure that facilities conducting research with human participants meet rigorous standards for quality and protection. To earn accreditation, organizations must provide tangible evidence — through policies, procedures, and practices — of their commitment to scientifically and ethically sound research and to continuous improvement.

More than 60 percent of U.S. research-intensive universities and 65 percent of U.S. medical schools are either AAHRPP accredited or have begun the accreditation process. Sponsors and other funders recognize that AAHRPP-accredited organizations have more efficient operations, provide more comprehensive protections and produce high-quality data.

At UofL, the Human Subjects Protection Program Office helps to ensure that research involving human participants is conducted in accordance with federal and state regulations and university and sponsoring agency policies and procedures instituted to protect the rights and welfare of human research participants.

HSPPO upholds this commitment to the protection of human participants involved in research regardless of the funding source or location of the research. HSPPO supports two established and independent Institutional Review Boards (IRB), which review and approve protocols for all research involving human participants, the Social/Behavioral/����ֱ��al IRB on UofL’s Belknap campus and the Biomedical IRB on the Health Sciences Center campus.